V. L. Chester,
physician and surgeon, Garden Grove, is a son of Joseph and Jane (Robinson)
Chester, natives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania respectively, and of Scotch and
English ancestry. His paternal great-grandfather emigrated from England, and
was one of the pioneer settlers of Pennsylvania. His maternal great-grandfather
was an early settler of Ohio. His father is still living near Carthage,
Missouri. The doctor was born in Kosciusko County, Indiana, March 4, 1843. He
remained on a farm until eighteen years of age, whom he enlisted in Company M.
Fourth Iowa Cavalry, and served three years and six months. He was in the
battles of Vicksburg, Arkansas Post, Jackson, Tupelo, Guntown, and many others
of less note. He was taken prisoner and escaped by jumping from the train,
while it was running at full speed. He was mustered out December 4, 1864, at Memphis,
Tennessee. He then engaged in the drug business in Jefferson County, Iowa. He
attended medical lectures in Keokuk, Iowa, two terms, and graduated in 1880. He
practiced in Wayne County two years, and in 1885 settled in Garden Grove, where
he commands a large and lucrative practice. The doctor owns 120 acres of land,
a dwelling and three lots. He was married in 1865, to Clara E. Green, of
Fairfield, Iowa; and to them were born two children. His wife died in 1872, and
in 1873 he married her sister, Olive J. Green.
SOURCE: “Biographical and Historical Record of Ringgold and Decatur
Counties, Iowa,” p. 549
