Samuel Detwiler, a pioneer of Brown county, now living retired at Hiawatha, is a native of Pennsylvania. He was born in Franklin county, April 17, 1837, and is a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Lehman) Detwiler, also natives of that State and of German descent. The father was a son of Jacob and Fronica (Wenger) Detwiler. The Detwiler family was founded in America in 1754 by Jacob Detwiler, who came from Alsace, Germany, and settled in Pennsylvania. The Lehman family is also of old American stock, the first ancestor coming to Pennsylvania with William Penn's colony, and was secretary to William Penn. Samuel Detwiler, whose name introduces this sketch, was reared on a farm near Columbus, Ohio. That section of Ohio was heavily timbered and, as a boy, he helped his father clear away the timber and brush for a small farm. He attended the schools of that day, such as they were, and received a good English education. He engaged in farming quite young and remained with his father until 1866, when he removed to Richiand county, Ohio, where he farmed rented land for a few years, and in the spring of 1875, came to Kansas and settled in Brown county, where he bought 320 acres of land in Hiawatha township, about a mile and a half from Hiawatha. This was an improved farm, and he paid thirty dollars per acre for it. The place is still in his possession, and at a conservative estimate is now worth two hundred dollars per acre. Soon after coming to Kansas, he became interested in cattle raising. making a specialty of Aberdeen-Angus black cattle. He also fed cattle for the market extensively, and also fed and raised a great quantity of hogs. Mr. Detwiler, during his business career in Kansas, has experienced many peculiar business phases of depressed, as well as inflated prices. He has bought corn for ten cents a bushel and sold fat hogs for $2.00 per hundred pounds. He was successfully engaged in farming and stock raising until 1901, when he retired from active farming operations and removed to Hiawatha. While Mr. Detwiler was actively engaged in farming, he was considered a leader in his section of the State. He received a medal and diploma for his wheat exhibit at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893, and was awarded a diploma for his wheat exhibit at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition at Omaha. While he is primarily a farmer and stock man, he has been active in other commercial enterprises of Brown county. He was vice-president of the First National Bank of Hiawatha for a time, and was also vice-president of the Brown County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and is now director in that institution. Mr. Detwiler was married November 22, 1859, to Miss Ann Hoffman, of Franklin county, Ohio, who died in 1862, leaving one child, Elizabeth, who married James D. LeBard, and now resides at Fillmore, Ventura county, California. On May 22, 1866, Mr. Detwiler was united in marriage to Miss Serepta Jane Lehman, daughter of Jacob and Esther (Huber) Lehman, of Richland county, Ohio. Mrs. Detwiler was born in Richland county, where she was reared and educated. To Mr. and Mrs. Detwiler have been born two children: Anna E., married Joseph G. Swartz, farmer of Brown county, and they have three children, Grace, Clyde and John; and James Garfield, now resides on the old homestead in Brown county, Kans., married Grace Cook, and they have three children, Albert, Homer and Otho. Mr. Detwiler has been a liberal supporter of the local agricultural society, and has taken a deep interest in all organized agricultural movements. He has served as correspondent for the Bureau of Agriculture, at Washington, D. C., from Brown county, and served in a similar capacity to the State board of agriculture. He is a Progressive Republican, and has served one term as county commissioner of Brown county. Mr. and Mrs. Detwiler are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.