PREFACENO STATE in the union has produced a better or a higher type of womanhood than Iowa. From pioneer days until the present they have had a very helpful interest in the advancement of education, of the arts, of literature, of religious and moral training, in the great work of philanthropy and of social service in all of its phases. Some of them have been women of unusual talent and have a national reputation, and some have a world-wide reputation. To record the achievements of these exceptional women, and to make a permanent record of the lives and work of the women who within the State and in their own communities have given their service to the common good is the object of this book. It is not claimed that all the women deserving recognition are included in these pages, no book would be large enough to contain them all.The labor involved in collecting and compiling this history has been far beyond our expectation, yet if we have added to the written history of our state, or if the lives herein recorded prove an inspiration to others, it will be compensation for all the labor it has cost.In compiling this history of Iowa women, the first to be published in the state, we have been aided by many prominent women, by the Historical Dept. of Iowa and by the State Historical Society. We here give grateful acknowledgment of that aid.WINONA EVANS REEVES.