Caleb Smith is one of the prominent and well-known citizens of Fairview Township; he arrived in the county May 23, 1870. He was born in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1847, and is a son of John P. Smith and Elizabeth (Troxell) Smith, both natives of Pennsylvania. Caleb passed his early youth on a farm and in attending school; his education was received at the Freebury Academy, of Snyder County, Pennsylvania, and at the Union Seminary, of Union County, Pennsylvania. At the age of seventeen he began teaching school, and was very successful. In 1870 he acted on Horace Greeley's advice to young men, and went west; he traveled over a portion of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois; he finally reached Shelby County, Iowa, where he decided to remain. The first season he engaged in teaching in Monroe Township; in the spring of 1871 he was appointed county superintendent of the schools; in the autumn of the same year he was elected to this office, serving two years with credit to himself and the best interests of the public schools. In February, 1872, he bought 152 acres of land, partly improved; here he has since lived, and made many improvements, adding to the first purchase until he now owns 220 acres of the best soil, consisting largely of rich bottom lands of the east branch of the Nishnabotna River. He has a good frame house, a barn and buildings for stock, and a modern windmill, supplying the water for the different yards; all the surroundings betray the thrift and energy of the owner. Mr. Smith has not sold any corn in twelve years, as he finds it more profitable to feed it to stock at home; he has been very successful in this enterprise. He was married January 4, 1874, to Miss Hattie Pieffer, a daughter of Benjamin Pieffer, a prominent pioneer, whose history will be found elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two children - Lester and Laura E. Mr. Smith is a Democrat, and is one of the wheel- horses of the Democracy in the county; he has filled several offices of trust, with honor to himself. He is a member of the Anti-horse-thief Association of Fairview Township. He is a man well informed on general topics; is decided in his views, friendly to all, and is numbered with the first citizens of the county.