CAPT. JOHN J. VAN HOUTEN.

Captain Van Houten was a printer by trade, set the first type in Cass county and was foreman of the "Cass County Gazette" from January, 1861, until the time of his enlistment, August 1, 1862. He proved a brave, faithful and capable soldier, and remained in the service until August 16, 1865. During the later years of his life he was engaged in mercantile pursuits. He died in October, 1884, and was buried at his old home in Des Moines.

The honor of establishing the "Cass County Gazette," the first newspaper in the county, belongs to John C. Brown, its editor. Neither was he simply a newspaper patriot, as his subsequent record with the Twenty-third Iowa Infantry and his death while in the service, abundantly prove. John J. Van Houten, his printer and foreman of the "devil," Seth M. Young, also went to the front with the editor and, upon Mr. Brown's death, succeeded him as captain of their company.