William D. Vanarsdall, a prosperous young farmer of Pleasant Township, was born in Franklin Township, April 22, 1853, and was the son of Cornelius A.B. and Nancy J. (Clem) Vanarsdall, a history of whom is given elsewhere. When he was three years old his parents removed to Pleasant Township, in which his boyhood and youth were spent on a farm. He received a good knowledge of the ordinary branches of learning, and at the age of twenty-one he took up the vocation of a farmer for himself, in Pleasant Township. In 1882, he removed to Franklin Township, but in the fall of 1886 he returned to Pleasant Township, and located on the farm he now occupies. He owns a good farm of seventy-nine acres, about fifty-two of which are in cultivation. It contains a good new frame residence, and is in other respects well improved. Besides farming he gives considerable attention to saw-milling, and to the business of grain threshing. He was married August 26, 1874, to Cynthia Adams. She was born on a farm two and one-half miles south of Franklin, September 19, 1855, and was the daughter of James C. and Rebecca P. (Voris) Adams. Our subject and wife have had five children: Gustin O., born August 10, 1876; Cornelia J., February 15, 1878; William E., March 1, 1880; Arvil D., March 19, 1881, and Charles T., September 11, 1887, all of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Vanarsdall belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Vanarsdall is a successful and prosperous farmer, and he and wife are highly respected.