Iva Verona Brooks was born November 11, 1892, in Warren Township, Lake County, Illinois, the daughter of George Edward and Alice Turk Brooks. The family moved to Clarke County, Iowa, in 1905, then Hale County, Texas, in 1908. They returned to Murray, Iowa (in Clarke County) in 1911. Horton's education was in the public schools of Illinois and Iowa; she attended high school in Osceola, Iowa and Hale County, Texas.

After graduation, she taught in rural schools in Clarke County for three years, and then married John Samuel Horton on February 18, 1914. The couple farmed in Clarke County for 57 years, and then moved to Osceola, Iowa in 1971. During her years as a farm wife, Mrs. Horton raised four sons, was active in the Farm Bureau Women, worked as an area reporter for the Osceola newspapers and served as a guest columnist for the Des Moines Tribune.

John Horton died in 1977. Iva Horton died in 1982 at the age of 89.

This collection (1941-1982, n.d.) contains travel journals, diaries, biographical material, address books, and financial records. The bulk of the collection contains Iva Horton's travel journals and diaries. The travel journals describe vacations, which always involved visits to family members and plenty of sightseeing along the way. The diaries are of the five year variety, most with a lock and key. In the early years, entries are simple notations on the weather and happenings on the farm such as: "June 11, 1949 – Fair, no rain yet. Planted late potatoes." Later entries are more detailed and describe visits to and from friends, quilts begun and finished, flowers blooming, and canning. In short, the entries describe everyday life on the farm in the 1950s and 1960s.

Also included is the diary of George C. Horton, son of Iva and John. His diary (1941-1942) records his training before he went overseas. He joined the U.S. Army in 1941 and trained at Fort Benning, Georgia and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. George was a TEC4 and had training in deciphering codes and radio maintenance and operations. He mentions his training with various firearms, including machine guns. He was killed during active duty in Europe on July 30, 1944.

Photographs of Iva Horton (on pages 62, 64, and 67) as a young girl can be found in A Turk Family Book (call number CS71, T944x 1990), located here in the Special Collections Department).