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History of Mills County, owa. containin
olin
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HISTORY
MILLS COUNTY, IOWA
CONTAINING
A HISTORY 01^ THE COUNTY, ITS CITIES, TOWNS, ETC.
A BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY OF MANY OF ITS LEADING CITIZENS, WAR
RECORD OF ITS VOLUNTEERS IN THE LATE REBEI>LION, GENERAL AND
LOCAL STATISTICS, PORTRAITS OF EARLY SET'fLERS AND PROMI-
NENT MEN, HISTORY OF IOWA AND THE NORTHWEST, MAP OF
MILLS COUNTY, CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF IOWA,
REMINISCENCES, MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED
DES MOINES:
STATE HISTORICAL COMPANY.
1881. . ,
/^^<?$^^J
.J, I WiHon
YTir.nviKi
PREFACE.
There is no proper place in hivstory for the element of fiction. In the
correct delineation of a landscape the artist judiciously employs both
lights and shades; so the historian must need contrast the true and the
false, that the eternal beauty and symmetry of truth appear, but draw
upon the imagination, he may never. As in the landscape, the true out-
line of objects is obscured in the shadows, requiring the full blaze of day
to bring them into proper view, so history brings out the facts partially
obscured in the haze of tradition — itself never history.
The history of the growth of any branch of knowledge has a double
interest; that which comes to it from the knowledge itself, and that which
comes from its relations to the history of the operation of the human
mind. Men think under the limitations of their times; they reason on
such material as they have ; they form their estimate of changes from the
facts immediately knowii to them. What Matthew Arnold has written
of man's thoughts as he floats adown the "River of Time," is most true.
Says he:
" As is the world on the banks,
So is the mind of man.
Only the track where he sails
He wots of: only the thoughts
Raised by the objects he passes, are his."
Impressions thus received the mind will modify and work upon, trans-
mitting the products to other minds in shapes that often seem new, strange
and arbitrary, but which yet result from processes familiar to our experi-
ence, and to be found at work in our own individual consciousness. And
this is the necessity that renders history, as entirely distinct from tradition,
imperative. Here the province of the historian begins. It is imperative
on him that he record facts as they are, freed from the gloss given them
by verbal transmissions.
We know the present status of Mills county; know that it ranks among
the first in political influence, and is not a whit behind in the intelligence
of its people and its jealous regard for education; know that its material
resources are practically unlimited, and the promise for its future ever
brightening. Now, to clearly understand this happy present, its glories
and its greatness, its opportunities and its wonders, it is our duty to look
back to their sources. AVe shall find that the seeds which have so aus-
piciously born fruit in this present generation, were sown by men tried
and true; men who deserve to be remembered, not merely as historic
names, but as men in whose broad breasts beat the noblest hearts, and
within whose rustic homes were to be found the very bone and sinew of
IV PREFACE.
this western Ayorld; men whose sterling worth and integrity have contrib-
uted very largely to its present high position.
The whole history of this county is one of surpassing interest, and the
more it is studied the clearer does it become that underlying its records
are certain truths which afford a clew to the causes that have contributed
so powerfully to bring it to its present marked prominence. They will
be found identical with those which have influenced the history of the
nations during many centuries . Albeit, they do not possess that far-reach-
ing influence which groups the centuries into eras, yet to those immedi-
ately interested they are not a whit less tragical. To narrate these facts
is the objects of these pages; with what success this has been done we
do not presume to say. It has been our aim to learn and present the truth
without favor or prejudice.
It has heretofore been possible for the scholar, with leisure and a com-
prehensive library, to trace out the written history of his county by patient
research among voluminous government documents and dustv records,
sometimes old and scarce ; but these sources of information and the time
to study them are not at the command of most of those who are intelli-
gently interested in local history, and there are many unpublished facts to
be rescued from the failing memories of the oldest i-esidents, who would
soon have carried their information with them to the grave; and others to
be obtained from the citizens best informed in regard to the various pres-
ent interests and institutions of the county which should be treated of in
giving its history. This service of research and record, which very few
could have undertaken for themselves, the publishers of this work have
performed; while a few unimportant mistakes may, perhaps, be found in
such a multitude of details, in spite of the care exercised in the produc-
tion of the volume, they still confidently present this result of many weeks
labor, as a true and orderly narration of all the events in the history of
the county which were of sufficient interest and value to merit such a
record.
Authenticity is always difficult in history; much passes for history
which is mere anecdote, and that domain is always doubtful. Other facts,
again, come to us through the prejudices and colours of personal narra-
tion. Great care has therefore been necessary to prevent publishing
misconceptions as history. There has been admitted no statement of fact
without ample authority, and mentioned not even the slightest incident
without the support of creditable testimony. Attention is called to one
feature considered of special value — the introduction of the original rec-
ords for all transactions directly affecting the interests of the county.
Concerning the first records and the facts they teach, little or nothing
need be said. Of this period in the county's history there have been
explored for evidence every known early document, and where not muti-
PREFACE. V
lated they have been presented in full. If among the pages devoted to
early settlers and settlements, the sentences seem short and broken, and
the method of treatment faulty, it should be borne in mind that the nature
of the data renders any other method of presentment impossible. Accu-
racy, rather than finish, has been the object held steadily in view.
In the preparation of this volume the oldest residents and others have
cheerfully volunteered their services in the undertaking, adding largely to
the value of the results obtained. Special thanks are due to the following
named persons, who have not only aided us by placing at our disposition
much valuable matter, but have themselves devoted much time to search-
ing records, and afforded every opportunity in their power to perfect the
chronological sequence and accuracy of the data used: County Auditor,
S. C. Osborn; County Recorder, M. H. Byers; Seth D.ean, Surveyor;
A. D. French, Treasurer; J. E. Robiqson, Clerk; William Alton, Deputy
Recorder and abstractor; A.J. Hight, Deputy Auditor; William Kemp-
ton, Esq., Hale, Stone & Proudfit, a firm of legal gentlemen; Miss M.
Maude Archibald, county superintendent of schools; William H. Taft
Mrs. J. W. Coolidge, Mr. Charles Croney, of The Glenivood Ofinion ;
Mr. Sherman, of The yournal; and to The Hastings Plaindedler, Mills
County Chronicle, Mills County Re^blican, Paeific Junction Gazette,
for numerous favors and notices. Throughout the county are many
impossible to name here, who have freely given what of history they had.
The clergy and other church officers, and those of civic associations, have
been universally obliging in placing at our command the needed statistics
of their several societies.
Under the sway of cause and effect, historic events cannot stand alone,
— thev form an unbroken chain. The history of so limited a territory as
a county in Iowa has its roots not only in remote times, but in distant
lands, and cannot be justly written out without consulting the influence
of such a foreign element; nor can such a county history be understood
in all its relations, without a historic review of at least the state of which
the county is a part; hence, we feel that in giving such an outline we have
been more faithful to the main purpose of the work, while we have added
an element of independent intere'st and value. We little doubt that this
book will be a welcome one to the inhabitants of the county, for all take
a just pride in whatever calls to mind the scenes and incidents of other
days. It is presented in the assurance that the work done will meet with
the heartiest approval of our readers ; and if, through that commendation,
it awakens an earnest spirit of enterprise and emulation among the
younger citizens of the county, it will be a source of just pleasure and con-
gratulation to
The Publishers.
CONTENTS.
Pags.
Thb Northwest Teskitost 19
Geographical Position 19
Early Explorations 30
Discovery of the Ohio 33
English Explorations and Settle-
ment 34
American Settlements 59
Division of the Northwest Territory 65
Tecumseh, and the war of 1813. ... 69
Black Hawk, and the Black Hawk
War 73
Present Condition of the Northwest 79
The Early History of Illinois ... 88
Early Discoveries 88
First French Occupation 91
Genius of La Salle 93
Early Settlements 94
The "Compact of 1787" 95
Physical Features of Prairie States 99
Progress of Development 101
Material RESotmcEs of the State 103
Coal is King 108
The Religion and Morals 106
Education 107
The State of Iowa 109
Geographical Situation 109
Topography 109
Drainage System 110
Rivers Ill
Lakes 118
Springs 119
Origin of the Prairies 130
Geology 130
The Azoic System 131
Lower Silurian System 133
Upper Silurian System 133
Devonian System 133
Carboniferous System 134
Sub-carboniferous System 134
The Coal-measure Group 137
Cretaceous System 139
Peat 130
Gypsum 131
Minor Deposits of Sulphate of Lime 135
Sulphate of Strontia 136
Sulphate of Baryta 137
Sulphate of Magnesia 187
Climatology 187
The History OF The State of Iowa 139
Discoveri^ and Occupation 139
The Original Owners 147
Pike's Expedition 151
Indian Wars 153
Page
The Black Hawk War 157
Indian Purchases, Reserves and
Treaties 159
Spanish Grants 168
The Half-breed Tract 164
Early Settlements 166
Territorial History 173
The Boundary Question 177
State Organization 181
Growth and Progress 185
The Agricultural College and Farm 186
The State University 187
State Historical Society 193
The Penitentiary 194
Additional Penitentiaij 195
Iowa Hospital for the Insane 195
Iowa College for the Blmd 197
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb 199
Soldiers' Orphans' Homes 199
State Normal School 301
Asylum for Feeble Minded Children 301
The Reform School 302
Fish Hatching Establishment 303
The Public Lands 304
The Public Schools 318
Political Record 333
War Record 339
Infantry 333
Cavalry 344
Artillery 247
Miscellaneous 348
Casualties among OfBcers of Iowa
Regiments during the War 250
Casualties among Enlisted Men of
Iowa Regiments during the War 352
Number of "Troops Furnished by the
State of Iowa, etc 354
Population of Iowa 355
Illinois 257
Indiana 359
Iowa 260
Michigan 363
Wisconsin 364
Minnesota 266
Nebraska 267
Constitution of the United States and
its Amendments 269
Vote for Governor, 1879, and Presi-
dent, 1876 283
Vote for Congressmen, 1876 283
Practical Rules for every day Use. . . . 284
U. S. Government Land Measure. . . . 387
Surveyor's Measure 288
CONTENTS.
VII
Page.
How to keep Accounts 288
Names of the States of the Union, and
their significations 290
Population of United States 391
Population of Fifty Principal Cities 291
Population of Principal Countries of
the World 392
Abstkact of Iowa State Laws 293
Bills of Exchange and Notes 393
Interest 393
Descent 393
"Wills and Estates 394
Taxes 295
Jurisdiction of Courts 297
Limitation of Actions 297
Jurors 397
Capital Punishment 298
Married Women 298
Exemptions from Execution 398
Estrays 299
Wolf Scalps 300
Marks and Brands 300
Damages from Trespass 300
Fences 300
Mechanic's Liens 301
Roads and Bridges 302
Adoption of Children 303
Surveyors and Surveys 303
Support of Poor 303
Page
Landlord and Tenant 304
Weights and Measures 305
Definitions of Commercial Terms. . .. 305
Notes 306-
Orders 306
Receipts 306
Bills of Purchase 306
Confession of Judgment 306
Articles of Agreement 307
Bills of Sale 30a
Notice to Quit 309
Form of Will 309
Codicil 310-
Satisfaction of Mortgage 310
Forms of Mortgage 311
Form of Lease 312
Form of Note 313
Chattel Mortgage 314
Warranty Deed 314
Quit Claim Deed 315^
Bond for Deed 315
Charitable, Scientific and Religious
Associations , 316
Intoxicating Liquors 317
Suggestions to those Purchasing
Books by Subscription 319
Statistics of Agriculture of Iowa
(Census of 1875) 32*
Constitution of Iowa 3
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Introduction 331
Name and Position 323
Drainage and Surface Character 324
Soil 337
Streams 339
Lakes 331
Climate 333
Geology 334
Loess 335
Drift 336
Cretaceous 338
Coal Measures 338
Mineral Resources 340
Natural History 341
AvidsB 342
Notes 351
Plantse 359
General Flora 363
Medicinal Plants 363
Reptilia 365
Ophidia 365
Batrachia 366
Mollusca 368
Fresh Water Mollusks 368
Land Mollusks 869
Mammalia 370
Rocky Mt. Locust 373
Indian Affairs 376
County Organization 380
Officials, Bonds of 381
Court Records of 383
The District Courts 384
Judge Sears' Charge to the Grand
Jury 390
An Incident of the District Court. . . 398
Judicial Districts and Judges 395
First Circuit Court 396
Records of 397
First Land Entries 400
Documents, concerning 401
Some Early Legal Documents 402
Early Mortgages. . . , 403
Quit Claim 404
Curious Documents 405-
First Real Estate Mortgage 406
First Warrantee Deed 407
First Chattel Mortgage 408
Qualification Certificate 408
Estray Affidavit 409^
Scalp Bounty Certificate 409
First Will 409
First Marriage License 411
Other Early Marriages 412^
County Finances. 413
Report of Commissioner 413
Census for 1856 415
Assessment for 1880 417
The Poor Farm 418
Documents concerning 419'
The Jail 420
Documents concerning 433.
The Watkins Ditch 423
Documents concerning 423
The Court House 434
Fair Associations 424
Mills County Agricultural Society. 426
Agricultural and Mechanical Asso-
ciation 427
Council Bluffs Medical Society 428
The Early Ferries 439
vm
CONTENTS.
Page.
Documents concerning 430
Railroads 433
C, B. & St. J. R. R 433
C, B. & Q. R. R 438
Nebraska Oity & Sidney R. R 440
Hastings & Avoca R. R 440
Statistics 441
Swamp Land Troubles 442
Railroad Grant (U. S.) 442
Railroad Grant (State) ; 443
Petition in Suit for 446
Supreme Court Decision 447
Compromise 460
Second Suit 463
Supreme Court Decision 464
Supreme Court U. S 465
Political History 465
First Votes 466
Election of 1856 467
Missouri Compromise 468
Statistics 469
OflBcial Vote of 1880 ^479
Mills County in the General As-"
sembly 480
Mills County in the Camp and on the
Field 481
President's Proclamation 48S
Affairs at Home 488
The Fourth Infantry 484
The Fifteenth Infantry 488
The Twenty-ninth Infantry 493
The Forty-sixth Infantry 496
The Fourth Cavalry 497
The Fifth Cavalry 498
The Eighth Cavalry 500
Artillery Companies 500
General History 503
Township Boundaries 503
The Pioneer (poem) 505
To the Present 507
Early Settlers and Settlements 511
The Mormons 513
Their Exodus 518
In the County 514
Settlements of 515
The year 1847 516
The year 1848. 517
The year 1849 518
The year 1850 519
The year 1851 530
The year 1853 533
The year 1858 538
The year 1854 528
The years f ollowmg 534
The County Press 535
The First Paper 536
The First Poem 537
Glenwood Opinion 530
Hastings Plaindealer 531
Mills County Chronicle 531
Mills County Republican 581
Mills County Journal 533
Page.
Pacific Junction Gazette 533
History of Education 5^°
Statistics of 539
Temperance 540'
Religious History 543
The First Church 545
United Brethren 545
M.P. Church 546
Latter Day Saints 546
Fail-view M. E. Church 547
St. Bonefatzins 547
Evangelical Lutheran 547
M. E. Church (Rawles) 547
M. E. Church (White Cloud) 547
Elm Grove Church 548
Criminal History 548
The Lawn Boys 549
Murder of Kretzinger 549
Killing of King and Palmer 555
The Creech-Johnson Case 557
Cities and Towns 558
Glenwood 558
Schools 560
Churches 561
Civic Societies 563
Asylum 565
Corporations 577
Business Interests 579
Malvern 579
Civic Societies. 580
Corporations 583
Churches 583
Schools ; 584
Emerson 585
Civic Societies 586
Churches 586
Silver City 587
Churches 588
Societies 588
Hastings 588
Churches 589
East Plattsmouth 590
Henderson 590
Pacific Junction 590
Pacific City 590
Biographical Sketches 593
Center Township 594
Rawles Township 603
Lyons Township 630
Silver Creek Township 638
Malvern Township 631
St. Mary's Township 643
White Cloud Township 646
Platteville Township 656
Oak Township 665
Glenwood Township 671
Ingraham Township. . , 691
Deer Creek Township 699
Anderson Township 701
Indian Creek Township 706
Errata 723
Map of ^f ILi lU
HEFERENCE
Ce,m£tzrif - - +
Hocui _
HailRtauy
Ttmier —
Swamp
Cruk - -
:Bluff
School House. -
T _A
County.
THE CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
We, the people of the state of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for
the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for
a continuation of those blessings, do ordain and establish a free and inde-
pendent government, by the name of the state of Iowa, the boundaries
whereof shall be as follows:
Beginning in the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi river, at a
point due east of the middle of the mouth of the main channel of the
Des Moines river; thence up the middle of the main channel of the
said Des Moines river, to a point on said river where the northern boun-
dary line of the state of Missouri — as established by the constitution of
that state, adopted June 12, 1820 — crosses the said middle of the main
channel of the said Des Moines river ; thence westwardlj- along the said
northern boundary line of the state of Missouri, as established at the
time aforesaid, until an extension of said line intersects the middle of
the main channel of the Missouri river; thence up the middle of the
main channel of the said Missouri river to a point opposite the middle
of the main channel of the Big Sioux river, according to Nicollett's
map; thence up the mam channel of the said Big Sioux river, according
to the said map, until it is intersected by the parallel of forty -three
degress and thirty minutes, north latitude; thence east along said
parallel of forty-three degrees and thirty minutes, until said parallel
intersects the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi river ; thence
down the middle of the main channel of the said Mississippi river to the
place ofbeginning.
ARTICLE I.— BILL OF RIGHTS.
Section 1. All men are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain
inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life
and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing
and obtaining safet}' and happiness.
Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is
instituted for the protection, security and benefit of the people, and they
have the right, at all times, to alter or reform the same, whenever the
public good may require it.
Sec. 3. The general assembly shall make no law respecting an estab-
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; nor shall any
person be compelled to attend any place of worship, pay tithes, taxes or
other rates, for building or repairing place of worship, or the maintenance
of any minister or ministry. i
Sec. 4. No religious test shall be required as a qualification for any
office of public trust, and no person shall be deprived of any of his rights,'
privileges or capacities, or disqualified from the performance of any of his
public or private duties, or rendered incompetent to give evidence in any
court of law or equity, in consequence of his opinions on the subject of
religion; and ^ny party to any judicial proceeding shall have the right to
use as a witness, or takethe testimony of, any other person, not disqualified
on account of interest, who may be cognizant of any fact material to the
case; and parties to suits may be witnesses, as provided by law.
Sec. 5. Any citizen of this state, who may Hereafter be engaged,
eitjier directly or indirectly, in a duel, either as principal or accessory
before the fact, shall forever be disqualified from holding any office under
the constitution and laws of this state.
4 CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
Sec. 6. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation ;
the general assembly shall not grant, to any citizen or class of citizens,
privileges or immunities, which upon the same terms shall not equally
belong to all citizens.
Sec. 7. Every person may speak, write and publish his sentiments on
all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall
be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, or of the press. In
all prosecutions or indictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidence
to the jury, and if it appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous
was true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends,
the party shall be acquitted.
Sec. 8. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses
papers and efiects, against unreasonable seizures and searches, shall not be
violated; and no warrant shall issue but on probable cause, supported by
oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched, and
the persons and things to be seized.
Sec. 9. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate; but the gen-
eral assembly may authorize trial by a jury of a less number than twelve
men in inferior courts ; but no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or
property, without due process of law.
Sec. 10. In all criminal prosecutions, and in cases involving the Hfe or
liberty of an individual, the accused shall have a right to a speedy and
public trial by an impartial jury; to be informed of the accusation against
him; to have a copy of the same when demanded; to be confronted with
the witness against him; to have compulsory process for his witnesses;
and to have the assistance of counsel.
Se.c 11. All offences less than felony, and in which the punishment
does not exceed a fine of one hundred dollars, or imprisonment for thirty
days, shall be tried summarily before a justice of the peace, or other offi-
cer authorized by law, on information under oath, without indictment or the
intervention of a grand jury, saving to the defendant the right of appeal;
and no person shall be held to answer for any higher criminal offence,
unless on presentment or indictment by a grand jury, except in cases aris-
ing in the army or navy, or in the militia, when in actual service in time
of "war or public danger.
Sec 12. No person shall, after acquittal, be tried for the same offence.
All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except
for capital offenses, where the proof is evident or the presumption great.
Sec 13. The writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended or refused,
when application is made as required by law, unless in case of rebellion
or invasion the public safety may require it.
Sec 14. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. No
standing army shall be kept up by the state in time of peace; and in time
of war, no appropriation for a standing army shall be for a longer time
than two years.
Sec 15. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, except in the man-
ner prescribed by law.
Sec 10. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war
against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid and comfort. No
person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the evidence of two wit-
nesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court.
Sec 17. Excessive bail shall not be required j excessive fines shall not
be imposed, and cruel and unusual punishment shall not be inflicted.
CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
Sec. 18. Private property shall npt be taken for public use without
just compensation first being made, or secured to be made, to the owner
thereof, as soon as the damages shall be assessed by a jury, who shall not
take into consideration any advantages that may result to said owner on
account of the improvement for which it is taken.
Sec. 19. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action on
mesne or final process, unless in case of fraud; and no person shall be
imprisoned for a military fine in tinie of peace.
Sec. 20. The people have the right freely to assemble together to
counsel for the common good; to make known their opinions to their rep-
resentatives, and to petition for a redress of grievances.
Sec. 21. No bill of attainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the
obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed.
Sec. 22. Foreigners who are, or may hereafter become residents of
this state, shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the possession, enjoy-
ment, and descent of property, as native born citizens.
Sec. 23. There shall be no slavery in this state; nor shall there be
involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime.
Sec. 24. No lease or grant of agricultural lands, 'reserving any rent or
service of any kind,' shall be valid for a longer period than twenty years.
Sec. 25. The enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair
or deny others, retained by the people.
ARTICLE II— RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE.
Section 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age
of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of this state six
months next preceding the election, and of the county in which he claims
his vote, sixty days, shall be entitled to vote at all elections which are now
or hereafter may be authorized by law.
Sec. 2. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony or breach of
the peace, be privileged from arrest on the days of election, during their
attendance at such elections, going to and returning therefrom.
Sec. 3. No elector shall be obliged to perform military duty on the
day of election, except in time of war or pubhc danger.
Sec. 4. No person in the militar}^ naval or marine service of the
United States shall be considered a resident of this state by being stationed
in any garrison, barrack, or military or naval place or station within the stAte.
Sec. 5. No idiot or insane person, or person convicted of any infamous
crime shall be entitled to the privilege of an elector.
Sec. 6. All elections by the people shall be by ballot.
ARTICLE III.— OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.
Section 1. The powers of the government of Iowa shall be divided
into three separate departments : The Legislative, the Executive and the
Judicial; and no person charged with the exercise of powers properly
belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any function apper-
taining to either of the others, except in cases hereinafter expressly
directed or permitted.
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.
Section 1. The legislative authority of this state shall be vested in
a general assembly, which shall consist of a senate and house of represen-
tatives; and the style of every law shall be: " Be it enacted by the gen-
eral assembly of the state of Iowa."
Sec. 2. The sessions of the general assembly shall be biennial and
shall commence on the second Monday in January next ensuing the election
of its members; unless the governor of the state shall, in the meantime,
convene the general assembfy by proclamation.
6 CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
Sec. 3. The members of the house of representatives shall be chosen
every second year, bv the qualified electors of their respective districts, on
the second Tuesday 'in October, except the years of the presidential elec-
tion, when the election shall be on the Tuesday next after the first Monday
in November; and their term of office shall commence on the first day of.
January next after their election, and continue two years, and unti! their
successors are elected and qualified.
Sec. 4. No person shall be a member of the house of representatives
who shall not have attained the age of twenty- one years, be a free white
male citizen of the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of
this state one year next preceding his election, and at the time of his elec-
tion shall have had an actual residence of sixty days in the county or dis-
trict he may have been chosen to represent.
Sec. 5 Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, at the same
time and place as representatives ; they shall be twenty five years of age
and possess the qualifications of representatives as to residence and citi-
zenship.
Sec. 6. The number of senators shall not be less than one-third nor
more than one-half the representative body; and shall be so classified by
lot that one class, being as nearly one-half as possible, shall be elected
every two years. When the number of senators is increased, they shall
be annexed by lot to one or the other of the two classes, so as to keep
them as nearly equal in numbers as practicable.
Sec. 7. Each house shall choose its own officers, and judge of the
qualification, election and return of its own members. A contested elec-
tion shall be determined in such manner as shall be directed by law.
Sec 8. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to transact
business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may
compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such
penalties as each house may provide.
Sec 9. Each house shall sit upon its own adjournments, keep a jour-
nal of its proceedings, and publish the same; determine its rules of pro-
ceedings, punish rnembers for disorderly behavior, and, with the consent
of two-thirds, expel a member, bu^not a second time for the same ofl"ense;
and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the general
assembly of a free and independent state.
Sec 10. Every member of the general assembly shall have the liberty
to dissent from or protest against any act or resolution which he may
think injurious to the public or an individual, and have the reasons for his
dissent entered on the journals; and the yeas and nays of the members of
either house, on any question, shall, at the desire of any two members
present, be entered on the journals.
Sec. 11. Senators and representatives, in all cases, except treason, fel-
ony or breach of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during the ses-
sion of the general assembly, and in going to and returning from the same.
Sec 12. When vacancies occur in either house, the governor, or the
person exercising the functions of governor, shall issue writs of election
to fill such vacancies.
Sec 13. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occa-
sions as, in the opinion of the house, maj?^ require secrecy.
Sec 14. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn
for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they
may be sitting.
CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
Sec. 13. Bills may originate in either house, and may be amended,
altered or rejected by the other; and every bill having passed both houses,
shall be signed by the speaker and president of their respective houses.
Sec. 16. Every bill which shall have passed the general assembly shall,
before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor. If he approve, he
shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house
in which it originated, which shall enter the same upon their journal, and
proceed to reconsider, it; if, after such reconsideration, it again pass both
houses, by yeas and nays, by a majority of two-thirds of the members of
each house, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the governor's objec-
tions. If any bill shall not be returned within three days after it shall have
been presented to him, (Sunday excepted) the same shall be a law in like
manner as if he had signed it, unless the general assembly, by adjourn-
ment, prevent such return. Any bill submitted to the governor for his
approval during the last three days of a session of the general assembly,
shall be deposited by him in the office of the secretary of state, within
thirty days after the adjournment, with his approval, if approved by hinj,
and with his objections if he disapproves thereof.
Sec. 17. No bill shall be passed unless by the assent of a majority of
all members elected to each branch of the general assemblv, and the
question upon the final passage shall be taken immediately upon its last
reading, and the yeas and nays entered upon the journal.
Sec 18. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the
public money shall be attached to and published with the laws at every
regular session of the general assembly.
Sec. 19. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of im-
peachment, and all impeachments shall be tried by the senate. When sit-
ting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation ; and
no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the
members present.
Sec 20. The governor, judges of the supreme and district courts, and
other state officers, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor or
malfeasance in office; but judgment in such cases shall extend only to
removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust
or profit, under this state; but the party convicted or acquitted shall never-
theless be liable to indictment, trial and punishment according to law. All
other civil officers shall be tried for misdemeanors and malfeasance in
office, in such manner as the general assembly may provide.
Sec 21. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which
he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office of profit under
this state, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which
shall have been increased during such term, except such offices as may be
filled by elections by the people.
Sec 22. No person holding any lucrative office under the United
States, or this state, or any other power, shall be eligible to hold a seat in
the general assembly. But offices in the militia to which there is attached
no annual salary, or the office of the justice, of the peace, or postmaster
whose compensation does not exceed one hundred dollars per annum, or
notary public, shall not be deemed lucrative.
Sec. 23. No person who may hereafter be a collector or holder of pub-
lic moneys, shall have a seat in either house of the general assembly, or
be eligible to hold any office of trust or profit in this state, until he shall
have accounted for and paid into the treasury all sums for which he may
be liable.
8 CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
Sec. 24. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in conse-
quence of appropriations made by law.
Sec. 25. Each member of the first general assembly under this con-
stitution shall receive three dollars per diem while in session; and the
further sum of three dollars for every twenty miles traveled in gomg to
and returning from the place where such session is held, by the nearest
traveled route; after which ihity shall receive such compensation as shall
be fixed by law ; but no general assembly shall have the power to increase
the compens.ition of its members. And when convened in extra session
they shall receive the same mileage and per diem compensation as fixed
by law for the regular session, and none other.
Sec. 26. No law of the general assembly, passed at a regular session,
of a public nature, shall take efTect until the fourth day of July next after
the passage thereof. Laws passed at a special session shall take effect
ninety days after the adjournment of the general assembly by which the}'
were passed. If the general assembly shall deem any law of immediate
importance, they may provide that the same shall take effect by publica-
tion in newspapers in the state.
Sec. 27. No divorce shall be granted by the general assembly.
Sec. 28. No lottery shall be authorized by this state; nor shall the sale
of lottery tickets be allowed.
Sec. 29. Every act shall embrace but one subject, and matters properly
connected therewith; which subject shall be expressed in the title. But
if any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not be expressed in
the title, such act shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be
expressed in the title. ,
Sec. 30. The general assembly shall not pass local or special laws in
the following cases :
For the assessment and collection of taxes for state, county or road pur-
poses ;
For laying out, opening and working roads or highways;
For changing the names of persons;
For the incorporation of cities and towns;
For vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys, or public squares;
For locating or changing county seats;
In all the cases above enumerated and in all other cases wiiere a gen-
eral law can be made applicable, all laws shall be general, and of uniform
operation throughout the state; and no law changing the boundary lines
of any county shall have efi'ect until upon being submitted to the people of
the counties affected by the change, at a general election, it shall be
approved by a majority of the votes in each county, cast for and against it.
Sec. .31. No extra compensation shall be made to any officer, public
agent or contractor, after the service shall have been rendered, or the con-
tract entered into; nor shall any money be paid on an}^ claim, the subject
matter of which shall not have been provided for by pre-existing laws,
and no public money or property shall be appropriated for local or pri-
vate purposes, unless such appropriation, compensation or claim be
allowed by two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the gen-
eral assembly.
Sec. 32. Members of the general assembly shall, before they enter
upon the duties of their respective offices, take and SjUbscribe to the fol-
lowing oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case
may be) that I will support the constitution of the iJnited States, and the
CONSTITUTION OF IOWA. 9
constitution of the state of Iowa, and that I will faithfully discharge the
duties of senator, (or regresentative, as the case may be) according to the
best of my ability." And members of the general assembly are hereby
empowered to administer to each other the said oath or affirmation.
Sec. 33. The general assembly shall, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, one thousand eight hundred and
sixty-seven, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, and one thousand
eight hundred and seventy five, and every ten years thereafter, cause an
enumeration to be made of all the inhabitants of the state.
Sec 34. The number of senators shall, at the next session following
each period of. making such enumeration, and the next session following
each United States census, be fixed by law, and be apportioned among the
several counties according to the numbers of inhabitants in each.
Sec. 36. The senate shall not consist of more than fifty members, nor
the house of representatives of more than one hundred; and they shall
be apportioned among the several counties and representative districts of
the state according to the number of inhabitants in each, upon ratios
to be fixed by law ; but no representative district shall contain more than
four organized counties, and each district shall be entitled to at least one
representative. Kvery county and district which shall have a number of
inhabitants equal to one-half of the ratio fixed by law, shall be entitled to
one representative; and any one county containing in addition to the
ratio fixed by law one-half of that number, or more, shall be entitled to
one additional representative. No floating district shall hereafter be formed.
Sec 36. At its first session under this constitution, and at every subse-
quent regular session, the general assembly shall fix the ratio of represen-
tation, and also form into representative districts those counties which will
not be entitled singly to a representative.
Sec p7. When a congressional, senatorial, or representative district
shall be composed of two or more counties, it shall not be entirely, sepa-
rated by any county belonging to another district; and no county shall be
divided in forming a congressional, senatorial, or representative district.
Sec. 38. In all' elections by the general assembly, the members thereof
shall vote viva-voce; and the votes shall be entered on the journal.
ARTICLE IV.— EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
Section 1. The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested
in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the governorof the state of Iowa.
Sec. 2. The governor shall be elected by the qualified electors at the
time and place of voting for members of the general assembly, and shall
hold his office two years, from the time of his installation, and until his
successor is elected and quahfied.
Sec 3. There shall be a lieutenant governor, who shall hold his office
two years, and be elected at the same time as the governor. In voting for
governor and lieutenant governor, the electors shall designate for whom
they vote as governor and for whom as lieutenant governor. The returns
of every election for governor and lieutenant governor shall be sealed up
and transmitted to the seat of governnient of the state, directed to the
speaker of the house of representatives, who shall open and publishth em
in the presence of both houses of the general assembly.
Sec 4. Persons respectively having the highest number pi votes,
for governor and lieutenant governor, shall be declared duly elected; but
in case two or more persons shall have an equal, and the highest number
,10 CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
of votes for either office, the general assembly shall, by joint vote, forth-
with proceed to elect one of said persons governor, or lieutenant gover-
nor, as the case may be.
Sec. 5. Contested elections for governor, or lieutenant governor, shall
be determined by the general assembly in such manner as may be pre-
scribed by law.
Sec. 6. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor, or lieu-
tenant governor, who shall not have been a citizen of the United States,
and a resident of tbe state two years next preceding the election, and
attained the age of thirty years at the time of said election.
Sec. 7. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, the
army and navy of this state.
Sec. 8. He shall transact all executive business with the officers of gov-
ernment, civil and military, and may require information in writing from
the officers of the executive department upon any subject relating to the
duties of their respective offices.
Sec. 9. He shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed.
Sec. 10. When any office shall, from any cause, become vacant, and no
mode is provided by the constitution and laws for filling such vacancy, the
governor shall have power to fill such vacancy, by granting a commission,
which shall expire at the end of the next session of the general assembly,
or at the next election by the people.
Sec. 11. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the general
assembly by proclamation, and shall state to both houses, when assem-
bled, the purpose for which they shall have been convened.
Sec. 12. Pie shall communicate, by message, to the general assembly
at every regular session, the condition of the state, and recommend such
matters as he shall deem expedient.
Sec. 13. In case of disagreement between the two houses with respect
to the time of adjournment, the governor shall have power to adJ9urn the
general assembly to such time as he may think proper; but no such
adjournment shall be beyond the time fixed for the regular meeting of tlje
next general assembly.
Sec. 14. No person shall, while holding any office under the authority
of the United States, or. this state, execute the office of governor, or lieu-
tenant governor, except as hereinafter expressly provided.
Sec. 15. The official term of the governor, and lieutenant governor,
shall commence on the second Monday of January next after their elec-
tion, and continue for two years, and until their successors are elected and
qualified. The lieutenant governor, while acting as governor, shall receive
the same pay as provided for governor; and while presiding in the senate,
shall receive as compensation therefor, the same mileage and double the
per diem pa}- provided for a senator, and none other.
Sec. 16. The governor shall have power to grant reprieves, commuta-
tions and pardons, after conviction, for all offences except treason and cases
of impeachment, subject to such regulations as may be provided by law.
Upon conviction for treason, he shall have power to suspend the execu-
tion of the sentence until the case shall be reported to the general assem-
bly at its next meetmg, when the general assembly shall either grant a
pardon, commute the sentence, direct the execution of the sentence, or
grant a further reprieve. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeit-
ures, under such ■ regulations as may be prescribed by law; and shall
report to the general assembly, at its next meeting, each case of reprieve,
CONSTITUTrON OF IOWA. 11
commutation, or pardon granted, and the reason therefor; and also all per-
sons in whose favor remission of fines and forfeitures shall h^ve been
made, and the several amounts remitted.
Sec. 17. In case of the death, impeachment, resignation, removal from
office, or other disability of the governor, the powers and duties of the
office for the residue of the term, or until he shall be acquitted, or the
disability removed, shall devolve upon the lieutenant governor.
Sec. 18. The lieutenant governor shall be president of the senate, but
shall only vote when the senate is equally divided; and in case of his
absence or impeachment, or when he shall exercise the office of governor,
the senate shall choose a president -pro tempore.
Sec. 19. If the heutenant governor, while acting as governor, shall be
impeached, displaced, resign or die, or otherwise become incapable of per-
forming the duties of the office, the president pro tempore of the senate
shall act as governor until the vacancy is filled, or the disability removed,
and if the president of the senate, for any of the above causes, shall be
rendered incapable of performing the duties pei-taining to the office of
governor, the same shall devolve upon the speaker of the house of repre-
setatives.
Sec. 20. There shall be a seal of this state, which shall be kept bj' the
governor, and used by him officially, and shall be called the great seal of
the state of Iowa.
Sec. 21. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and by the
authority of the people of the state of Iowa, sealed with the great seal of
the state, signed by the governor,and countersigned by the secretary of state.
Sec. 22. A secretary of state, auditor of state, and treasurer of state,
shall be elected by the qualified electors, who shall continue in office two
years, and uatil their successors are elected and qualified, and perform
such duties as may be required by law.
ARTICLE v.— JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.
Section 1. The judicial power shall be vested in a supreme court,
district court, and such other courts, inferior to the supreme court, as the
general assembly may, from time to time, establish.
Sec. 2. The supreme court shall consist of three judges, two of whom
shall constitute a quorum to hold court.
Sec. 3. The judges of the supreme court shall be elected by the quali-
fied electors of the state ; and shall hold their court at such time and place
as the general assembly may prescribe. The judges of the supreme court
so elected shall be classified so that one judge shall go out of office every
two years; and the judi^e holding the shortest term of office, under such
classification, shall be chief justice of the court during his term, and so on
in rotation. After the expiration of their terms of office, under such clas-
sification, the term of each judge of the supreme court shall be six years,
and until his successor shall have been elected and qualified. The judges
of the supreme court shall be inelibible to any other office in the state dur-
ing the term for which they have been elected.
Sec.- 4. The supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction only in
cases in chancery, and shall constitute a court for the correction of errors
at law, under such restrictions as the general assembly may by law pre-
scribe; and shall have power to issue all writs and process necessary to
secure- justice to parties, and exercise a supervisory control over all infer-
ior judicial tribunals througout the state.
Sec. 5. The district court shall consist of a single judge, who shall be
12 CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
elected by the qualified electors of the district in which he resides. The ,
judge of the district court shall hold his office for the term of four years,
and until his successor shall have been elected and qualified ; and shall be
ineligible to any other office, except that of judge of the supreme court,
during the term for which he was elected.
Sec. 6. The district court shall be a court of law and equity, which
shall be distinct and separate jurisdictions, and have jurisdiction in civil and
criminal matters arising in their respective districts, in such manner as
shall be prescribed by law.
Sec. 7. The judges of the supreme and district courts shall be con-
servators of the peace throughout the state.
Sec. 8. • The style of all process shall be, "The state of Iowa," and all
prosecutions shall be conducted in the name and by the authority of the
same
Sec. 9. The salar\' of each judge of the supreme court shall be two
thousand dollars per annum; and that of each district judge one thousand
six hundred dollars per annum, until the year eighteen hundred and sixty;
after which time they shall severally receive such compensation as the
general assembly may, by law, prescribe; which compensation shall not
be increased or diminished during the term for which they shall have been
elected. ^
Sec. 10. The state shall be divided into eleven judicial districts; and
after the year eighteen hundred and sixty, the general assembly may
reorganize the judicial districts, and increase or diminish the number of
districts, or the number of judges of the said court, and may increase the
number of judges of the suprerhe court; but such increase or diminution
shall not be more than one district, or one judge of either court, at any
one session ; and no reorganization of the districts, or diminution of the
number of judges, shall have the effect of removing a judge from office.
Such reorganization of the districts, or any change in the boundaries
thereof or increase or diminution of the number of judges, shall take
place every four years thereafter, if necessary, and at no other time.
Sec. 11. The judges of the supreme and district courts shall be chosen
at the general election; and th^ term of office of each judge shall conf-
mence on the first day of January next after his election.
Sec. 12. The general assembly shall provide, by law, for the election
of an attorney general by the people, whose term of office shall be two
years, and until his successor shall have been elected and qualified.
Sec. 13. The qualified electors of each judicial district shall, at the
time of the election of district judge, elect a district attorney, who shall
be a resident of the district for which he is elected, and who shall hold
his office for the term of four years, and until his successor shall have
been elected and qualified.
Sec. 11. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to provide for
the carrying into efiect of this article, and to provide for a general system
of practice in all tbe courts of this state.
_ ARTICLE VI.— MILITIA.
' Section 1. The militia of this state shall be composed of all able-bodied
male citizens, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years,
except such as are or may hereafter be exempt by the laws of the United
States, or of this state ; and shall be armed, equipped, and trained, as the
general assembly may provide by law.
Sec. 2. No person or persons conscientiously scrupulous of bearing
CONSTITUTION OF, IOWA. 13
arms shall be compelled to do military duty in time of peace; provided,
that such person or persons shall pay an equivalent for such exemption
in the same manner as other citizens.
Skc, 3. Air commissioned officers of the militia (stafi' officers excepted)
shall be elected by the persons liable to perform military duty, and shall be
commissioned by the governor.
ARTICLE VII.— STATE DEBTS.
Section 1. The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given
or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual, association, or corporation; and.
the state shall never assume or become responsible for, the debts or liabili-
ties of any individual, association, or corporation, unless incurred in time
of war for the benefit of the state.
Sec. 2. The state may contract debts to supply casual (deficits or fail-
ures in revenues, or to meet expenses not otherwise provided for; but the
aggregate amount of such debts, direct and contingent, whether contracted
by virtue of one or more acts of the general assembly, or at different
periods of time, shall never exceed the sum of two hundred and fift}-
thousand dollars ; and the money arising from the creation of such debts-
shall be applied to the purpose for which it was obtained, or to repay the
debts so contracted, and to no other purpose whatever.
Sec. 3. All losses to the permanent school, or university fund of this
state, which shall have been occasioned by the defalcation, mismanage-
ment, or fraud of the agents or officers controlHng or managing the same,
shall be audited by the proper authorities of the state. The amount so
. audited shall be a permanent funded debt against the state, in favor of the
respective fund sustaining the loss, upon which not less than six per cent
annual interest shall be paid. The amount of liability so created shall not
be counted as a part of the indebtedness authorized by the second section
of this article.
Sec. .4. In addition to the above Hmited power to contract debts, the
state may contract debts to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or defend
the state in war; but the money arising from the debtf so contracted shall
be applied to the purpose for which it was raised, or to repay such debts,
and to no other purpose whatever.
Sec. 5. Except the debts hereinbefore specified in this article, no debt
shall be hereafter contracted by or on behalf of this state, unless such
debt shall be authorized by some law for some single work or Object, to
be distinctly specified therein; and such law shall impose and provide for
the collection of a direct annual tax, sufficient to pay the interest on such
debt, as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal of such
debt, within twenty years from the time of the contracting thereof; but no
such law shall take effect until at a general election it shall have been sub-
mitted to the people, and have received a majority of all the votes cast for
and against it at such election; and all money raised by authority of such
law, shall be applied only to the specific object therein stated, or to the
payment of the debt created thereby ; and such law shall be published in
at least one newspaper in each county, if one is published therein, through-
out the state, for three months preceding the election at which it is sub-
mitted to the people.
Sec. 6. The legislature may, at any time after the approval of such
law by the people, if no debt shall not have been contracted in pursuance
thereof, repeal the same; and may at any time forbid the contracting of
any further debt or hability under such law ; but the tax imposed by such
14 CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
law, in proportion to the debt or liability which may haye been contracted
in pursuance thereof, shall remain in force and be irrepealable, and be
annually collected, until the principal and interest are fully paid.
Sec. 7. Every law which imposes, continues, or revives a ta±, shall
distinctly state the tax, and the object to which it is to be applied ; and it
shall not be sufficient to refer to any other law to fix such tax or object.
ARTICLE VIII.— CORPORATIONS.
Section 1. No corporation shall be ereated by special laws; but the
general assembly shall provide, by general laws, for the organization of
all corporations "hereafter to be created, except as hereinafter provided.
Sec. 2. The property of all corporations for pecuniary profit, shall be
subject to taxation, the same as that of individuals.
Sec. 3. The state shall not become a stockholder in any corporation,
nor shall it assume or pay the debt or liability of any corporation, unless
incurred in time of war, for the benefit of the state.
Sec. 4. No political or municipal corporation shall become a stock-
holder in any banking corporation, directly or indirectly.
Sec. 5. No act of the general assembly, authorizing or creating corpo-
rations or associations with banking powers, nor amendments thereto,
shall take effect, or in any manner be in force, until the same shall have
been submitted, separately, to the peopje, at a general or special election,
as provided by law, to be held not less than three months after the passage
of the act, and shall have been approved by a majority of all the electors
voting for and against it at such election.
Sec. 6. Subject to the provisions of the foregoing section, the general
assembly may also provide for the establishment of a state bank, with
branches.
Sec. 7. If a state bank be established, it shall be founded on an actual
specie basis, and the branches shall be mutually responsible for each
other's liabilities upon all notes, bills and other issues intended for circula-
tion as money. «
Sec. 8. If a general banking law shall be enacted, it shall provide for
registry and countersigning, by an officer of state, of all bills or paper
credit designed to circulate as money, and require security to the full
amount thereof, to be deposited with the state treasurer, in United States'
stocks, or in interest-paying stocks of states in good credit and standing,
to be rated at ten per cent below their average value in the cit}' of New
York, for the thirty days next preceding their deposit; and in case of a
depreciation of any portion of such stocks, to the amount of ten per cent
on the dollar, the bank or banks owning said stock shall be required to
make up said deficiency by depositing additional stocks; and said law
shall also provide for the recording of the names of all stockholders jn
such corporations, the amount of stock held by each, the time of any
transfer and to whom.
Sec. 9. Every stockholder in a banking corporation or institution shall
be individually responsible and liable to its creditors, over and above the
amount of stock by him or her held, to an amount equal to his or her
respective shares so held, for all of its liabilities, accruing while he or she
remains such stockholder.
Sec. 10. In case of the insolvency of any banking institution, the bill
holders shall have a preference over its other creditors.
Sec. 11. The suspension of specie payments by banking institutions
shall never be permitted or sanctioned.
CONSTITUTION OF IOWA. 15
Sec. 12. Subject to the provisions of this article, the general assembly-
shall have power to amend or repeal all laws for the organization or crea-
tion of corporations, or granting of special or exclusive privileges or immu-
nities, by a vote of two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly;
and no exclusive privileges, except as in this article provided, shall ever be
granted.
ARTICLE IX— EDUCATION AND SCHOOL LANDS.
[Sections 1 to 15, inclu^ve, creating' the board of education for tlie government of com-
mon schools, are omitted, the board having been abolished by the general assembly, as hy
authority conferred by section 15.]
SECOND — SCHOOL FUNDS AND SCHOOL LANDS.
Section 1. The educational and school funds and lands shall be under
the control and management of the general assembly of this state.
Sec. 2. The university lands, and the proceeds thereof, and all moneys
belonging to said fund shall be a permanent fund for the sole use of the
state university. The interest arising from the same shall be annually,
appropriated for the support and benefit of said university.
Sec. 3. The general assembly shall encourage, by all suitable means,
the promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral and agricultural improve-
ment. The proceeds of all lands that have been, or hereafter may be,
granted by the United States to this state, for the support of schools, which
may have been or shall hereafter be sold, or disposed of, and the five hun-
dred thousand acres of land granted to the new states, under an act of
congress, distributing the proceeds of the public lands among the several
states of the Union, approved in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and forty-one, and all estates of deceased persons who may have
died without leaving a will or heir, and also such per cent as has been or
may hereafter be granted by congress, on the sale df lands in this state,
shall be and remain a perpetual fund, the interest of which, together with
all rents of the unsold lands, and such other means as the general assem-
bly may provide, shall be inviolablv appropriated to the support of com-
mon schools throughout the state.
Sec. 4. The money which may have been or shall be paid by persons
as an equivalent from exemption from military duty, and the clear pro-
ceeds of all fines collected in the several counties for any breach of the
penal laws, shall be exclusively applied in the several counties in which
such money is paid, or fine collected, among the several school districts
of said counties, in proportion to the number of youths subject to enumer-
ation in such districts, to the support of common schools, or the establish-
ment of libraries, as the board of education shall from time to time provide.
Sec. 5. The general assembly shall take measures for the protection,
improvement or other dispositions of such lands as have been or may here-
after be reserved, or granted by the United States, or any person or per-
sons, to this state, for the use of the university, and the funds accruing
from the rents or sale of such lands, or from any other source for the pur-
pose aforesaid, shall be, and remain, a permanent fund, the interest of
which shall be applied to the support of said university, for the promotion
of literature, the arts and sciences, as maybe authorized by the 'terms of
such grant. And it shall be the duty of the general assembly as soon as
may be, to provide effectual means for the improvement and permanent
security of the funds of said university.
Sec. 6. The financial agents of the school funds shall be the same
that by law receive and control the state and county revenue, for other
civil purposes, under such regulations as may be provided by law.
16 CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
Sec. 7. The money subject to the support and maintenance of common
schools shall be distributed to the districts in proportion to the number of
youths between the ages of five and twenty-one years, in such manner as
may be provided by the general assembly.
ARTICLE X.— AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
Section 1. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be
proposed in either house of the general assembly;' and if the same shall
be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each of the two
houses, such proposed amendment shall be entered on their journals, with
the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred to the legislature to be
chosen at the next general election, and shall be pubHshed, as provided by
law, for three months previous to the time of making such choice; and if,
in the general assembly so next chosen as aforesaid, such proposed amend-
ment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members
elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the general assembly to
submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the people in such
manner, and at such time as the general assembly shall provide; and if
the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments by a
majority of the electors qualified to vote for members of the general
assembly, voting thereon, such amendment or amendments shall become
a part of the constitution of this state.
Sec. 2. If two or more amendments shall be submitted at the same
time, they shall be submitted in such manner that the electors _shall vote
for or against each of such amendments separately.
Sec. 3. At the general election to be held in the year one thousand
eight hundred and seventy, and in each tenth year thereafter, and also at
such times as the general assembly may by law provide, the question,
"Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution, and amend the
same?" shall be decided by the electors qualified to vote for members of
the general assembly ; and in case a majority of the electors so qualified,
voting at such election for and against such proposition, shall decide in
favor of a convention for such purpose, the general assembly, at its
next session, shall provide by law for the election of delegates to such con-
vention.
ARTICLE XI.— MISCELLANEOUS.
Section 1. The jurisdiction of justices of the peace shall extend to all
civil cases, (except cases in chancery, and cases where the question of title
to real estate may arise), where the amount in controversy does not exceed
one hundred dollars, and by the consent of parties may be extended to any
amount not exceeding three hundred dollars.
Sec. 2. No new county shall be hereafter created containing less than
four hundred and thirty-two square miles, nor shall the territory of any
organized county be reduced below that area, except the county of Worth,
and the counties west of it, along the northern boundary of this state, may
be organized without additional territor}'.
Sec 3. No county, or other political or municipal corporation, shall be
allowed to become indebted, in any manner or for any purpose, to an
amount, in the aggregate, exceeding five per centum of the value of the
taxable property within such county or corporation — to be ascertained by
the last state and county tax lists, previous to the incurring of such indebt-
edness.
Sec. 4. The boundaries of the state may be enlarged, with the consent
of congress and the general assembly.
CONSTITUTION OF IOWA. 17
Sec. 5. Every person elected or appointed to any office, shall, before
entering upon the duties thereof, take an oath or affirmation to support
the constitution of Qie United States, and of this state, and also an oath of
office.
Sec. 6. In all cases of elections to fill vacancies in office occuring before
the expiration of a full terra,.the person so elected shall hold for the resi-
due of the unexpired term; and all persons appointed to fill vacancies in
office, shall hold until the next general election, and until their successors
are elected and qualified.
Sec. 7. The general assembly shall not locate any of the public lands
which have been, or may be granted by congress to this state, and the
location of which may be given to the general assembly, upon lands actu-
ally settled, without the consent of the occupant. The extent of the claim
of such occupant so exempted shall not exceed three hundred and twenty
acres.
Sec. 8. The seat of government is hereby permanently established, as
now fixed by law, at the city of Des Moines, in the county of Polk; and
the State University at Iowa City, in the county of Johnson.
ARTICLE XII.— SCHEDULE.
Section 1. The constitution shall be the supreme law of the state,
and any law inconsistent therewith shall be void. The general assembly
shall pass all laws necessary to carry this constitution into effect.
Sec. 2. All laws now in force and not inconsistent with this constitu-
tion shall remain in force until they shall expire or be repealed.
Sec. 3. All indictments, prosecutions, suits, pleas, plaints, process, and
other proceedings pending in any of the courts, shall be prosecuted to
final judgment and execution; and all appeals, writs of error, certiorari,
and injunctions, shall be carried on in the several courts, in the same man-
ner as now provided by law, and all offenses, misdemeanors and crimes
that may have been committed before the taking efiect of this con.stitution,
shall be subject to indictment, trial and punishment, in the same manner
as they would have been had this constitution not been made.
Sec. 4. All fines, penalties or forfeitures due, or to become due, or
accruing to the state, or to any county therein, or to the school fund,
shall inure to the state, county, or school fund, in the manner prescribed
by law.
Sec. 5. All bonds executed to the state, or to any officer in his official
capacit}% shall remain in force and inure to the use of those concerned.
Sec. 7. The first election under this constitution shall be held on the sec-
ond Tuesday in October, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-
seven, at which time the electors of the state shall elect the governor and
lieutenant governor. There shall also be elected at auch election the suc-
cessors of such state senators as were elected at the August election in
the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty- four, and members of the
house of representatives, who shall be elected in accordance with the act
of apportionment, enacted at the session of the general assembly which
commenced on the first Monday of December, one thousand eight hun-
dred and fifty-six.
Sec. 7. The first election for secretary, auditor and treasurer of state,
attorney-general, district judges, members of the board of education, dis-
trict attorneys, members of congress, and such state officers as shall be
elected at the April election in the year one thousand eight hundred and
18 CONSTITUTION OF IOWA.
fifty-seven, (except the superintendent of public instruction,) and such
county officers as were elected at the August election in the year one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, except prosecuting attorneys, shall
be held on the second Tuesday of October, one thousand eight hundred
and fifty-eight: Provided, that the time for which any district judge or
other state or county officer elected at the April election in the year one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, shall not extend beyond the time
fixed for filling like offices at the October election in the year one thousand
eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Sec. 8. The first election for judges of the supreme court, and such
county officers as shall be elected at the August election in the year one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, sfiall be held on the second Tues-
day of October, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Sec. 9. The first regular session of the general assembly shall be held
in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, commencing on
the second Monday of January of said year.
Sec. 10. Senators elected at the August election in the year one thou-
sand eight hundred and fifty-six shall continue in office until the second
Tuesday of October, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-
nine, at which time their successors shall be elected as may be prescribed ,
by law.
Sec. 11. Every person elected by popular vote, by a vote of the gen-
eral assembly, or who may hold office by executive appointment, which
office is continued by this constitution, and every person who shall be so
elected or appointed to any such office, before the taking effect of this con-
stitution, (except as in this constitution otherwise provided) shall continue
in office until the term for which such person has been or may.be elected
or appointed shall, expire; but no such person shall continue in office after
the taking effect of this constitution, for a longer period than the term of
such office, in this constitution prescribed.
Sec. 12. The general assembly, at the first session under this constitu-
tion, shall district the state into eleven judicial districts, for district court
purposes; and shall also provide for the appointment of the members of
the general assembly in accordance with provisions of this constitution. ,
Sec. 13. This constitution shall be submitted to the electors of the state
at the August election, in the year one thousand eight hundred and Ifift)'-
seven, in the several election districts in this state. The ballots at such
election shall be written or printed as follows: Those in favor of the con-
stitution, " New Constitution — Yes." Those against the constitution,
" New Constitution — No." The election shall be conducted in the same
manner as the general elections of the state, and the poll-books shall be
returned and canvassed as provided in the twenty-fifth chapter of the code,
and abstracts shall be forwarded to the secretary of state, which abstracts
shall be canvassed in the manner provided for the canvass of state officers.
And if it shall appear that a majority of all the votes cast at such election
for and against this constitution are in favor of the same, the governor
shall immediately issue his proclamation stating that fact, and such con-
stitution shall be the constitution of the state of Iowa, and shall take effect
from and a!fter the publication of said proclamation.
The Northwest Territory.
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.
When the Northwestern Territory was ceded to the United States
by Virginia in 1784, it embraced only the territory lying between the
Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers, and north to the northern limits of the
United States. It coincided with the area now embraced in the States
of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and that portion of
Minnesota lying on the east side of the Mississippi River. The United
States itself at that period extended no farther west than the Mississippi
River ; but by the purchase of Louisiana in 1803, the western boundary
of the United States was extended to the Rocky Mountains and the
Northern Pacific Ocean. The new territory thus added to the National
domain, and subsequently opened to settlement, has been called the
" New Northwest," in contradistinction from the old " Northwestern
Territory. "
In comparison with the old Northwest this is a territory of vast
magnitude. It includes an area of 1,887,850 square miles ; being greater
in extent than the united areas of all the Middle and Southern States,
including Texas. Out of this magnificent territory have been erected
eleven sovereign States and eight Territories, with an aggregate popula-
tion, at the present time, of 13,000,000 inhabitants, or nearly one third of
the entire population of ^he United States.
Its lakes are fresh-water seas, and the larger rivers of the continent
flow for a thousand miles through its rich alluvial valleys and far-
stretching prairies, more acres of which are arable and productive of the
highest percentage of the cereals than of any other area of like extent
on the globe.
For the last twenty years the increase of population in the North-
west has been about as three to one in any other portion of the United
States.
(19)
20 THE NOKTHWEST TEEEITORY.
EARLY EXPLORATIONS.
In the year 1541, DeSoto first saw the Great West in the New
World. He, however, penetrated no farther north than the 35th parallel
of latitude. The expedition resulted in his death and that of more than
half his army, the remainder of whom found their way to Cuba, thence
to Spain, in a famished and demoralized condition. DeSoto founded no
settlements, produced no results, and left no traces, unless it were that
he awakened the hostility of the red man against the white man, and
disheartened such as might desire to follow up the career of discovery
for better purposes. The French nation were eager and ready to seize
upon any news from this extensive domain, and were the first to profit by
DeSoto's defeat. Yet it was more than a century before any adventurer
took advantage of these discoveries.
In 1616, four years before the pilgrims " moored their bark on the
wild New England shore," Le Caron, a French Franciscan, had pene-
trated through the Iroquois and Wyandots (Hurons) to the streams which
run into Lake Huron ; and in 1634, two .Jesuit missionaries founded the
first mission among the lake tribes. It was just one hundred years from
the discovery of the Mississippi by DeSoto (1541) until the Canadian
envoys met the savage nations of the Northwest at the Falls of St. Mary,
below the outlet of Lake Superior. This visit led to no permanent
result; yet it was not until 1659 that any of the adventurous fur traders
attempted to spend a Winter "in the frozen wilds about the great lakes,
nor was it until 1660 that a station was established upon their borders by
Mesnard, who perished in the woods a few months after. In 1665, Claude
Allouez built the earliest lasting habitation of the white man among the
Indians of the Northwest. In 1668, Claude Dablon and James Marquette
founded the mission of Sault Ste. Marie at the Falls of St. Mary, and two
years afterward, Nicholas Perrot, as agent for M. Talon, Governor Gen-
eral of Canada, explored Lake Illinois (Michigan) as far south as the
present City of Chicago, and invited the Indian nations to meet him at a
grand council at Sault Ste. Marie the folio wing 'Spring, where they were
taken under the protection of the king, and formal possession was taken
of the Northwest. This same year Marquette established a mission at
Point St. Ignatius, where was founded the old town of Michillimackinac.
During M. Talon's explorations and Marquette's residence at St.
Ignatius, they learned of a great river away to the west, and fancied
— as all others did then — that upon its fertile banks whole tribes of God's
children resided, to whom the sound of the Gospel had never come.
Filled with a wish to go and preach to them, and in compliance with a
THE NORTH-WEST TBBKITO^T. 21
request of M. Talon, who earnestly desired to extend the domain of his
king, and to ascertain whether the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico
or the Pacific Ocean, Marquette with Joliet, as commander of the expe-
dition, prepared for the undertaking.
On the 13th of May, 1673, the explorers, accompanied by five assist-
ant French Canadians, set out from Mackinaw on their daring voyage of
discovery. The Indians, who gathered to witness their departure, were
astonished at the boldness of the undertaking, and endeavored to dissuade
them from their purpose by representing the tribes on the Mississippi as
exceedingly savage and cruel, and the river itself as full of all sorts of
frightful monsters ready to swallow them and their canoes together. But,
nothing daunted by these terrific descriptions, Marquette told them he
was willing not only to encounter all the perils of the unknown region
they were about to explore, but to lay down his life in a cause in which
the salvation of souls was involved ; and having prayed together they
separated. Coasting along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, the
adventurers entered Green Bay, and passed thence up the Fox River and
Lake Winnebago to a village of the Miamis and Kickapoos. Here Mar-
quette was delighted to find a beautiful cross planted in the middle of the
town ornamented with white ■ skins, red girdles and bows and arrows,
which these good people had offered to the Great Manitou, or God, to
thank him for the pity he had bestowed on them during the Winter in
giving them an abundant " chase." This was the farthest outpost to
which Dablon and AUouez had extended their missionary labors the
year previous. Here Marquette drank mineral waters and was instructed
in the secret of a root which cures the bite of the venomous rattlesnake.
He assembled the chiefs and old men of the village, and, pointing to
Joliet, said: " My friend is an envoy of France, to discover new coun-
tries, and I am an ambassador from God to enlighten them with the truths
of the Gospel." Two Miami guides were here furnished to conduct
them to the Wisconsin River, and they set out from the Indian village on
the 10th of June, amidst a great crowd of natives who had assembled to
witness their departure into a region where no white man had ever yet
ventured. The guides, having conducted them across the portage,
returned. The explorers launched their canoes upon the Wisconsin,
which they descended to the Mississippi and proceeded down its unknown
waters. What emotions must have- swelled their breasts as they struck
out into the broadening current and became conscious that they*were
now upon the bosom of ths Father of Waters. The mystery was about
to be lifted from the long-sought river. The scenery in that locality is
beautiful, and on that delightful seventeenth of June must have been
Qlad in all its primeval loveliness as it had been adorned by the hand of
22
THE NORTHWEST TEREITOEY.
Nature. Drifting rapidly, it is said that the bold bluffs on either hand
" reminded them of the castled shores of their own beautiful rivers of
France." By-and-by, as they drifted along, great herds of buffalo appeared
on the banks. On going to the heads of the valley they could see a
country of the greatest beauty and fertility, apparently destitute of inhab-
itants yet presenting the appearance of extensive manors, under the fas-
tidious cultivation of lordly proprietors. \
m , >*,. « fee ^r- *
!■*• -M^t
SOUECE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
On June 25, they went ashore and found some fresh traces of men upon
the sand, and a path which led to the prairie. The men remained in the
boat, and Marquette and Joliet followed the path till they discovered a
village on the banks of a river, and two other villages on a hill, within a
half feague of the first, inhabited by Indians. They were received most
hospitably by these natives, who had never before seen a white person.
After remaining a few days they re-embarked and descended the river to
about latitude 33°, where they found a village of the Arkansas, and being
Batisfied that the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, turned their course
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 23
up the river, and ascending the stream to the mouth of the Illinois,
rowed up that stream to its source, and procured guides from that point
to the lakes. " Nowhere on this journey," says Marquette, " did we see
such grounds, meadows, woods, stags, buffaloes, deer, wildcats, bustards,
swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beavers, as on the Illinois River."
The party, without loss or injury, reached Green Bay in September, and
reported their discovery — one of the most important of the age, but of
which no record was preserved save Marquette's, Joliet losing his by
the upsetting of his canoe on his way to Quebec. Afterward Marquette
returned to the Illinois Indians by their request, and ministered to them
until 1675. On the 18th of May, in that year, as he was passing the
mouth of a stream — agoing with his boatmen up Lake Michigan — ^he asked
to land at its mouth and celebrate Mass. Leaving his men with the canoe,
he retired a short distance and began his devotions. As much time
passed and he did not return, his men went in search of him, and found
him upon his knees, dead. He had peacefully passed away while at
prayer. He was buried at this spot. Charlevoix, who visited the place
fifty years after, found the waters had retreated from the grave, leaving
the beloved missionary to repose in peace. The river has since been
called Marquette.
While Marquette and his companions were pursuing their labors in
the West, two men, differing widely from him and each other, were pre-
paring to follow in his footsteps and perfect the discoveries so well begun
by him. These were Robert de La Salle and Louis Hennepin.
After La Salle's return from the discovery of the Ohio River (see
the narrative elsewhere), he established himself again among the French
trading posts in Canada. Here he mused long upon the pet project of
those ages — a short way to China and the East, and was busily planning an
expedition up the great lakes, and so across the continent to the Pacific,
when Marquette returned from the Mississippi. At once the vigorous mind
of LaSalle received from his and his companions' stories the idea that by fol-
lowing the Great River northward, or by turning up some of the numerous
western tributaries, the object could easily be gained, i He applied to
Frontenac, Governor General of Canada, and laid before him the plan,
dim but gigantic. Frontenac entered warmly into his plans, and saw that
LaSalle's idea to connect the great lakes by a chain of forts with the Gulf
of Mexico would bind the country so wonderfully together, give un-
measured power to France, and glory to himself, under whose adminis-
tration he earnestly hoped all would be realized.
LaSalle now repaired to France, laid his plans before the King, who
warmly approved of them, and made him a Chevalier. He also received
from all the noblemen the warmest wislies for his success. The Ohev-
24
THE NORTHWEST TEREITOBT.
alier returned to Canada, and busily entered upon his work. He at
once rebuilt Fort Prontenac and constructed the first ship to sail on
these fresh-water seas. On the 7th of August, 1679, having been joined
by Hennepin, he began his voyage in the Griffin up Lake Erie. He
passed over this lake, through the straits beyond, up Lake St. Clair and
into Huron. In this lake they encountered heavy storms. They were
some time at Michillimackinac, where LaSalle founded a fort, and passed
on to Green Bay, the " Bale des Puans " of the French, where he found
a large quantity of furs collected for him. He loaded the Griffin with
these, and placing her under the care of a pilot and fourteen sailors,
LA SALLE LANDING ON THE SHORE OP GREEN BAT.
started her on her return voyage. The vessel was never afterward heard
of. He remained about these parts until early in the Winter, when, hear-
ing nothing from the Griffin, he collected all the men — thirty working
men and three monks — and started again upon his great undertaking.
By a short portage they passed to the Illinois or Kankakee, called by
the Indians, "Theakeke," wolf, because of the tribes of Indians called
by that name, commonly known as the Mahingans, dwelling there. The
French pronounced it Kiahiki, which became corrupted to Kankakee.
"Falling down the said river by easy journeys, the better to observe the
country," about the last of December they reached a village of the Illi-
nois Indians, containing some five . hundred cabins, but at that moment
THE NOKTHWEBT TJfiRKITOBY. 25
no inhabitants. The Seur de LaSalle being in want of some breadstuffs,
took advantage of the absence of the Indians to help himself to a suffi-
ciency of maize, large quantities of which he found concealed in holes
under the wigwams. This village was situated near the present village
of Utica in LaSalle County, Illinois. The corn being securely stored,
the voyagers again betook themselves to the stream, and toward evening,
on the 4th day of January, 1680, they came into a lake which must have
been the lake of Peoria. This was called by the Indians Pim-i-te-wi, that
is, a place where there are many fat leasts. Here the natives were met
with in large numbers, but they were gentle and kind, and having spent
some time with them, LaSalle determined to erect another fort in that
place, for he had heard rumors that some of the adjoining tribes were
trying to disturb the good feeling which existed, and some of his men
were disposed to complain, owing to the hardships and perils of the travel.
He called this fort " Crevecoeur" (broken-heart), a name expressive of the
very natural sorrow and anxiety which the pretty certain loss of his ship,
Griffin, and his consequent impoverishment, the danger of hostility on the
part of the Indians, and of mutiny among his, own men, might well cause
him. His fears were not entirely groundless. At one time poison was
placed in his food, but fortunately was discovered.
While building this fort, the Winter wore away, the prairies began to
look green, and LaSalle, despairing of any reinforcements, concluded to
return to Canada, raise new means and new men, and embark anew in
the enterprise. For this purpose he made Hennepin the leader of a party
to explore the head waters of the Mississippi, and he set out on his jour-
ney. This journey was accomplished with the aid of a few persons, and
was successfully made, though over an almost unknown route, and in a
bad season of the year. He safely reached Cana«/a, and set out again for
the object of his search.
Hennepin and his party left Fort Crevecceur on the last of February,
1680. When LaSalle reached this place on his return expedition, he
found the fort entirely deserted, and he was obliged to return again to
Canada. He embarked the third time, and succeeded. Seven days after
leaving the fort, Hennepin reached the Mississippi, and paddling up the
icy stream as best he could, reached no higher than the Wisconsin River
by the 11th of April. Here he and his followers were taken prisoners by a
band of Northern Indians, who treated them with great kindness. Hen-
nepin's comrades were Anthony Auguel and Michael Ako. On this, voy-
age they found several beautiful lakes, and " saw some charming prairies."
Their captors were the Isaute or Sauteurs, Chippewas, a tribe o.f the Sioux
nation, who took them up the river until about the first of May, when
they reached some falls, which Hennepin christened Falls of St. Anthony
26
THE NORTHWEST TBRRITOEY.
in honor of his patron saint. Here they took the land, and traveling
nearly two hundred miles to the northwest, brought them to their villages.
Here they were kept about three months, were treated kindly by their
captors, and at the end of that time, were met by a band of Frenchmen,
BUFFALO HUNT.
headed by one Seur de Luth, who, in pursuit of trade and game, had pene-
trated thus far by the route of Lake Superior ; and with these fellow-
countrymen Hennepin and his companions were allowed to return to the
borders of civilized life in November, 1680, just after LaSalle had
returned to the wilderness on his second trip. Hennepin soon after went
to France, where he published an account of his adventures.
THE NORTHWEST TEERITOBY. 27
The Mississippi was first discovered by De Soto in April, 1541, in his
vain endeavor to find gold and precious gems. In the following Spring,
De Soto, weary with hope long deferred, and worn out with his wander-
ings, fell a victim to disease, and on the 21st of May died. His followers,
reduced by fatigue and disease to less than three hundred men, wandered
about the country nearly a year, in the vain endeavor to rescue them-
selves by land, and finally constructed seven sinall vessels, called brig-
antines, in which they embarked, and descending the river, supposing it
would lead them to the sea, in July they came to the sea ("Gulf of
Mexico), and by September reached the Island of Cuba.
They were the first to see the great outlet of the Mississippi ; but,
being so weary and discouraged, made no attempt to claim the country,
and hardly had an intelligent idea of what they had passed through.
To La Salle, the intrepid explorer, belongs the honor of giving the
first account of the mouths of the river. His great desire was to possess
this entire country for his king, and in January, 1682, he and his band of
explorers left the shores of Lake Michigan on their third attempt, crossed
the Portage, passed down the Illinois River, and on the 6th of February
reached the banks of the Mississippi.
On the 13th they commenced their downward course, which they
pursued with but one interruption, until upon the 6th of March they dis-
covered the three great passages by which the river discharges its waters
into the gulf. La Salle thus narrates the event :
" We landed on the bank of the most western channel, about three
leagues (nine miles) from its mouth. On the seventh, M. de La Salle
went to reconnoiter the shores of the neighboring sea, and M. de Tonti
meanwhile examined the great middle channel. They found the main
outlets beautiful, large and deep. On the eighth we reascended the river,
a little above its confluence with the sea, to find a dry place beyond the
reach of inundations. The elevation of the North Pole was here about
twenty-seven degrees. Here we prepared a column and a cross, and to
the column were affixed the arms of France with this inscription :
" Louis Le Grand, Roi de France et de Navarre, regne ; Le neuvieme April, 1682."
The whole party, under arms, chanted the Te Beum, and then, after
a salute and cries of " Vive le Roi,'^ the column was erected by M. de
La Salle, who, standing near it, proclaimed in a loud voice the authority of
the King of France. La Salle returned and laid the foundations of the Mis-
sissippi settlements in Illinois ; thence he proceeded to France, where
another expedition was fitted out, of which he was commander, and in two
succeeding voyages failed to find the outlet of the river by sailing along
the shore of the gulf. On the third voyage he was killed, through the
28
THE NORTHWEST TEBBITOBY.
treachery of his followers, and the object of his expeditions was not
accomplished until 1699, when D'Iberville, under the authority of the
crown, discovered, on the second of March, by way of the sea, the mouth
of the " Hidden River." This majestic stream was called by the natives
'■'■ Malbouchia" and by the Spaniards, '■'■la Palissade," from the great
-Tl.
/
J
$i
/;-j6
5^
1 '•!>y'''S&*\ V, .^^'
TRAPPING.
number of trees about its mouth. After traversing the several outlets,
and satisfying himself as to its certainty, he erected a fort near its western
outlet, and returned to France.
An avenue of trade was now opened out which was fully improved.
In 1718, New Orleans was laid out and settled by some European colo-
nists. In 1762, the colony was made over to Spain, to be regained by
France under the consulate of Napoleon. In 1803, it was purchased by
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 29'
the United States for the sum of fifteen million dollars, and the territory
of Louisiana and commerce of the Mississippi River came under the
charge of the United States. Although LaSalle's labors ended in defeat
and death, he had not worked and suffered in vain. He had thrown
open to France and the world an immense and most valuable country;
had established several ports, and laid the foundations of more than one
settlement there. " Peoria, Kaskaskia and Cahokia, are to this day monu-
ments of LaSalle's labors ; for, though he had founded neither of them
(unless Peoria, which was built nearly upon the site of Fort Crevecoeur,)
it was by those whom he led into the West that these places were
peopled and civilized. He was, if not the discoverer, the first settler of
the Mississippi Valley, and as such deserves to be known and honored."
The French early improved the opening made for them. Before the
year 1698, the Rev. Father Gravier began a mission among the Illinois,
and founded Kaskaskia. For some time this was merely a missionary
station, where none but natives resided, it being one of three such vil-
lages, the other two being Cahokia and Peoria. What is known of
these missions is learned from a letter written by Father Gabriel Marest,
dated " Aux Oascaskias, autrement dit de I'lmmaculate Conception de
la Sainte Vierge, le 9 Novembre, 1712." Soon after the founding of
Kaskaskia, the missionary, Pihet, gathered a flock at Cahokia, while
Peoria arose near the ruins of Fort Crevecoeur. This must have been
about the year 1700. The post at Vincennes on the Oubache river,
(pronounced WS-bS, meaning summer cloud moving gwiftly~) was estab-
lished in 1702, according to the best authorities.* It is altogether prob-
able that on LaSalle's last trip he established the stations at Kaskaskia
and Cahokia. In July, 1701, the foundations of Fort Ponchartrain
were laid by De la Motte Cadillac on the Detroit River. These sta-
tions, with those established further north, were the earliest attempts to
occupy the Northwest Territory. At the same time efforts were being
made to occupy the Southwest, which finally culminated in the settle-
ment and founding of the City of New Orleans by a colony from England
in 1718. This was mainly accomplished through the efforts of the
famous Mississippi Company, established by the notorious John Law,
who so quickly arose into prominence in France, and who with his
scheme so quickly and so ignominiously passed away.
From the time of the founding of these stations for fifty years the
French nation were engrossed with the settlement of the lower Missis-
sippi, and the war with the Chicasaws, who had, in revenge for repeated
■ There Is considerable dispute about this date, some asserting It was founded as late as 1742. When
the new court house at Vincennes was erected, all authorities on the subject were carefully examined, and
iV02 fixed upon as the correct date. It was accordingly engraved on the corner-stone of the court house.
30 THE NORTHWEST TEEBITORY.
injuries, cut off the entire colony at Natchez. Although the company-
did liltle for Louisiana, as the entire West was then called, yet it opened
the trade through the Mississippi River, and started the raising of grains
indigenous to that climate. Until the year 1750, but little is known of
the settlements in the Northwest, as it was not until this time that the
attention of the English was called to the occupation of this portion of the
New World, which they then supposed they owned. Vivier, a missionary ,
among the Illinois, writing from " Aux Illinois," six leagues from Fort
Chartres, June 8, 1750, says: "We have here whites, negroes and
Indians, to say nothing of cross-breeds. There are five French villages,
and three villages of the natives, within a space of twenty-one leagues
situated between the Mississippi and another river called the Karkadaid
(Kaskaskias). In the five French villages are, perhaps, eleven hundred
whites, three hundred blacks and some sixty r%i slaves or savages. The
three Illinois towns do not contain more than eight hundred souls all
told. Most of the French till the soil; they raise wheat, cattle, pigs and
horses, and live like princes. Three times as much is produced as can
be consumed ; and great quantities of grain and flour are sent to New
Orleans." This city w.as now the seaport town of the Northwest, and
.save in the extreme northern part, where only furs and copper ore were
found, almost all the products of the country found their way to France
by the mouth of the Father of Waters. In another letter, dated Novem-
ber 7, 1750, this same priest says: "For fifteen leagues above the
mouth of the Mississippi one sees no dwellings, the ground being too low
to be habitable. Thence to New Orleans, the lands are only partially
occupied. New Orleans contains black, white and red, not more, I
think, than twelve hundred persons. To this point come all lumber,
bricks, salt-beef, tallow, tar, skins and bear's grease ; and above all, pork
and flour from the Illinois. These things create some commerce, as forty
vessels and more have come hither this year. Above New Orleans,
plantations are again met with ; the most considerable is a colony of
Germans, some ten leagues up the river. At Point Coupee, thirty-five
leagues above the German settlement, is a fort. Along here, within five
or six leagues, are not less than sixty habitations. Fifty leagues farther
up is the Natchez post, where we have a garrison, who are kept prisoners
through fear of the Chickasaws. Here and at Point Coupee, they raise
excellent tobacco. Another hundred leagues brings us to the Arkansas, ,
where we have also a fort and a garrison for the benefit of the river
traders. * * « From the Arkansas to the Illinois, nearly five hundred
leagues, there is not a settlement. There should be, however, a fort at
the Oubache (Ohio), the only path by which the English can reach the
Mississippi. In the Illinois country are numberless mines, but no one to
THE NORTHWEST TEKKITOBY.
31
work them as they deserve." Father Marest, writing from the post at
Vincenues in 1812, makes the same observation. Vivier also says : " Some
individuals dig lead near the surface and supply the Indians and Canada.
Two Spaniards now here, who claim to be adepts, say that our mines are
like those of Mexico, and that if we would dig deeper, we should find
silver under the lead ; and at any rate the lead is excellent. There is also
in this country, beyond doubt, copper ore, as from time to time large
pieces are found in the streams."
MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
At the close of the year 1750, the French occupied, in addition to the
lower Mississippi posts and those in Illinois, one at Du Quesne, one at
the Maumee in the country of the Miamis, and one at Sandusky in what
may be termed the Ohio Valley. In the northern part of the Northwest
they had stations at St. Joseph's on the St. Joseph's of Lake Michigan,
at Fort Ponchartrain (Detroit), at Michillimackanac or Massillimacanac,
Fox River of Green Bay, and at Sault Ste. Marie. The fondest dreams of
LaSalle were now fuUy realized. The French alone were possessors of
this vast realm, basing their claim on discovery and settlement. -Another
nation^ however, was now turning its attention to this extensive country.
32 THE NOETHrWBST TBEBITOEY.
and hearing of its wealth, began to lay plans for occupying it and for
securing the great profits arising therefrom.
The French, however, had another claim to this country, namely, the
DISCOVERY OF THE OHIO.
This " Beautiful" river was discovered by Robert Cavalier de La-
Salle in 1669, four years before the discovery of the Mississippi by Joliet
and Marquette.
While LaSalle was at his trading post on the St. Lawrence, he found
leisure to study nine Indian dialects, the chief of which was the Iroquois.
He not only desired to facilitate his intercourse in trade, but he longed
to travel and explore the unknown regions of the West. An incident
soon occurred which decided him to fit out an exploring expedition.
While conversing with some Senecas, he learned of a river called the
Ohio, which rose in their country and flowed to the sea, but at such a
distance that it required eight months to reach its mouth. In this state-
ment the Mississippi and its tributaries were considered as one stream.
LaSalle believing, as most of the French at that period did, that the great
rivers flowing west emptied into the Sea of California, was anxious to
embark in the enterprise of discovering a route across the continent to
the commerce of China and Japan.
He repaired at once to Quebec to obtain the approval of the Gov-
ernor. His eloquent appeal prevailed. The Governor and the Intendant,
Talon, issued letters patent authorizing the enterprise, but made no pro-
vision to defray the expenses. At this juncture the seminary of St. Sul-
pice decided to send out missionaries in connection with the expedition,
and LaSalle offering to sell his improvements at LaChine to raise money,
the offer was accepted by the Superior, and two thousand eight hundred
dollars were raised, with which LaSalle purchased four canoes and the
necessary supplies for the outfit.
On the 6th of July, 1669, the party, numbering twenty-four persons,
embarked in seven canoes on the St. Lawrence ; two additional canoes
carried the Indian guides. In three days they were gliding over the
bosom of Lake Ontario. Their guides conducted them directly to the
Seneca village on the bank of the Geilesee, in the vicinity of the present
City of Rochester, New York. Here they expected to procure guides to
conduct them to the Ohio, but in this they were disappointed.
The Indians seemed unfriendly to the enterprise. LaSalle suspected
that the 'Jesuits had prejudiced their minds against his plans. After
waiting a month in the hope of gaining their object, they met an Indian
THE NORTHWEST TEKRITORY.
33
from the Iroquois colony at the head of Lake Ontario, who assured them
that they could there find guides, and offered to conduct them thence.
On their way they passed the mouth of the Niagara River, when they
heard for the first time the distant thunder of the cataract. Arriving
HIGH BRIDGE, LAKE BLUFF, LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
among the Iroquois, they met with a friendly reception, and learned
from a Shawanee prisoner that they could reach the Ohio in six weeks.
Delighted with the unexpected good fortune, they made ready to resume
their journey ; but just as they were about to start they heard of the
arrival of two Frenchmen in a neighboring village. One of them proved
to be Louis Joliet, afterwards famous as an explorer in the West. He
34 THE NORTHWEST TEBEITOBY.
had been sent by the Canadian Government to explore the copper minee
on Lake Superior, but had failed, and was on his way back to Quebec.
He gave the missionaries a map of the country he had explored in the
lake region, together with an account of the condition of the Indians in
that quarter. This induced the priests to determine on leaving the
expedition and going to Lake Superior. LaSalle warned them that the
Jesuits were probably occupying that field, and that they would meet
with a cold reception. Nevertheless they persisted in their purpose, and
after worship on the lake shore, parted from LaSalle. On arriving at
Lake Superior, they found, as LaSalle had predicted, the Jesuit Fathers,
Marquette and Dablon, occupying the field.
These zealous disciples . of Loyola informed them that they wanted
no assistance from St. Sulpice, nor from those who made him their patron
saint ; and thus repulsed, they returned to Montreal the following June
without having made a single discovery or converted a single Indian.
After parting with the priests, LaSalle went to the chief Iroquois
village at Onondaga, where he obtained guides, and passing thence to a
tributary of the Ohio south of Lake Erie, he descended the latter as far
as the falls at Louisville. Thus was the Ohio discovered by LaSalle, the
persevering and successful French explorer of the West, in 1669.
The account of the latter part of his journey is found in an anony-
mous paper, which purports to have been taken from the lips of LaSaUe
himself during a subsequent visit to Paris. In a letter written to Count
Frontenac in 1667, shortly after the discovery, he himself says that he
discovered the Ohio and descended it to the falls. This was regarded as
an indisputable fact by the French authorities, who claimed the Ohio
Valley upon another ground. When Washington was sent by the colony
of Virginia in 1753, to demand of Gordeur de St. Pierre why the French
had built a fort on the Monongahela, the haughty commandant at Quebec
replied : " We claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the discoveries,
of LaSalle, and will not give it up to the English. Our orders are to
make prisoners of every Englishman found trading in the Ohio Valley."
ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS.
When the new year of 1750 broke in upon the Father of Waters
and the Great Northwest, all was still wild save at the French posts
abeady described. In 1749, when the English first began to think seri-
ously about sending men into the West, the greater portion of the States
of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota were yet
under the dominion of the red men. The English knew, however, pretty .
THE NORTHWEST TBEEITOEY. 35
conclusively of the nature of the wealth of these wilds. As early as
1710, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, had commenced movements to
secure the country west of the AUeghenies to the English crown. In
Pennsylvania, Governor Keith and James Logan, secretary of the prov-
ince, from 1719 to 1731, represented to the powers of England the neces-
sity of securing the Western lands. Nothing was done, however, by that
power save to take some diplomatic steps to secure the claims of Britain
to this unexplored wilderness.
England had from the outset claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
on the ground that the discovery of the seacoast and its possession was a
discovery and possession of the country, and, as is well known, her grants
to the colonies extended " from sea to sea." This was not all her claim.
She had purchased from the Indian tribes large tracts of land. This lat-
ter was also a strong argument. As early as 1684, Lord H oward. Gov-
ernor of Virginia, held a treaty with the six nations. These were the
great Northern Confederacy, and comprised at first the Mohawks, Onei-
das, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Afterward the Tuscaroras were
taken into the confederacy, and it became known as the Six Nations.
They came under the protection of the mother country, and again in
1701, they repeated the agreement, and in September, 1726, a formal deed
was drawn up and- signed by the chiefs. The validity of this claim has
often been disputed, but never successfully. In 1744, a purchase was
made at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, of certain lands within the " Colony of
Virginia," for which the Indians received <£200 in gold and a like sum in
goods, with a promise that, as settlements increased, more should be paid.
The Commissioners from Virginia were Colonel Thomas Lee and Colonel
William Beverly. As settlements extended, the promise of more pay was
called to mind, and Mr. Conrad Weiser was sent across the mountains with
presents to appease the savages. Col. Lee, and some Virginians accompa-
nied him with the intention of sounding the Indians upon their feelings
regarding the English. They were not satisfied with their treatment,
and plainly told the Commissioners why. The English did not desire the
cultivation of the country, but the monopoly of the Indian trade. In
1748, the Ohio Company was formed, and petitioned the king for a grant
of land beyond the AUeghenies. This was granted, and the government
of Virginia was ordered to grant to them a half million acres, two hun-
dred thousand of which were to be located at once. Upon the 12th of
June, 1749, 800,000 acres from the line of Canada north and west was
made to the Loyal Company, and on the 29th of October, 1751, 100,000
acres were given to the Greenbriar Company. All this time the French
were not idle. They saw that, should the British gain a foothold in the
West, especially upon the Ohio, they miglxt not only prevent the French
36 THE NOETH-WBST TEBEITOEY.
settling upon it, but in time would come to the lower posts and so gain
possession of the whole country. Upon the 10th of May, 1774, Vaud-
reuil. Governor of Canada and the French possessions, well knowing the
consequences that must arise from allowing the English to build trading '
posts in the Northwest, seized some of their frontier posts, and to further
secure the claim of the French to the West, he, in 1749, sent Louis Cel-
eron with a party of soldiers to plant along the Ohio River, in the mounds
and at the mouths of its principal tributaries, plates of lead, on which
were inscribed the claims of France. These were heard of in 1752, and
within the memory of residents now living along the " Oyo," as the
beautiful river was called by the French. One of these plates was found
with the inscription partly defaced. It bears date August 16, 1749, and
a copy of the inscription with particular account of the discovery of the
plate, was sent by DeWitt Clinton to the American Antiquarian Society,'
among whose journals it may now be found.* These measures did not,
however, deter the English from going on with their explorations, and
though neither party resorted to arms, yet the conflict was gathering, and
it was only a question of time when the storm would burst upon the
frontier settlements. In 1750, Christopher Gist was sent by the Ohio
Company to examine its lands. He went to a village of the Twigtwees,
on the Miami, about one hundred and fifty miles above its mo.uth. He
afterward spoke of it as very populous. From there he went down
the Ohio River nearly to the falls at the present City of Louisville,
and in November he commenced a survey of the Company's lands. Dur-
ing the Winter, General Andrew Lewis performed a similar work for the
Greenbriar Company. Meanwhile the French were busy in preparing
their forts for defense, and in opening roads, and also sent a small party
of soldiers to keep the Ohio clear. This party, having heard of the Eng-
lish post on the Miami River, early in 1652, assisted by the Ottawas and
Chippewas, attacked it, and, after a severe battle, in which fourteen of
the natives were killed and others wounded, captured the garrison.
(They were probably garrisoned in a block house). The traders were
carried away to Canada, and one account says several were burned. This
fort or post was called by the English Pickawillany. A memorial of the
king's ministers refers to it as " Pickawillanes, in the center of the terri-
tory between the Ohio and the Wabash. The name is probably some
variation of Pickaway or Picqua in- 1773, written by Rev. David Jones
Pickaweke."
« The following Is a translation of the Inscription on the plate: "In the year 1749, reign of Louis XV.,
King of France, we, Celeron, commandant of a detachment by Monsieur the Marquis of Galllsonlere, com-
mander-in-chief of New France, to establish tranquility in certain Indian villages of these cantons, have
buried this plate at the confluence of the Toradalioin, this twenty- ninth of July, near the river Ohio, otherwise
Beautiful Blvei', as a monument of renewal of possession which we have taken of the said river, and all its
tributaries; Inasmuch as the preceding Kings of France have enjoyed it, and maintained it by their arms and
treaties; especially by those of Byswlcls, Utrecht, and Alx La Ohapelle."
THE NORTHWEST TERBITOEY. 37
This was the first blood shed between the French and English, and
occurred near the present City of Piqua, Ohio, or at least at a point about
forty-seven miles north of Dayton. Each nation became now more inter-
ested in the progress of events in the Northwest. The English deter-
.mined to purchase from the Indians a title to the lands they wished to
occupy, and Messrs. Fry (afterward Commander-in-chief over Washing-
ton at the commencement of the French War of 1775-1763), Lomax and
Patton were sent in the Spring of 1752 to hold a conference with the
natives at Logstown.to learn what they objected to in the treaty of Lan-
caster already noticed, and to settle all difficulties. On the 9th of June,
these Commissioners met the red men at Logstown, a little village on the
north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles below the site of Pitts-
burgh. Here had been a trading point for many years, but it was aban-
doned by the Indians in 1750. At first the Indians declined to recognize
the treaty of Lancaster, but, the Commissioners taking aside Montour,
the interpreter, who was a son of the famous Catharine Montour, and a
chief among the six nations, induced him to use his influence in their
favor. This he did, and upon the 13th of June they all united in signing
a deed, confirming the Lancaster treaty in its full extent, consenting to a
settlement of the southeast of the Ohio, and guaranteeing that it should
not be disturbed by them. These were the means used to obtain the first
treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valley.
Meanwhile the powers beyond the sea were trying to out-manceuvre
each other, and were professing to be at peace. The English generally
outwitted the Indians, and failed in many instances to fulfill their con-
tracts. They thereby gained the ill-will of the red men, and further
increased the feeling by failing to provide them with arms and ammuni-
tion. Said an old chief, at Easton, in 1758 : " The Indians on the Ohio
left you because of your own fault. When we heard the French were
coming, we asked you for help and arms, but we did not get them. The
French came, theyi treated us kindly, and gained our affections. The
Governor of Virginia settled on our lands for his own benefit, and, when
we wanted help, forsook us."
At the beginning of 1653, the English thought they had secured by
title the lands in the West, but the French had quietly gathered cannon
and military stores to be in readiness for the expected blow. The Eng-
lish made other attempts to ratify these existing treaties, but not until
the Summer could the Indians be gathered together to discuss the plans
of the French. They had sent messages to the French, warning them
away ; but they replied that they intended to complete the chain of forts
already begun, and would not abandon the field.
Soon after this, no satisfaction being obtained from the Ohio regard-
38 THE NOETH-W-BST TEEEITOEY.
ing the positions and purposes of the French, Governor Dinwiddle of
Virginia determined to send to them another messenger and learn from
them, if possible, their intentions. For this purpose he selected a young
man, a surveyor, who, at the early age of nineteen, had received the rank
of major, and who was thoroughly posted regarding frontier life. This-
personage was no other than the illustrious George Washington, who then
held considerable interest in Western lands. He was at this time just
twenty-two years of age. Taking Gist as his guide, the two, accompanied
by four servitors, set out on their p^ilous march. They left Will's
Creek on the 10th of November, 1753, and on the 22d reached the Monon-
gahela, about ten miles above the fork. From there they went to
Logstown, where Washington had a long conference with the chiefs of
the Six Nations. From them he learned the condition of the French, and
also heard of their determination not to come down the river till the fol-
lowing Spring. The Indians were non-committal, as they were afraid to
turn either way, and, as far as they could, desired to remain neutral.
Washington, finding nothing could be done with them, went on to
Venango, an old Indian town at the mouth of French Creek. Here the
French had a fort, called Fort Machault. Through the rum and flattery
of the French, he nearly lost all his Indian followers. Finding nothing
of importance here, he pursued his way amid great privations, and on the
11th of December reached the fort at the head of French Creek. Here
he delivered Governor Dinwiddle's letter, received his answer, took his
observations, and on the 16th set out upon his return journey with no one
but Gist, his guide, and a few Indians who still remained true to him,
notwithstanding the endeavors of the French to retain them. Their
homeward journey was one of great peril and suffering from the cold, yet
they reached home in safety on the 6th of January, 1754.
From 'the letter of St. Pierre, commander of the French fort, sent by
Washington to Governor Dinwiddle, it was learned that the French would
not give up without a struggle. Active preparations were at once made
in all the English colonies for the coming conflict, while the French
finished the fort at Venango and strengthened their lines of fortifications,
and gathered their forces to be in readiness.
The Old Dominion was all alive. Virginia was the center of great
activities ; volunteers were called for, and from all the neighboring
colonies men rallied to the conflict, and everywhere along the Potomac
men were enlisting under the Governor's proclamation — which promised
two hundred thousand acres on the Ohio. Along this river they were
gathering as far as Will's Creek, and far beyond this point, whither Trent
had come for assistance for his little band of forty-one men, who were
THE NORTHWEST TEERITOET. 39
working away in hunger and want, to fortify that point at the fork of
the Ohio, to which both parties were looking with deep interest.
" The first birds of Spring filled the air with their song ; the swift
river rolled by the Allegheny hillsides, swollen by the melting snows of
Spring and the April showers. The leaves were appearing ; a few Indian
scouts were seen, but no enemy seemed near at hand ; and all was so quiet,
that Frazier, an old Indian soout and trader, who had been left by Trent
in command, ventured to his home at the mouth of Turtle Creek, ten
miles up the Monongahela. But, though all was so quiet in that wilder-
ness, keen eyes had seen the low intrenchment rising at the fork, and
swift feet had borne the news of it up the river ; and upon the morning
of the 17th of April, Ensign Ward, who then had charge of it, saw
upon the Allegheny a sight that made his heart sink — sixty batteaux and
three hundred canoes filled with men, and laden deep with cannon and
stores. * * * That evening he supped with his captor, Contrecoeur,
and the next day he was bowed off by the Frenchman, and with his men
and tools, marched up the Monongahela."
The French and Indian war had begun. The treaty of Aix la
Chapelle, in 1748, had left the boundaries between the French and
English possessions unsettled, and the events already narrated show the
French were determined to hold the country watered by the Mississippi
and its tributaries ; while the English laid claims to the country by virtue
of the discoveries of the Cabots, and claimed all the country from New-
foundland to Florida, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The
first decisive blow had now been struck, and the first attempt of the
English, through the Ohio Company, to occupy these lands, had resulted
disastrously to them. The* French and Indians immediately completed
the fortifications begun at the Fork, which they had so easily captured,
and when completed gave to the fort the name of DuQuesne. Washing-
ton was at Will's Creek when the news of the capture of the fort arrived.
He at once departed to recapture it. On his way he entrenched him-
self at a place called the " Meadows," where he erected a fort called
by him Fort Necessity. From there he surprised and captured a force of
French and Indians marching against him, but was soon after attacked
in his fort by a much superior force, and was obliged to yield on the
morning of July 4th. He was allowed to return to Virginia.
The English Government immediately planned four campaigns ; one
against Fort DuQuesne ; one against Nova Scotia ; one against Fort
Niagara, and one against Crown Point. These occurred during 1755-6,
and were not successful in driving the French from their possessions.
The expedition against Fort DuQuesne was led by the famous General
Braddock, who, refusing to listen to the advice of Washington and those
40 i'HE NORTHWEST TBKKITORY.
acquainted with Indian warfare, suffered such an inglorious defeat. This
occurred on the morning of July 9th, and is generally known as the battle
of Monongahela, or " Braddock's Defeat." The war continued with
various vicissitudes through the years 1756-7 ; when, at the commence-
ment of 1758, in accordance with the plans of William Pitt, then Secre-
tary of State, afterwards Lord Chatham, active preparations were made to
carry on the war. Three expeditions were planned for this year : one,
under General Amherst, against Louisburg ; another, under A.bercrombie,
against Fort Ticonderoga ; and a third, under General Forbes, against
Fort DuQuesne. On the 26th of July, Louisburg surrendered after a
desperate resistance of more than forty days, and the eastern part of the
Canadian possessions fell into the hands of the British. Abercrombie
captured Fort Frontenac, and when the expedition against Fort DuQuesne,
of which Washington had the active command, arrived there, it was
found in flames and deserted. The English at once took possession,
rebuilt the fort, and in honor of their illustrious statesman, changed the
name to Fort Pitt.
The great object of the campaign of 1759, was the reduction of
Canada. General Wolfe was to lay siege to Quebec ; Amherst was to
reduce Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and General Prideaux was to
capture Niagara. This latter place was taken in July, but the gallant
Prideaux lost his life in the attempt. Amherst captured Ticonderoga
and Crown Point without a blow ; and Wolfe, after making the memor-
able ascent to the Plains of Abraham, on September 13th, defeated
Montcalm, and on the 18th, the city capitulated. In this engagement
Montcolm and Wolfe both lost their lives. De Levi, Montcalm's successor,
marched to Sillery, three miles above the city, with the purpose of
defeating the English, and there, on the 28th of the following April, was
fought one of the bloodiest battles of the French and Indian War. It
resulted in the defeat of the French, and the fall of the City of Montreal.
The Governor signed a capitulation by which the whole of Canada was
surrendered to the English. This practically concluded the war, but it
was not until 1763 that the treaties of peace between France and England
were signed. This was done on ths 10th of February of that year, and
under its provisions all the country east of the Mississippi and north of
the Iberville River, in Louisiana, were ceded to England. At the same
time Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain.
On the 13th of September, 1760, Major Robert Rogers was sent
from Montreal to take charge of Detroit, the only remaining French post
in the territory. He arrived there on the 19th of November, and sum-
moned the place to surrender. At first the commander of the post,
Beletre, refused, but on the 29th, hearing of the continued defeat of the
THE NORTHWEST TBBEITOET. 41
French arms, surrendered. Rogers remained there until December 23d
under the personal protection of the celebrated chief, Pontiac, to whom,
no doubt, he owed his safety. Pontiac had come here to inquire the
purposes of the English in taking possession of the country. He was
assured that they came simply to trade with the natives, and did not
desire their country. This answer conciliated the savages, and did much
to insure the safety of Rogers and his party during their stay, and whila
on their journey home.
Rogers set out for Fort Pitt on December 23, and was just one
month on the way. His route was from Detroit to Maumee, thence
across the present State of Ohio directly to the fort. This was the com-
mon trail of the Indians in their journeys from Sandusky to the fork of
the Ohio. It went from Fort Sandusky, where Sandusky City now is,
crossed the Huron river, then called Bald Eagle Creek, to " Mohickon
John's Town" on Mohickon Creek, the northern branch of White
Woman's River, and thence crossed to Beaver's Town, a Delaware town
on what is now Sandy Creek. At Beaver's Town were probably one
hundred and fifty warriors, and not less than three thousand acres of
cleared land. From there the track went up Sandy Creek to and across
Big Beaver, and up the Ohio to Logstown, thence on to the fork.
The Northwest Territory was now entirely under the English rule.
New settlements began to be rapidly made, and the promise of a large
trade was speedily manifested. Had the British carried out their promises
with the natives none of those savage butcheries would have been perpe-
trated, and the country would have been spared their recital.
The renowned chief, Pontiac, was one bf the leading spirits in these
atrocities. We will now pause in our narrative, and notice the leading
events in his life. The earliest authentic information regarding this
noted Indian chief is learned from an account of an Indian trader named
Alexander Henry, who, in the Spring of 1761, penetrated his domains as
far as Missillimacnac. Pontiac was then a great friend of the French,
but a bitter foe of the English, whom he considered as encroaching on his
hunting grounds. Henry was obliged to disguise himself as a Canadian
to insure safety, but was discovered by Pontiac, who bitterly reproached
him and the English for their attempted subjugation of the West. He
declared that no treaty had been made with them; no presents sent
them, and that he would resent any possession of the West by that nation.
He was at the time about fifty years of age, tall and dignified, and was
civil and military ruler of the Ottawas, Ojibwas and Pottawatamies.
The Indians, from Lake Michigan to the borders of North Carolina,
were united in this feeling, and at the time of the treaty of Paris, ratified
February 10, 1768, a general conspiracy was formed to fall suddenly
42
THE NORTHWEST TEKEITOEY.
!^'^^ -1
PONTIAC, THE OTTAWA CHIEFTAIN.
THE NOKTHWBST TERRITORY. 43
upon the frontier British posts, and with one blow strike every man dead.
Pontiac was the marked leader in all this, and was the commander
of the Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots, Miamis, Shawanese, Delawares
and Mingoes, who had, for the time, laid aside their local quarrels to unite
in this enterprise.
The blow came, as near as can now be ascertained, on May 7, 1763.
Nine British posts fell, and the Indians- drank, " scooped up in the hollow
of joined' hands," the blood of many a Briton.
Pontiac's immediate field of action was the garrison at Detroit.
Here, however, the plans were frustrated by an Indian woman disclosing
the plot the evening previous to his arrival. Everything was carried out,
however, according to Pontiac's plans until the moment of action, when
Major Gladwyn, the commander of the post, stepping to one of the Indian
chiefs, suddenly drew aside his blanket and disclosed the concealed
musket. Pontiac, though a brave man, turned pale and trembled. He
saw his plan was known, and that the garrison were prepared. He
endeavored to exculpate himself from any such intentions ; but the guilt
was evident, and he and his followers were dismissed with a severe
reprimand, and warned never to again enter the walls of the post,
Pontiac at once laid siege to the fort, and until the treaty of peace
between the British and the Western Indians, concluded in August, 1764,
continued to harass and besiege the forttess. He organized a regular
commissariat department, issued bills of credit written out on bark,
which, to his credit, it may be stated, were punctually redeemed. At
the conclusion of the treaty, in which it seems he took no part, he went
further south, living many years among the Illinois.
He had given up all hope of saving his country and race. After a
time he endeavored to unite the Illinois tribe and those about St. Louis
in a war with the whites. His efforts were fruitless, and only ended in a
quarrel between himself and some Kaskaskia Indians, one of whom soon
afterwards killed him. His death was, however, avenged by the northern
Indians, who nearly exterminated the Illinois in the wars which followed.
Had it not been for the treachery of a few of his followers, his plan
for the extermination of the whites, a masterly one, would undoubtedly
have been carried out.
It was in the Spring of the year following Rogers' visit that Alex-
ander Henry went to Missillimacnac, and everywhere found the strongest
feelings against the English, who had not carried out their promises, and
were doing nothing to conciliate the natives. Here he met the chief,
Pontiac, who, after conveying to him in a speech the idea that their
French father would awake soon and utterly destroy his enemies, said :
" Englishman, although you have conquered the French, you have not
44 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
yet conquered us ! "We are not your slaves ! These lakes, these woods,
these mountains, were left us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance,'
and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like
the white people, can not live without bread and pork and beef. But you
ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided
food for us upon these broad lakes and in these mountains."
He then spoke of the fact that no treaty had been made with them^
no presents sent them, and that he and his people were yet for war.
Such were the feelings of the Northwestern Indians immediately after
the English took possession of their country. These feelings were no
doubt encouraged by the Canadians and French, who hoped that yet the
French arms might prevail. The treaty of Paris, however, gave to the
English the right to this vast domain, and active preparations were going
on to occupy it and enjoy its trade and emoluments.
In 1762, France, by a secret treaty, ceded Louisiana to Spain, to pre-
vent it falling into the hands of the English, who were becoming masters
of the entire West. The next year the treaty of Paris, signed at Fon-
tainbleau, gave to the English the domain of the country in question.
Twenty years after, by the treaty of peace between the United States
and England, that part of Canada lying south and west of the Great
Lakes, comprehending a large territory which is the subject of these
sketches, was acknowledged to be a portion of the United States ; and
twenty years still later, in 1803, Louisiana was ceded by Spain back to
France, and by France sold to the United States.
In the half century, from the building of the Fort of Crevecceur by
LaSalle, in 1680, up to the erection of Fort Chartres, many French set-
tlements had been made in that quarter. These have already been
noticed, being those at St. Vincent (Vincennes), Kohokia or Cahokia,
Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher, on the American Bottom, a large tract
of rich alluvial soil in Illinois, on the Mississippi, opposite the site of St.
Louis.
By the treaty of Paris, the regions east of the Mississippi, including
all these and other towns of the Northwest, were given over to England;
but they do not appear to have bt-en taken possession of until 1765, when
Captain Stirling, in the name of the Majesty of England, established him-
self at Fort Chartres bearing with him the proclamation of General Gage,
dated December 30, 1764, which promised religious freedom to all Cath- ■
olicb who worshiped here, and a right to leave the country with their
effects if they wished, or to remain with the privileges of Englishmen.
It was shortly after the occupancy of the West by the British that the
war with Pontiac opened. It is already noticed in the sketch of that
chieftain- By it many a Briton lost his life, and many a frontier settle-
THE NORTHWEST TEBRITOKY. iS
ment in its infancy ceased to exist. This was not ended until the year
1764, when, failing to capture Detroit, Niagara and Fort Pitt, his confed-
eracy became disheartened, and, receiving no aid from the French, Pon-
tiac abandoned the enterprise and departed to the Illinois, among whom
he afterward lost his life.
As soon as these difficulties were definitely settled, settlers began
rapidly to survey the country and prepare for occupation. During the
year 1770, a number of persons from Virginia and other British provinces
explored and marked out nearly all the valuable lands on the Mononga-
hela and along the banks of the Ohio as far as the Little Kanawha. This^
was followed by another exploring expedition, in which George Washing-
ton was a party. The latter, accompanied by Dr. Craik, Capt. Crawford
and others, on the 20th of October, 1770, descended the Ohio from Pitts-
burgh to the mouth of the Kanawha ; ascended thafrstream about fourteen
miles, marked out several large tracts of land, shot several buffalo, which
were then abundant in the Ohioi Valley, and returned to the fort.
Pittsburgh was at this time a trading post, about which was clus-
tered a village of some twenty houses, inhabited by Indian traders. Thia
same year, Capt. Pittman visited Kaskaskia and its neighboring villages.
He found there about sixty-five resident families, and at Cahokia only
forty-five dwellings. At Fort Chartres was another small settlement, and
at Detroit the garrison were quite prosperous and strong. For a year
or two settlers continued to locate near some of these posts, generally
Fort Pitt or Detroit, owing to the fears of the Indians, who still main-
tained some feelings of hatred to the English. The trade from the posts.
was quite good, and from those in Illinois large quantities of pork and
flour found their way to the New Orleans market. At this time the
policy of the British Government was strongly opposed to the extension
of the colonies west. In 1763, the King of England forbade, by royal
proclamation, his colonial subjects from making a settlement beyond the
sources of the rivers which fall into the Atlantic Ocean. At the instance
of the Board of Trade, measures were taken to prevent the settlement
without the limits prescribed, and to retain the commerce within easy
reach of Great Britain.
The commander-in-chief of the king's forces wrote in 1769 : " In the
course of a few years necessity will compel the colonists, should they
extend their settlements west, to provide manufactures of some kind for
themselves, and when all connection upheld by commerce with the mother
country ceases, an independence/ in their government will soon follow."
In accordance with this policy. Gov. Gage issued a proclamation
in 1772, commanding the inhabitants of Vincennes to abandon their set-
tlements and join some of the Eastern English colonies. To this they
46 THE NOBTHWBST TBKEITOBT.
strenuously objected, gmng,good reasons therefor, and were allowed to
remain. The strong opposition to this policy of Great Britain led to its
change, and to such a course as to gain the attachment of the French
population. In December, 1773, influential citizens of Quebec petitioned
the king for an extension of the boundary lines of that province, which
was granted, and Parliament passed an act on June 2, 1774, extend-
ing the boundary so as to include the territory lying within the present
States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
In consequence of the liberal policy pursued by the British Govern-
ment toward the French settlers in the West, they were disposed to favor
that nation in the war which soon followed with the colonies ; but the
early alliance between France and America soon brought them to the side
of the war for independence.
In 1774, Gov. Dunmore, of Virginia, began to encourage emigratioii
to the Western lands. He appointed magistrates at Fort Pitt under the
pretense that the fort was under the government of that commonwealth.
One of these justices, John Connelly, who possessed a tract of land in the
Ohio "Valley, gathered a force of men and garrisoned the fort, calling it
Fort Dunmore. This and other parties were formed to select sites for
settlements, and often came in conflict with the Indians, who yet claimed
portions of the valley, and several battles followed. These ended in the
famous battle of Kanawha in July, where the Indians were defeated and
driven across the Ohio.
During the years 1775 and 1776, by the operations of land companies
and the perseveranceof individuals, several settlements were firmly estab-
lished between the Alleghanies and the Ohio River, and western land
speculators were busy in Illinois and on the Wabash. At a council held
in Kaskaskia on July 5, 1773, an association of English traders, calling
themselves the " Illinois Land Company," obtained from ten chiefs of the
Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Peoria tribes two large tracts of land lying on
the east side of the Mississippi River south of the Illinois. In 1775, a mer-
chant from the Illinois Country, named Viviat, came to Post Vincennes
as the agent of the association called the " Wabash Land Company." On
the 8th of October he obtained from eleven Piankeshaw chiefs, a deed for
37,497,600 acres of land. This deed was signed by the grantors, attested
by a number of the inhabitants of Vincennes, and afterward recorded in
the office of a notary public at Kaskaskia. This and other land com-
panies had extensive schemes for the colonization of the West ; but all
were frustrated by the breaking out of the Revolution. On the 20th of
April, 1780, the two companies named consolidated under the name of the
"United Illinois and Wabash Land Company." ,They afterward made
THE NORTHWEST TBBEITORT. 4T
strenuous efforts to have these grants sanctioned by Congress, but all
signally failed.
When the War of the Revolution commenced, Kentucky was an unor-
ganized country, though there were several settlements within her borders.
In Hutchins' Topography of Virginia, it is stated that at that tim&
" Kaskaskia contained 80 houses, and nearly 1,000 white and black in-
habitants — the whites being a little the more numerous. Cahokia con-
tains 50 houses and 300 white inhabitants, and 80 negroes. There wer&
east of the Mississippi River, about the year 1771 " — when these observa-
tions were made — " 300 white men capable of bearing arms, and 230"
negroes."
From 1775 until the expedition of Clark, nothing is recorded and
nothing known of these settlements, save what is contained in a report,
made by a committee to Congress in June, 1778. From it the following
extract is made :
"Near the mouth of the River Kaskaskia, there is a village which
appears to have contained nearly eighty families from the beginning of
the late revolution. There are twelve families in a small village at la.
Prairie du Rochers, and near fifty families at the Kahokia Village. There
are also four or five families at Fort Chartres and St. Philips, which is five
miles further up the river."
St. Louis had been settled in February, 1764, and at this time con-
tained, including its neighboring towns, over six hundred whites and one
hundred and fifty negroes. It must be remembered that all the country-
west of the Mississippi was now under French rule, and remained so until
ceded again to Spain, its original owner, who afterwards sold it and the-
country including New Orleans to the United States. At Detroit there
were, according to Capt. Carver, who was in the Northwest from 1766 to
1768, more than one hundred houses, and the river was settled for more
than twenty miles, although poorly cultivated — the people being engaged
in the Indian trade. This old town has a history, which we will here
relate.
It is the oldest town in the Northwest, having been founded by-
Antoine de Lamotte Cadillac, in 1701. It was laid out in the form of an
oblong square, of two acres in length, and an acre and a half in width.
As described by A. D. Frazer, who first visited it and became a permanent
resident of the place, in 1778, it comprised within its limits that space
between Mr, Palmer's store (Conant Block) and Capt. Perkins' house
(near the Arsenal building), and extended back as far as the public barn,.
and was bordered in front by the Detroit River. It was surrounded by
oak and cedar pickets, about fifteen feet long, set in the ground, and had
four gates — east, west, north and south. Over the first three of these
48 THE NORTHWEST TEREITOKY.
gates were block houses provided with four guns apiece, each a six-
pounder. Two six-gun batteries were planted fronting the river and in a
parallel direction with the block houses. There were four streets running
^ast and west, the main street being twenty feet wide and the rest fifteen
feet, while the four streets crossing these at right angles were from ten
-to fifteen feet in width.
At the date spoken of by Mr. Frazer, there was no fprt within the
enclosure, but a citadel on the ground corresponding to the present
northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Wayne Street. The citadel was
inclosed by pickets, and within it were erected barracks of wood, two
stories high, sufficient to contain ten officers, and also barracks sufficient
to contain four hundred men, and a provision store built of brick. The
-citadel also contained a hospital and guard-house. The old town of
Detroit, in 1778, contained about sixty houses, most of them one story,
with a few a story and a half in height. They were all of logs, some
hewn and some round. There was one building of splendid appearance,
■called the "King's Palace," two stories high, which stood near the east
gate. It was built for Governor Hamilton, the first governor commissioned
by the British. There were two guard-houses, one near the west g^te and
the other near the Government House. Each of the guards consisted of
twenty-four men and a subaltern, who mounted regularly every morning
between nine and ten o'clock. Each furnished four sentinels, who were
relieved every two hours. There was also an officer of the day, who per-
formed strict duty. Each of the gates was shut regularly at sunset,
even wicket gates were shut at nine o'clock, and all the keys were
delivered into the hands of the commanding officer. They were opened
in the morning at sunrise. No Indian or squaw was permitted to enter
town with any weapon, such as a tomahawk or a knife. It was a stand-
ing order that the Indians should deliver their arms and instruments of
every kind before they were permitted to pass the sentine],and they were
restored to them on their return. No more than twenty-five Indians were
allowed to enter the town at any one time, and they were admitted only
:at the east and west gates. At sundown the drums beat, and all the
Indians were required to leave town instantly. There was a council house
near the water side for the purpose of holding council with the Indians.
The population of the town was about sixty families, in all about two
hundred males and one hundred females. This town was destroyed by
fire, all except one dwelling, in 1805. After which the present " new "
town was laid out.
On the breaking out of the Revolution, the British held every post of
importance in the West. Kentucky was formed as a component part of
Virginia, and the sturdy pioneers of the West, alive to their interests,
THE NORTHWEST TEKEITOET. 49
and recognizing the great benefits of obtaining the control of the trade in
this part of the New World, held steadily to their purposes, and those
within the commonwealth of Kentucky proceeded to exercise their
civil privileges, by electing John Todd and Richard Gallaway,
burgesses to represent them in the Assembly of the parent state.
Early in September of that year (1777) the first court was held
in Harrodsburg, and Col. Bowman, afterwards major, who had arrived
in August, was made the commander of a militia organization which
had been commenced the March previous. Thus the tree of loyalty
was growing. The chief spirit in this far-out colony, who had represented
her the year previous east of the mountains, was now meditating a move
unequaled in its boldness. He had been watching the movements of the
British throughout the Northwest, and understood their whole plan. He
saw it was through their possession of the posts at Detroit, Vincennes,
Kaskaskia, and other places, which would give them constant and easy
access to the various Indian tribes in the Northwest, that the British
intended to penetrate the country from the north and soutn, ana annihi-
late the frontier fortresses. This moving, energetic man was Colonel,
afterwards General, George Rogers Clark. He knew the Indians were not
unanimously in accord with the English, and he was convinced that, could
the British be defeated and expelled from the Northwest, the natives
might be easily awed into neutrality ; and by spies sent for the purpose,
he satisfied himself that the enterprise against the Illinois settlements
might easily succeed. Having convinced himself of the certainty of the
project, he repaired to the Capital of Virginia, which place he reached on
November 5th. While he was on his way, fortunately, on October 17th,
Burgoyne had been defeated, and the spirits of the colonists greatly
encouraged thereby. Patrick Henry was Governor of Virginia, and at
once entered heartily into Clark's plans. The same plan had before been
agitated in the Colonial Assemblies, but there was no one until Clark
came who was sufficiently acquainted with the condition of affairs at the
scene of action to be able to guide them.
Clark, having satisfied the Virginia leaders of the feasibility of his
plan, received, on the 2d of January, two sets of instructions — one secret,
the other open — the latter authorized him to proceed to enlist seven
companies to go to Kentucky, subject to his orders, and to serve three
months from their arrival in the West. The secret order authorized him
to arm these troops, to procure his powder and lead of General Hand
at Pittsburgh, and to proceed at once to subjugate the country.
With these instructions Clark repaired to Pittsburgh, choosing rather
to raise his men west of the mountains, as he well knew all were needed
in the colonies in the conflict there. He sent Gol. W. B. Smith to Hoi-
50 THE NOBTHWKST TEBEITOKY.
ston for the same purpose, but neither succeeded in raising the required
number of men. The settlers in these parts were afraid to leave their
own firesides exposed to a vigilant foe, and but few could be induced to
join the proposed expedition. With three companies and several private
volunteers, Clark at length commenced his descent of the Ohio, which he
navigated as far as the Falls, where he took possession of and fortified
Corn Island, a small island between the present Cities of Louisville,
Kentucky, and New Albany, Indiana. Remains of this fortification may
yet be found. At this place he appointed Col. Bowman to meet him
with such recruits as had reached Kentucky by the southern route, and
as many as could be spared from the station. Here he announced to
the men their real destination. Having completed his arrangements,
and chosen his party, he left a small garrison upon the island, and on the
24th of June, during a total eclipse of the sun, which to them augured
no good, and which fixes beyond dispute the date of starting, he with
his chosen band, fell down the river. His plan was to go by water as
far as Fort Massac or Massacre, and thence march direct to Kaskaskia.
Here he intended to surprise the garrison, and after its capture go to
Cahokia, then to Vincennes, and lastly to Detroit. Should he fail, he
intended to march directly to the Mississippi River and cross it into the
Spanish country. Before his start he received two good items of infor-
mation : one that the alliance had been formed between France and the
United States ; and the other that the Indians throughout the Illinois
country and the inhabitants^ at the various frontier posts, had been led to
believe by the British that the " Long Knives" or Virginians, were the
most fierce, bloodthirsty and cruel savages that ever sca,lped a foe. With
this impression on their minds, Clark saw that proper management would
cause them to submit at once from fear, if siirprised, and then from grati-
tude would become friendly if treated with unexpected leniency.
The march to Kaskaskia was accomplished through a hot July sun,
and the town reached on the evening of July 4. He captured the fort
near the village, and soon after the village itself by surprise, and withotit
the loss of a single man or by killing any of the enemy. After sufficiently
working upon the fears of the natives, Clark told them they were at per-
fect liberty to worship as they pleased, and to take whichever side of the
great conflict they would, also he would protect them from any barbarity
from British or Indian foe. This had the desired effect, and the inhab-
itants, so unexpectedly and so gratefully surprised by the unlocked
for turn of affairs, at once swore allegiance to the American arms, and
when Clark desired to go to Cahokia on the 6th of July, they accom-
panied him, and through their influence the inhabitants of the place
surrendered, and gladly placed themselves under his protection. Thus
THE NORTHWEST TBKBITOBY. 51
the two important posts in Illinois passed from the hands of the English
into the possession of Virginia.
In the person of the priest at Kaskaskia, M. Gibault, Clark found a
powerful ally and generous friend. Clark saw that, to retain possession
of the Northwest and treat successfully with the Indians within its boun-
daries, he must establish a government for the colonies he ia.d taken.
St. Vincent, the next important post to Detroit, remained yet to be taken
before the Mississippi Valley was conquered. M. Gibault told him that
he would alone, by persuasion, lead Vincennes to throw off its connection
with England. Clark gladly accepted his offer, and on the 14th of July,
in company with a fellow-townsman, M. Gibault started on his mission of
peace, and on the 1st of August returned with the cheerful intelligence
that the post on the " Oubache " had taken the oath of allegiance to
the Old Dominion. During this interval, Clark established his courts,
placed garrisons at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, successfully re-enlisted his
men, sent word to have a fort, which proved the germ of Louisville,
erected at the Falls of the Ohio, and dispatched Mr. Rocheblave, who
had been commander at Kaskaskia, as a prisoner of war to Richmond.
In October the County ,of Illinois was established by the Legislature
of Virginia, John Todd appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Governor,
and in November Genelral Clark and his men received the thanks of
the Old ^Dominion through their Legislature.
. In a speech a few days afterward, Clark made known fully to the
natives his plans, and at its close all came forward and swore alle-
giance to the Long Khives. While he was doing this Governor Hamilton,
having made his various arrangements, had left Detroit and moved down
the Wabash to' Vincennes intending to operate from,that point in reducing
the Illinois posts, and then proceed on down to Kentucky and drive the
rebels from the West. Gen. Clark had, on the return of M. Gibault,
dispatched Captain Helm, of Fauquier County, Virginia, with an attend-
ant named Henry, across the Illinois prairies to command the fort.
Hamilton knew nothing of the capitulation of the post, and was greatly
surprised on his arrival to be confronted by Capt. Helm, who, standing at
th6 entrance of the fort by a loaded cannon ready to fire upon his assail-
ants, demanded upon what terms Hamilton demanded possession of tha
fort. Being granted the rights of a prisoner of war, he surrendered to
tjhe British General, who could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw the
force ii^ the garrison.
Hamilton, not realizing the character of the men with whom he was
(Sontending, gave up his intended campaign for the Winter, sent his four
hundred Indian warriors to prevent troops from Qoming down the Ohio,
E
52 THE NORTHWEST TERKITOEY.
and to annoy the Americans in all ways, and sat qnietly down to pass the
Winter. Information of all these proceedings having reached Clark, he
saw that immediate and decisive action was necessary, and that unless
he captured Hamilton, Hamilton would capture him. Clark received the
news on the 29th of January, 1779, and on February 4th, having suffi-
ciently garrisoned Kaskaskia and Cahokia, he sent down the Mississippi
a " battoe," as Major Bowman writes it, in order to ascend the Ohio and
Wabash, and operate with the land forces gathering for the fray.
On the next day, Clark, with his little force of one hundred and
twenty men, set out for the post, and after incredible hard marching
through much mud, the ground being thawed by the incessant spring
rains, on the 22d reached the fort, and being joined by his " battoe," at
once commenced the attack on the post. The aim of the American back-
woodsman was unerring, and on the 24th the garrison surrendered to the
intrepid boldness of Clark. The French were treated with great kind-
ness, and gladly renewed their allegiance to Virginia. Hamilton was
sent as a prisoner to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement.
During his command of the British frontier posts, he had offered prizes
to the Indians for all' the scalps of Americans they would bring to him,
and had earned in consequence thereof the title " Hair-buyer General,"
by which he was ever afterward known.
Detroit was now without doubt within easy reach of the enterprising
Virginian, could he but raise the necessary force. Governor Henry being
apprised of this, promised him the needed reinforcement, and Clark con-
cluded to wait until he could capture and sufficiently garrison, the posts.
Had Clark failed in this bold undertaking, and Hamilton succeeded in
uniting the western Indians for the next Spring's campaign, the West
would indeed have been swept from the Mississippi to the Allegheny
Mountains, and the great blow struck, which had been contemplated from
the commencement, by the British.
" But for this small army of dripping, but fearless Virginians, the
union of all the tribes from Georgia to Maine against the colonies might
have been effected, and the whole current of our history changed."
At this time some fears were entertained by the Colonial Govern-
ments that the Indians in the North and Northwest were inclining to the
British, and under the instructions of Washington, now Commander-in-
Chief of the Colonial army, and so bravely fighting for American inde-
pendence, armed forces were sent against the Six Nations, and upon the
Ohio frontier, Col. Bowman, acting under the same general's orders,
marched against Indians within the present limits of that State. These
expeditions were in the main successful, and the Indians were compelled
to sue for peace.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. iJO
During this same year (1779) the famous " Land Laws" of Virginia
were passed. The passage of these laws was of more consequence to the
pioneers of Kentucky and the Northwest than the gaining of a few Indian
conflicts. These laws confirmed in main all grants made, and guaranteed
to all actual settlers their rights and privileges. After providing for the
settlers, the laws provided for selling the balance of the public lands at
forty cents per acre. To carry the Land Laws into effect, the Legislature
sent four Virginians westward to attend to the various claims, over many
of which great confusion prevailed concerning their validity. These
gentlemen opened their court on October 13, 1779, at St. Asaphs, and
continued until April 26, 1780, when they adjourned, having decided
three thousand claims. They were succeeded by the surveyor, who
came in the person of Mr. George May, and assumed his duties on the
10th day of the month whose name he bore. With the opening of the
next year (1780) the troubles concerning the navigation of the Missis-
sippi commenced. The Spanish Government exacted such measures in
relation to its trade as to cause the overtures made to the United States
to be rejected. The American Government considered they had a right
to navigate its channel. To enforce their claims, a fort was erected below
the mouth of the Ohio on the Kentucky side of the river. The settle-
ments in Kentucky were being rapidly filled by emigrants. It was dur-
ing this year that the first seminary of learning was established in the
West in this young and enterprising Commonwealth.
The settlers here did not look upon the building of this fort in a
friendly manner,, as it aroused the hostility of the Indians. Spain had
been friendly to the Colonies during their struggle for independence,
and though for a while this friendship appeared in danger from the
refusal of the free navigation of the river, yet it was finally settled to the
satisfaction of both nations.
The Winter of 1779-80 was one of the most unusually severe ones
ever experienced in the West. The Indians always referred to it as the
"Great Cold." Numbers of wild animals perished, and not a few
pioneers lost their lives. The following Summer a party of Canadians
and Indians attacked St. Louis, and attempted to take possession of it
in consequence of "the friendly disposition of Spain to the revolting
colonies. They met with such a determined resistance on the part of the
inhabitants, even the women taking part in the battle, that they were
compelled to abandon the- contest. They also made an attack on the
settlements in Kentucky, but, becoming alarmed in some unaccountable
manner, they fled the country in great haste.
About this time arose the question in the Colonial Congress con-
cerning the western lands claimed by Virginia, New York, Massachusetts
54 THE NORTHWEST TBKKITOI|Y.
and Connecticut. The agitation concerning this subject finally led New
York, on the 19th of February, 1780, to pass a law giving to the dele-
gates of that State in Congress the power to cede her western lands for
the benefit of the United States. This law was laid before Congress
during the next month, but no steps were taken concerning it until Sep-
tember 6th, when a resolution passed that body calling upon the States
claiming western lands to release their claims in favor of the whole body.
This basis formed the union, and "vras the first after all of those legislative
measures which resulted in the creation of the States of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In December of the same
year, the plan of conquering Detroit again arose. The conquest might
have easily been effected by Clark had the necessary aid been furnished
him. Nothing decisive was done, yet the heads of the Government knew
that the safety of the Northwest from British invasion lay in the capture
and retention of that important post, the only unconquered one in the
territory.
Before the close of the year, Kentucky was divided into the Coun-
ties of Lincoln, Fayette and Jefferson, and the act establishing the Town
of Louisville was passed. This same year is also noted in the annals of
American history as the year in which occurred Arnold's treason to the
United States.
Virginia, in accordance with the resolution of Congress, on the 2d
day of January, 1781, agreed to yield her western lands to the United
States upon certain conditions, which Congress would not accede to, and
the Act of Cession, on the part of the Old Dominion, failed, nor was
anything farther done until 1783. During all that time the Colonies
were busily engaged in the struggle with the mother country, and in
consequence thereof but little heed was given to the western settlements.
Upon the 16th of April, 1781, the first birth north of the Ohio River of
American parentage occurred, being that of Mary Heckewelder, daughter
of the widely known Moravian missionary, whose band of Christian
Indians suffered in after years a horrible massacre by the hands of the
frontier settlers, who had been exasperated by the murder of several of
their neighbors, and in their rage committed, without regard to humanity,
a deed which forever afterwards cast a shade of shame upon their lives.
For this and kindred outrages on the part of the whites, the Indians
committed many deeds of cruelty which darken the years of 1771 and
1772 in the history of the Northwest.
During the year 1782 a number of battles among the Indians and
frontiersmen occurred, and between the Moravian Indians and the Wyan-
dots. In these, horrible acts of cruelty were practised on the captives,
many of such dark deeds transpiring under the leadership of the notorious
THE NOKTHWBST TBBEITOET.
55
frontier outlaw, Simon Girty, whose name, as well as those of his brothers,
was a terror to women and children. These occurred chiefly in the Ohio
valleys. Cotemporary with them were several engagements in Kentucky,
in which the famous Daniel Boone engaged, and who, often by his skill
and knowledge of Indian warfare, saved the outposts from cruel destruo-
INDIANS ATTACKING FEONTIEKSMKN.
tion. By the close of the year victory had perched upon the AmericaA
banner, and on the 30th of November, provisional articles of peace had
been arranged between the Commissioners of England and her uncon-
querable colonies. Cornwallis had been defeated on the 19th of October
preceding, and the liberty of America was assured. On the 19th of
April following, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, peace was
56 THE NOETHWEST TBRRITOBY.
proclaimed to the army of the United States, and on the 3d of the next.
September, the definite treaty which ended our revolutionary struggle
was concluded. By the terms of that treaty, the boundaries of the "West
were as follows : On the north the line was to extend along the center of
the Great Lakes ; from the western point of Lake Superior to Long Lake ;
thence to the Lake of the Woods ; thence to the head of the Mississippi
River; down its center to the 31st parallel of latitude, then on that line
east to the head of the Appalachicola River ; down its center to its junc-
tion with the Flint ; thence straight to the head of St. Mary's River, and
thence down along its center to the Atlantic^ Ocean.
Following the cessation of hostilities with England, several posts
were still occupied by the British in the North and West. Among these
was Detroit, still in the hands of the enemy. Numerous engagements
with the Indians throughout Ohio and Indiana occurred, upon whose
lands adventurous whites would settle ere the title had been acquired by
the proper treaty.
To remedy this latter evil. Congress appointed commissioners to
treat with the natives and purchase their lands, and prohibited the set-
tlement of the territory until this could be done. Before the close of the
year another attempt was made to capture Detroit, which was, however,
not pushed, and Virginia, no longer feeling the interest in the Northwest
she had formerly done, withdrew her troops, having on the 20th of
December preceding authorized the whole of her possessions to be deeded
to the United States. This was done on the 1st of March following, and
the Northwest Territory passed from the control of the Old Dominion.
To Gen. Clark and his soldiers, however, she gave a tract of one hundred
and fifty thousand acres of land, to be situated any where north of the
Ohio wherever they chose to locate them. They selected the region
opposite the falls of the Ohio, where is now the dilapidated village of
Clarksville, about midway between the Cities of New Albany and Jeffer-
sonville, Indiana.
While the frontier remained thus, and Gen. Haldimand at Detroit
refused to evacuate alleging that he had no orders from his King to do
so, settlers were rapidly gathering about the inland forts. In the Spring
of 1784, Pittsburgh was regularly laid out, and from the journal of Arthur
Lee. who passed through the town soon after on his way to the Indian
council at Fort Mcintosh, we suppose it was not very prepossessing in
appearance. He says :
"" Pittsburgh is inhabited almost entirely by Scots and Irish, who
live in paltry log houses, and are as dirty as if in the north of Ireland or
even Scotland. There is a great deal of trade carried on, the goods being
bought at the vast expense of forty-five shillings per pound from Phila-
THE NOBTHWEST TBERITOEY. ' 57
delphia and Baltimore. They take in the shops flour, wheat, skins and
money. There are in the town four attorneys, two doctors, and not a
priest of any persuasion, nor church nor chapel."
Kentucky at this time contained thirty thousand inhabitants, and
was beginning to discuss measures for a separation from Virginia. A
land office was opened at Louisville, and measures were adopted to take
defensive precaution against the Indians who were yet, in some instances,
incited to deeds of violence by the British. Before the close of this year,
1T84, the military claimants of land began to occupy them, although no
entries were recorded until 1787. v
The Indian title to the Northwest was not yet extinguished. They
held large tracts of lands, and in order to prevent bloodshed Congress
adopted means for treaties with the original owners and provided for the
surveys of the lands gained thereby, as well as for those north of the
Ohio, now in its possession. On January 31, 1786, a treaty was made
with the Wabash Indians. The treaty of Fort Stanwix had been made
in 1784. That at Fort Mcintosh in 1785, and through these much land
was gg,ined. The Wabash Indians, however, afterward refused to comply
with the provisions of the treaty made with them, and in order to compel
their adherence to its provisions, force was used. During the year 1786,
the free navigation of the Mississippi came up in Congi-ess, and caused
various discussions, which resulted in no definite action, only serving to
excite speculation in regard to the western lands. Congress had promised
bounties of land to the soldiers of the Revolution, but owing to the
unsettled condition of affairs along the Mississippi respecting its naviga-
tion, and the trade of the Northwest, that body had, in 1783, declared
its inability, to fulfill these promises until a treaty could be concluded
between the two Governments. Before the close of the year 1786, how-
ever, it was able, through the treaties with the Indians, to allow some
grants and the settlement thereon, and on the 14th of September Con-
necticut ceded to the General Government the tract of land known as
the " Connecticut Reserve," and before the close of the following year a
large tract of land north of the Ohio was sold to a company, who at once
took measures to settle it. By the provisions of this grant, the company
were to pay the United States one dollar per acre, subject to a deduction
of one-third for bad lands and other contingencies. They received
750,000 acres, bounded on the south by the Ohio, on the east by the
seventh range of townships, on the west by the sixteenth range, and on
the north by a line so drawn as to make the grant complete without
the reservations. In addition to this. Congress afterward granted 100,000
acres to actual settlers, and 214,285 acres as army bounties under the
resolutions of 1789 and 1790.
58
THE HOBTHWEST TEKEITOEY.
While Dr. Cutler, one of the agents of the company, was pressing
its claims before Congress, that body was bringing into form an ordinance
for the political and social organization of this Territory. When the
cession was made by Virginia, in 1784, a plan was offered, but rejected.
A motion had been made to strike from the proposed plan the prohibition
of slavery, which prevailed. The plan was then discussed and altered,
and finally passed unanimously, with the exception of South Carolina.
By this proposition, the Territory was to have been divided into states
PBESBNT
SITE OF l.AlCE SlEEET BKIDGB, CHICAGO, IN 1833.
by parallels and meridian lines. This, it was thought, would make ten
states, which were to have been named as follows — beginning at the
northwest corner and going southwardly : Sylvania, Michigania, Cher-
sonesus, Assenisipia, Metropotamia, lUenoia, Saratoga, Washington, Poly-
potamia and Pelisipia.
There was a more serious objection to this plan than its category of
names,— the boundaries. The root of the difficulty was in the resolu-
tion of Congress passed in October, 1780, which fixed the boundaries
of the ceded lands to be from one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles
THE NORTHWEST TBRRITOBY. 59
square. These resolutions being presented to the Legislatures of Vir-
ginia and Massachusetts, they desired a change, and in July, 1786, the
subject was taken up in Congress, and changed to favor a division into
not more than five states, and not less than three. This was approved by
the State Legislature of Virginia. The subject of the Government was
again taken up by Congress in 1786, and discussed throughout that year
and until July, 1787, when the famous "Compact of 1787" was passed,
and the foundation of the government of the Northwest laid. This com-
pact is fully discussed and explained in the history of Illinois in this book,
and to it the reader is referred.
The passage of this act and the grant to the New England Company
was soon followed by an application to the Government by John Cleves
Symmes, of New Jersey, for a grant of the land between the Miamis.
This gentleman had visited these lands soon after the treaty of 1786, and,
being greatly pleased with them, offered similar terms to those given to the
New England Company. The petition was referred to the Treasury
Board with power to act, and a contract was concluded the following
year. During the Autumn the directors of the New England Company
were preparing to occupy their grant the following Spring, and upon the
23d of November made arrangements for a party of forty-seven men,
under the superintendency of Gen. Rufus Putnam, to set forward. Six
boat-builders were to leave at once, and on the first of January the sur-
veyors and their assistants, twenty-six in number, were to meet at Hart-
ford and proceed on their journey westward ; the remainder to follow as
soon as possible. Congress, in the meantime, upon the :W of October,
had ordered seven hundred troops for defense of the western settlers, and
to prevent unauthorized intrusions ; and two days later appointed Arthur
St. Clair Governor of the Territory of the Northwest.
AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS.
The civil organization of the Northwest Territory was now com-
plete, and notwithstanding the uncertainty of Indian affairs, settlers from
the East began to come into the country rapidly. The New England
Company sent their men during the Winter of 1787-8 pressing on over
the AUeghenies by the old Indian path which had been opened into
Braddock's road, and which has since been made a national turnpike
from Cumberland westward. Through the weary winter days they toiled
on, and by April were all gathered on the Yohiogany, where boats had
been built, and at once started for the Muskingum. Here they arrived
on the 7th of that month, and unless the Moravian missionaries be regarded
as the pioneers of Ohio, this little band can justly claim that honor.
60
THE NORTHWEST TEEEITOKY.
Gen. St. Clair, the appointed Governor of the Northwest, not having^
yet arrived, a set of laws were passedj written out, and published by
being nailed to a tree in the embryo town, and Jonathan Meigs appointed
to administer them. •
Washington in writing of this, the first American settlement in the
Northwest, said : " No colony in America was ever settled under
such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at Muskingum.
Information, property and strength will be its characteristics. I know
many of its settlers personally, and there never were men better calcu-
lated to promote the welfare of such a community."
i-rV^i
A PIONBEK DWELI.ING.
On the 2d of July a meeting of the directors and agents was held
on the banks of the Muskingum, " for the purpose of naming the new-
born city and its squares." As yet the settlement was known as the
"Muskingum," but that was now changed to the name Marietta, in honor
of Marie Antoinette. The square upon which the block -houses stood
was called '^ Oampus Martins ;'' square number 19, "■ Oapitolium ;" square
number 61, " Cecilia ;" and the great road through the covert way, " Sacra
Via." Two days after, an oration was delivered by James M. Varnum,
who with S. H. Parsons and John Armstrong had been appointed to the
judicial bench of the territory on the 16th of October, 1787. On July 9,
Gov. St. Clair arrived, and the colony began to assume form. The act
of 1787provided two district grades of government for the Northwest,
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 61
under the first of which the whole power was invested in the hands of a
governor and three district judges. This was immediately formed upon
the Governor's arrival, and the first laws of the colony passed on the 25th
of July. These provided for the organization of the militia, and on the
next day appeared the Governor's proclamation, erecting all that country
that had been ceded by the Indians east of the Scioto River into the
County of Washington. From that time forward, notwithstanding the
doubts yet existing as to the Indians, all Marietta prospered, and on the
2d of September the first court of the territory was held with imposing
ceremonies.
The emigration westward at this time was very great. The com-
mander at Fort Harmer, at the mouth of the Muskingum, reported four
thousand five hundred persons as having passed that post between Feb-
ruary and June, 1788 — many of whom would have purchased of the
"Associates," as the New England Company was called, had they been
ready to receive them.
On the 26th of November, 1787, Symmes issued a pamphlet stating
the terms of his contract and the plan of sale he intended to adopt. In
January, 1788, Matthias Denman, of New Jersey, took an active interest
in Symmes' purchase, and located among other tracts the sections upon
which Cincinnati has been built. Retaining one-third of this locality, he
sold the other two-thirds to Robert Patterson and John Filson, and the
three, about August, commenced to lay out a town on the spot, which
was designated as being opposite Licking River, to the mouth of which
they proposed to have a road cut from Lexington. The naming of the
town is thus narrated in the "Western Annals " : — " Mr. Filson, who had
been a schoolmaster, was appointed to name the town, and, in respect to
its situation, and as if with a prophetic perception of the mixed race that
were to inhabit it in after days, he named it Losantiville, which, being
interpreted, means : ville, the town ; anti, against or opposite to ; os, the
mouth ; L. of Licking." -
Meanwhile, in July, Symmes got thirty persons and eight four-horse
teams under way for the West. These reached Limestone (now Mays-
ville) in September, where were several persons from Redstone. Here
Mr. Symmes tried to found a settlement, but the great freshet of 1789
caused the " Point," as it was and is yet called, to be fifteen feet under
water, and the settlement to be abandoned. The little band of settlers
removed to the mouth of the Miami. Before Symmes and his colony left
the " Point," two settlements had been made on his purchase. The first
was by Mr. Stiltes, the original projector of the whole plan, who, with a
colony of Redstone people, had located at the mouth of the Miami,
whither Symmes went with his Maysville colony. Here a clearing had
62
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
been made by the Indians owing to the great fertility of the soil. Mr.
Stiltes with his colony came to this place on the 18th of November, 1788,
with twenty-six persons, and, building a block-house, prepared to remain
through the Winter. They named the settlement Columbia. Here they
were kindly treated by the Indians, but suffered greatly from the flood
of 1789.
On the 4th of March, 1789, the Constitution of the United States
went into operation, and on April 30, George Washington was inaug-
urated President of the American people, and during the next Summer,
an Indian war was commenced by the tribes north of the Ohio. The
President at first used pacific means ; but these failing, he sent General
Harmer against the hostile tribes. He destroyed several villages, but
LAKE BLTTFF.
Thefrontageof Lake Bluff Grounds on Lake Michigan, with one hundred andseventy feet of gradual ascent.
Was defeated in two battles, near the present City of Fort Wayne,
Indiana. From this time till the close of 1795, the principal events were
the wars with the various Indian tribes. In 1796, General St. Clair
was appointed in command, and marched against the Indians ; but while
he was encamped on a stream, the St. Mary, a branch of the Maumee,
he was attacked and defeated with the loss of six hundred men.
General Wayne was now sent against the savages. In August, 1794,
he met them near the rapids of the Maumee, and gained a complete
victory. This success, followed by vigorous measures, compelled the
Indians to sue for peace, and on the 30th of July, the following year, the
treaty of Greenville was signed by the principal chiefs, by which a large
tract of country was ceded to the United States.
Before proceeding in our narrative, we will pause to notice Fort
Washington, erected in the early part of this war on the site of Cincinnati.
Nearly all of the great cities of the Northwest, and indeed of the
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 63
whole country, have had their nuclei in those rude pioneer structures,
known as forts or stockades. Thus Forts Dearborn, "Washington, Pon-
chartrain, mark the original sites of the now proud Cities of Chicago,
Cincinnati and Detroit. So of most of the flourishing cities east and west
of the Mississippi. Fort "Washington, erected by Doughty in 1790, was a
rude but highly interesting structure. It was composed of a number of
strongly-built hewed log cabins. Those designed for soldiers' barracks-
were a story and a half high, while those composing the officers quarters
were more imposing and more conveniently arranged and furnished.
The whole were so placed as to form a hollow square, enclosing about an
acre of ground, with a block house at each of the four angles.
The logs for the construction of this fort were cut from the ground
upon which it was erected. It stood between Third and Fourth Streets-
of the present city (Cincinnati) extending east of Eastern Row, now
Broadway, which was then a narrow alley, and the eastern boundary of
of the town as it was originally laid out. On the bank of the river,
immediately in front of the fort, was an appendage of the fort, called the
Artificer's Yard. It contained about two acres of ground, enclosed by
small contiguous buildings, occupied by workshops and quarters of
laborers. Within this enclosure there was a large two-story frame house,
familiarly called the " Yellow House," built for the accommodation of
the Quartermaster General. For many years this was the best finished
and most commodious edifice in the Queen City. Fort "Washington was
for some time the headquarters of both the civil and military governments
of the Northwestern Territory.
Following the consummation of the treaty various gigantic land spec-
ulations were entered into by different persons, who hoped to obtain
from the Indians in Michigan and northern Indiana, large tracts of lands.
These were generally discovered in time to prevent ■ the outrageous-
schemes from being carried out, and from involving the settlers in war.
On October 27, 1795, the treaty between the "United States and Spain
was signed, whereby the free navigation of the Mississippi was secured.
No sooner had the treaty of 1795 been ratified than settlements began
to pour rapidly into the "West. The great event of the year 1796 was th&
occupation of that part of the Northwest including Michigan, which wa&
this year, under the provisions of the treaty, evacuated by the British
forces. The United States, owing to certain conditions, did not feel
justified in addressing the authorities in Canada in relation to Detroit •
and other frontier posts. When at last the British authorities were'
called to give them up, they at once complied, and General Wayne, who
had done so much to preserve the frontier settlements, and who, before
the year's close, sickened and died near Erie, transferred his head-
64 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
quarters to the neighborkood of the lakes, where a county named after
him was formed, which included the northwest of Ohio, all of Michigan,
and the northeast of Indiana. During this same year settlements were
formed' at the present City of Chillicothe, along the Miami from Middle-
town to Piqua, while in the more distant West, settlers and speculators
began to appear in great numbers. In September, the City of Cleveland
was la,id out, and during the Summer and Autumn, Samuel Jackson and
Jonathan Sharpless erected the first manufactory of paper — the " Red-
stone Paper Mill " — in the West. St. Louis contained some seventy
houses, and Detroit over three hundred, and along the river,' contiguous
to it, were more than three thousand inhabitants, mostly French Canadians, '
Indians and half-breeds, scarcely any Americans venturing yet into that
part of the Northwest. <
The election of representatives for the territory had taken place,
and on the 4th of February, 1799, they convened at Losantiville — now
known as Cincinnati, having been named so by Gov. St. Clair, and
considered the capital of the Territory — to nominate persons from whom
the members of the Legislature were to be chosen in accordance with
a previous ordinance. This nomination being made, the Assembly
adjourned until the 16th of the following September. From those named
the President selected as members of the council, Henry Vandenburg,
of Vincennes, Robert Oliver, of Marietta, James Pindlay and Jacob
Burnett, of Cincinnati, and David Vance, of Vanceville. On the 16th
of September the Territorial Legislature met, and on the 24th the two
houses were duly organized, Henry Vandenburg being elected President
of the Council.
The message of Gov. St. Clair was addressed to the Legislature
September 20th, and on October 13 th that body elected as a delegate to
Congress Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison, who received eleven of the votes
cast, being a majority of one over his opponent, Arthur St. Clair, son of
Gen. St. Clair.
The whole number of acts passed at this session, and approved by
the Governor, were thirty-seven — eleven others were passed, but received
his veto. The most important of those passed related to the militia, to
the administration, and to taxation. On the 19th of December this pro-
tracted session of the first Legislature in the West was closed, and on the
30th of December the President nominated Charles Willing Bryd to the
• office of Secretary of the Territory vice Wm. Henry Harrison, elected to
Congress. The Senate confirmed his nomination the next day.
THE NOKXHWEST TBKEITORY. 65
DIVISION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
The increased emigration to the Northwest, the extent of the domain,
and the inconvenient modes of travel, made it very diflQcUlt to conduct
the ordinary operations of government, and rendered the efficient action
of courts almost impossible. To remedy this, it was deemed advisable to
divide the territory for civil purposes. Congress, in 1800, appointed a
committee to examine the question and report some means for its solution.
This committee, on the 3d of March, reported that :
" In the three western countries there has been but one court having
cognizance of crimes, in five years, and the immunity which offenders
experience attracts, as to an asylum, the most vile and abandoned crim-
inals, and at the same time deters useful citizens from making settlements
in such society. The extreme necessity of judiciary attention and assist-
ance is experienced in civil as well as in criminal cases. * * * * Xo
minister a remedy to these and other evils, it occurs to this committee
that it is expedient that a division of said territory into two distinct and
separate governments should be made ; and that such division be made
by a line beginning at the mouth of the Great Miami River, running
directly north until it intersects the boundary between the United States
and Canada,"
The report was accepted by Congress, and, in accordance with its
suggestions, that body, passed an Act extinguishing the Northwest Terri-
tory, which Act was approved May 7. Among its provisions were these :
" That from and after July 4 next, all that part of the Territory of
the United States northwest of the Ohio River, which lies to the westward
of a line beginning at a point on the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the
Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north
until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and
Canada, shall, for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a
separate territory, and be called the Indiana Territory,"
After providing for the exercise of the civil and criminal powers of
the territories, and other provisions, the Act further provides :
" That until it shall otherwise be ordered by the Legislatures of the
said Territories, respectively, ChilUcothe on the Scioto River shall be the
seat of government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the
Ohio River ; and that St. Vincennes on the Wabash River shall be the
seat of government for the Indiana Territory."
Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison was appointed Governor of the Indiana
Territory, aiid entered upon his duties about a year later. Connecticut
also about this time released her claims to the reserve, and in March a law
66 THE NOETHWEST TBEEITOBY.
■was passed accepting this cession. Settlements had been made upon
thirty-five of the townships in the reserve, mills had been built, and seven
hundred miles of road cut in various directions. On the 3d of November
the General Assembly met at ChUlicothe. Near the close of the year,
the first missionary of the Connecticut Reserve came, who found no
township containing more than eleven families. It was upon the first of
October that the secret treaty had been made between Napoleon and the
King of Spain, whereby the latter agreed to cede to France the province
of Louisiana.
In January, 1802, the Assembly of the Northwestern Territory char-
tered the college at Athens. From the earliest dawn of the western
colonies, education was promptly provided for, and as early as 1787,
newspapers were issued from Pittsburgh and Kentucky, and largely read
throughout the frontier settlements. Before the close of this year, the
Congress of the United States g^ranted to the citizens of the Northwestern
territory the formation of a State government. One of the provisions of
the " compact of 1787 " provided that whenever the number of inhabit-
ants within prescribed limits exceeded 45,000, they should be entitled to
a separate government. The prescribed limits of Ohio contained, from a
census taken to ascertain the legality of the act, more than that number,
and on the 30th of April, 1802, Congress passed the act defining its limits,
and on the 29th of November the Constitution of the new State of Ohio,
so named from the beautiful river forming its southern boundary, came
into existence. The exact limits of Lake Michigan were not then known,
but the territory now included within the State of Michigan was wholly
within the territory of Indiana.
. Gen. Harrison, while residing at Vincennes, made several treaties
with the Indians, thereby gaining large tracts of lands. The next year is
memorable in the history of the West for the purchase of Louisiana from
France by the United States for $15,000,000. Thus by a peaceful mode,
the domain of the United States was extended over a large tract of
country west of the Mississippi, and was for a time under the jurisdiction
of the Northwest government, and, as has been mentioned in the early
part of this narrative, was called the "New Northwest." The limits
of this history will not allow a description of its territory. The same year
large grants of land were obtained from the Indians, and the House of
Representatives of the new State of Ohio signed a bill respecting the
College Township in the district of Cincinnati.
Before the close of the year. Gen. Harrison obtained additional
grants of lands from the various Indian nations in Indiana and the present
limits of Illinois, and on the 18th of August, 1804, completed a treaty at
St. Louis, whereby over 51,000,000 acres of lands were obtained from the
THE NORTHWEST TEBKIXOBY. 67
aborigines. Measures were also taken to learn the condition of affairs in
and about Detroit.
C. Jouett, the Indian agent in Michigan, still a part of Indiana Terri-
tory, reported as follows upon the condition of matters at that post :
" The Town of Detroit. — The charter, which is for fifteen miles
square, was granted in the time of Louis XIV. of France, and is now,
irom the best information I have been able to get, at Quebec. Of those
two hundred and twenty-five acres, only four are occupied by the town
and Fort Lbnault. The remainder is a common, except twenty-four
acres, which were added twenty years ago to a farm belonging to Wm.
Macomb. * * * A. stockade incloses the town, fort and citadel. The
pickets, as well as the public houses, are in a state of gradual decay. The
streets are narrow, straight and regular, and intersect each other at right
angles. The houses are, for the most part, low and inelegant."
During this year, Congress granted a. township of land for the sup-
port of a college, and began to offer inducements for settlers in these
wilds, and the country now comprising the State of Michigan began to
fill rapidly with settlers along, its southern borders. This same year, also,
a law was passed organizing the Southwest Territory, dividing it into two
portions, the Territory of New Orleans, which city was made the seat of
government, and the District of Louisiana, which was annexed to the
domain of Gen. Harrison.
On the 11th of January, 1805, the Territory of Michigan was formed,
Wm. Hull was appointed governor, with headquarters at Detroit, the
change to take effect on June 30. On the 11th of that month, a fire
occurred at Detroit, which destroyed almost every building in the place.
When the officers of the new territory reached the post, they found it in
ruins, and the inhabitants scattered throughout the country. Rebuild-
ing, however, soon commenced, and ere long the town contained more
houses than before the fire, and many of them much better built.
While this was being done, Indiana had passed to the second grade
of government, and through her General Assembly had obtained large
tracts of land from the Indian tribes. To all this the celebrated Indian,
Tecumthe or Tecumseh, vigorously protested, and it was the main cause
of his attempts to unite the various Indian tribes in a conflict with the
settlers. To obtain a full account of these attempts, the workings of the
British, and the signal failure, culminating in the death of Tecumseh at
the battle of the Thames, and the close of the war of 1812 in the Northwest,
we will step aside in our story, and relate the principal events of his life,
and his connection with this conflict.
68
IHB NORTHWEST TBBRITOBY.
TECUMSEH, THE SHAWANOE CHIEFTAIN.
THE NORTHWEST TBKRITOEY. 69
TECUMSEH, AND THE WAR OF 1812.
This famous Indian chief was born about the year 1768, not far from
the site of the present City of Piqua, Ohio. His father, Puckeshinwa,
was a member of the Kisopok tribe of the Swanoese nation, and his
mother, Methontaske, was a member of the Turtle tribe of the same
people. They removed from Florida about the middle of the last century
to the birthplace of Tecumseh. In 1774, his father, who had risen to be
chief, was slain at the battle of Point Pleasant, and not long after Tecum-
seh, by his bravery, became the leader of his tribe. In 1795 he was
declared chief, and then lived at Deer Creek, near the site of the
present City of Urbana. He remained here about one year, when he
returned to Piqua, and in 1798, he went to White River, Indiana. In
1805, he and his brother, Laulewasikan (Open Door), who had announced
himself as a prophet, went to a tract of land on the Wabash River, given
them by the Pottawatomies and Kickapoos. From this date the chief
comes into prominence. He was now about thirty-seven years of age,
was five feet and ten inches in height, was stoutly built, and possessed of
enormous powers of endurance. His countenance was naturally pleas-
ing, and he was, in general, devoid of those savage attributes possess'ed
by most Indians. It is stated he could read and write, and had a confi-
dential secretary and adviser, named Billy Caldwell, a half-breed, who
afterward became chief of the Pottawatomies. He occupied the first
house built on the site of Chicago. At this time, Tecumseh entered
upon the great work of his life. He had long objected to the grants of
land made by the Indians to the whites, and determined to unite all the
Indian tribes into a league, in order that no treaties or grants of land
could be made save by the consent of this confederation.
He traveled constantly, going from north to south ; from the south
to the north, everywhere urging the Indians to this step. He was a
matchless orator, and his burning words had their effect.
Gen. Harrison, then Governor of Indiana, by watching the' move-
ments of the Indians, became convinced that a grand conspiracy was
forming, and made prep9.rations to defend the settlements. Tecumseh's
plan was similar to Pontiac's, elsewhere described, and to the cunning
artifice of that chieftain was added his own sagacity.
During the year 1809, Tecumseh and the prophet were actively pre-
paring for the work. In that year. Gen. Harrison entered into a treaty
with the Delawares, Kickapoos, Pottawatomies, Miamis, Eel River Indians
and Weas, in which these tribes ceded to the whites certain lands upon
the Wabash, to all of which Tecumseh entered a bitter protest, averring
70 THE NORTHWEST TBEEITOEY.
as one principal reason that he did not want the Indians to give up any
lands north and west of the Ohio River.
Tecumseh, in August, 1810, visited the General at Vincennes and
held a council relating to the grievances of the Indians. Becoming unduly
angry at this conference he was dismissed from the village, and soon after
departed to incite the southern Indian tribes to the conflict.
Gen. Harrison determined to move upon the chief's headquarters at
Tippecanoe, and for this purpose went about sixty-five miles up the
Wabash, where he built Fort Harrison. Prom this place he went to the
prophet's town, where he informed the Indians he had no hostile inten-
tions, provided they were true to the existing treaties. He encamped
near the village early in October, and on the morning of November 7, he
was attacked by a large force of the Indians, and the famous battle of
Tippecanoe occurred. The Indians were routed and their town broken
up. Tecumseh returning not long after, was greatly exasperated at his
brother, the prophet, even threatening to kill him for rashly precipitating
the war, and foiling his (Tecumseh's) plans.
Tecumseh sent word to Gen. Harrison that he was now returned
from the South, and was ready to visit the President as had at one time
previously been proposed. Gen. Harrison informed him he could not go
as a chief, which method Tecumseh desired, and the visit was never
made.
In June of the following year, he visited the Indian agent at
Fort Wayne. Here he disavowed any intention to make a war against
the United States, and reproached Gen. Harrison for marching against his
people. The agent replied to this ; Tecumseh listened with a cold indif-
ference, and after making a few general remarks, with a haughty air drew
his blanket about him, left the council house, and departed for Fort Mai-
den, in Upper Canada, where he joined the British standard.
He remained under this Government, doing effective work for the
Crown while engaged, in the war of 1812 which now opened. He was,
however, always humane in his treatment of the prisoners, never allow-
ing his warriors to ruthlessly mutilate the bodies of those slain, or wan-
tonly murder the captive.
In the Summer of 1813, Perry's victory on Lake Erie occurred, and
shortly after active preparations were made to capture Maiden. On the
27th of September, the American army, under Gen. Harrison, set sail for
the shores of Canada, and in a few hours stood around the ruins of Mai-
den, from which the British army, under Proctor, had retreated to Sand-
wich, intending to make its way to the heart of Canada by the Valley of
the Thames. On the 29th Gen. Harrison was at Sandwich, and Gen.
McArthur took possession of Detroit and the territory of Michigaii.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
71
On the 2d of October, the Americans began their pursuit of Proctor,
whom they overtook on the 5th, and the battle, of the Thames followed.
Early in the engagement, Tecumseh who was at the head of the column
of Indians was slain, and they, no longer hearing the voice of their chief-
tain, fled. The victory was decisive, and practically closed the war in
the Northwest.
LNDIANS ATTACKIifG A STOCKADB.
Just who killed the great chief has been a matter of much dispute ;
but the weight of opinion awards the act to Col. Richard M. Johnson,
who fired at him with a pistol, the shot proving fatal.
In 1805 occurred Burr's Insurrection. He took possession of a
beautiful island in the Ohio, after the killing of Hamilton, and is charged
by many with attempting to set up an independent government. His
plans were frustrated by the general government,, his property confiscated
and he was compelled to flee the country for safety.
72 THE NORTBTWBST TEEBITOEY.
In January, 1807, Governor Hull, of Michigan Territory, made a
treaty with the Indians, whereby all that peninsula was ceded to the
United States. Before the close of the year, a stockade was built about
Detroit. It was also during this year that Indiana and Illinois endeavored
to obtain the repeal of that section of the compact of 1787, whereby
slavery was excluded from the Northwest Territory. These attempts,
however, all signally failed.
In 1809 it was deemed advisable to divide the Indiana Territory.
This was done, and the Territory of Illinois was formed from the western
part, the seat of government being fixed at Kaskaskia. The next year,
the intentions of Tecumseh manifested themselves in open hostilities, and
then began the events already narrated.
While this war was in progress, emigration to the West went on with
surprising rapidity. In 1811, under Mr. Roosevelt of New York, the
first steamboat trip was made on the Ohio, much to the astonishment of
the natives, many of whom fled in terror at the appearance of the
" monster." It arrived at Louisville on the 10th day of October. At the
close of the first week of January, 1812, it arrived at Natchez, after'being
nearly overwhelmed in the great earthquake which occurred while on its
downward trip.
The battle of the Thames was fought on October 6, 1813. It
effectually closed hostilities in the Northwest, although peace was not
fully restored until July 22, 1814, when a treaty was formed at Green-
ville, under the direction of General Harrison, between the United States
and the Indian tribes, in which it was stipulated that the Indians should
cease hostilities against the Americans if the war were continued. Such,
happily, was not the case, and on the 24th of December the treaty
of Ghent was signed by the representatives of England and the United
States. This treaty was followed the next year by treaties with various
Indian tribes throughout the West and Northwest, and quiet was again
restored in this part of the new world.
On the 18th of March, 1816, Pittsburgh was incorporated as a city.
It then had a population of 8,000 people, and was already noted for its
manufacturing interests. On April 19, Indiana Territory was allowed
to form a state government. At that time there were thirteen counties
organized, containing about sixty-three thousand inhabitants. The first
election of state officers was held in August, when Jonathan Jennings
was chosen Governor. The officers were sworn in on November 7, and
on December 11, the State was formally admitted into the Union. For
some time the seat of government was at Corydon, but a more central
location being desirable, the present capital, Indianapolis (City of Indiana),
was laid out January 1, 1825. •
THE NORTHWEST TBBEITOEY. 7B
On the 28th of December the Bank of Illinois, at Shawneetown, was
chartered, with a capital of $300,000. At this period ail. banks were
under the control of the States, and were allowed to establish branches
at different convenient points.
Until this time Chillicothe and Cincinnati had in turn enjoyed the
privileges of being the capital of Ohio. But the rapid settlement of the
northern and eastern portions of the State demanded, as in Indiana, a
more central location, and before the close of the year, the site of Col-
umbus was selected and surveyed as the future capital of the State.
Banking had begun in Ohio as early as 1808, when the first bank was
chartered at Marietta, but here as elsewhere it did not bring to the state
the hoped-for assistance. It and other banks were subsequently unable
to redeem their currency, and were obliged to suspend.
In 1818, Illinois was made a state, and all the territory north of her
northern limits was erected into a separate territory and joined to Mich-
igan for judicial purposes. By the following year, navigation of the lakes
was increasing with great rapidity and affording an immense source of
revenue to the dwellers in the Northwest, but it was not until 1826 that
the trade was extended to Lake Michigan, or that steamships began to
navigate the bosom of that inland sea.
Until the year 1832, the commencement of the Black Hawk War,
but few hostilities were experienced with the Indians. Roads were
opened, canals were dug, cities were built, common schools were estab-
lished, universities were founded, many of which, especially the Michigan
University, have achieved a world wide-reputation. The people ^ere
becoming wealthy. The domains of the United States had been extended,
and had the sons of the forest been treated with honesty and justice, the
record of many years would have been that of peace and continuous pros-
perity.
BLACK HAWK AND THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
This conflict, though confined to Illinois, is an important epoch in
the Northwestern history, being the last war with the Indians in this part
of the United States.
Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah, or Black Hawk, was born in the principal
Sac village, about three miles from the junction of Rock River with the
Mississippi, in the year 1767. His father's name was Py-e-sa or Pahaes ;
his grandfather's, Na-na-ma-kee, or the Thunderer. Black Hawk early
distinguished himself as a warrior, and at the age of fifteen was permitted
to paint and was ranked among the braves. About the year 1783, he
Went on an expedition against the enemies of his nation, the Osages, one
74
THE NOETHWEST TBEEITORT.
BLACK HAWK, THE SAC CHIEFTAIN.
THE NORTHWEST TEEEITORY. 76
of whom he killed and scalped, and for this deed of Indian bravery he was
permitted to join in the scalp dance. Three or four years after he, at the
head of two hundred braves, went on another expedition against the
Osages, to avenge the murder of some women and children belonging to
his own tribe. Meeting an equal number of Osage warriors, a fierce
battle ensued, in which the latter tribe lost one-half their number. The
Sacs lost only about nineteen warriors. He next attacked the Cherokees
for a similar cause. In a severe battle with them, near the present City
of St. Louis, his father was slain, and Black Hawk, taking possession of
the " Medicine Bag," at once announced himself chief of the Sac nation.-
He had now conquered the Cherokees, and about the year 1 800, at the
head of five hundred Sacs and Foxes, and a hundred lowas', he waged
war against the Osage nation and subdued it. For two years he battled
successfully with other Indian tribes, all of whom he conquered.
Black Hawk does not at any time seem to have been friendly to
the Americans. When on a visit to St. Louis to see his " Spanish
Fathef ," he declined to see any of the Americans, alleging, as a reason,
he did not want two fathers.
The treaty at St. Louis was consummated in 1804. The next year the
United States Government erected a fort near the head of the Des Moines
Rapids, called Fort Edwards. This seemed to enrage Black Hawk, who
at once determined to capture Fort Madison, standing on the west side of
the Mississippi above the,,mouth of the Des Moines River. The fort was
garrisoned by about fifty men. Here he was defeated. The difficulties
with- the British Government arose about this time, and the War of 1812
followed. That government, extending aid to the Western Indians, by
giving them arms and ammunition, induced them to remain hostile to the
Americans. In August, 1812, Black Hawk, at the head of about five
hundred braves, started to join the British forces at Detroit, passing on
his way the site of Chicago, where the famous Fort Dearborn Massacre
hz'^ a few days before occurred. Of his connection with the British
<o,c rernment but little is known. In 1813 he with his little band descended
the Mississippi, and attacking some United States troops at Fort Howard
was defeated.
In the early part of 1815, the Indian tribes west of the Mississippi
were notified that peace had been declared between the United States
and England, and nearly all hostilities had ceased. Black Hawk did not
sign any treaty, however, until May of the following year. He then recog-
nized the validity of the treaty at St. Louis in 1804. From the time of
signing this treaty in 1816, until the breaking out of the war in 1832, he
and his band passed their time in the common pursuits of Indian life.
Ten years before the commencement of this war, the Sao and Fox
76 THE NORTHWEST TBKEITORY.
Indians were urged to join the lowas on the west bank of the Father of
Waters. All were agreed, save the band known as the British Band, of
which Black Hawk was leader. He strenuously objected to the removal-,
and was induced to comply only after being threatened with the power of
the Government. This and various actions on the part of the white set-
tlers provoked Black Hawk and his band to attempt the capture of his
native village now occupied by the whites. The war followed. He and
his actions were undoubtedly misunderstood, and had his wishes been
acquiesced in at the beginning of the struggle, much bloodshed would
have been prevented.
Black Hawk was chief now of the Sac and Fox nations, and a noted
warrior. He and his tribe inhabited a village on Rock River, nearly three
miles above its confluence with the Mississippi, where the tribe had lived
many generations. When that portion of Illinois was reserved to them,
they remained in peaceable possession of their reservation, spending their
time in the enjoyment of Indian life. The fine situation of their village
and the quality of their lands incited the more lawless white settlers, who
from time to time began to encroach upon the red men's domain. From
one pretext to another, and from one step to another, the crafty white
men gained a foothold, until through whisky and artifice they obtained
deeds from many of the Indians for their possessions. The Indians were
finally induced to cross over the Father of Waters and locate among the
lowas. Black Hawk was strenuously oppose^L to all this, but as the
authorities of Illinois and the United States thought this the best move, he
was forced to comply. Moreover other tribes joined the whites and urged
the removal. Black Hawk would not agree to the terms of the treaty
made with his nation for their lands, and as soon as the military, called to
enforce his removal, had retired, he returned to the Illinois side of the
river. A large force was at once raised and marched against him. On
the evening of May 14, 1832, the first engagement occurred between a
band from this army and Black Hawk's band, in which the former were
defeated.
This attack and its result aroused the whites. A large force of men
was raised, and Gen. Scott hastened from the seaboard, by way of the
lakes, with United States troops and artillery to aid in the subjugation of
the Indians. On the 24th of June, Black Hawk, with 200 warriors, was
repulsed by Major Demont between Rock River and Galena. The Ameri-
can army continued to move up Rock Rivei- toward the main body of
the Indians, and on the 21st of July came upon Black Hawk and his band,
and defeated them near the Blue Mounds.
Before this action. Gen. Henry, in command, sent word to the main
army by whom he was immediately rejoined, and the whole crossed the
THE NORTHWEST TERBITOEY. 77
Wisconsin in pursuit of Black Hawk and his band who were fleeing to the
Mississippi. They were overtaken on the 2d of August, and in the battle
which followed the power of the Indian chief was completely broken. He
fled, but was seized by the Winnebagoes and delivered to the whites.
On the 21st of September, 1832, Gen. Scott and Gov. Reynolds con-
cluded a treaty with the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes by which they
cedied to the United States a vast tract of country, and agreed to remain
peaceable with the whites. For the faithful performance of the provi-
sions of this treaty on the part of the Indians, it was stipulated that
Black Hawk, his two sons, the prophet Wabokieshiek, and six other chiefs
of the hostile bands should be retained as hostages during the pleasure
of the President. They were confined at Fort Barracks and put in irons.
The next Spring, by order of the Secretary of War, they were taken
to Washington. From there they were removed to Fortress Monroe,
"there to remain until the conduct of their nation was such as to justify
their being set at liberty." They were retained here until the 4th of
June, when the authorities directed them to be taken to the principal
cities so that they might see the folly of contending against the white
people. Everywhere they were observed by thousands, the name of the
old chief being extensively known. By the middle of August they
reached Fort Armstrong on Rock Island, where Black Hawk was soon
after released to go to his countrymen. As he passed the site of his birth-
place, now the home of the white man, he was deeply moved. His village
where he was born, where he had so happily lived, and where he had
hoped to die, was now another's dwelling place, and he was a wanderer.
On the next day after his rejjase, he went at once to his tribe and
his lodge. His wife was yet living, and with her he passed the remainder
of his days. To his credit it may be said that Black Hawk always re-
mained true to his wife, and served her with a devotion uncommon among
the Indians, living with her upward of forty years.
Black Hawk now passed his time hunting and fishing. A deep mel-
ancholy had settled over him from which he could not be freed. At all
times when he visited the whites he was received with marked atten-
tion. He was an honored guest at the old settlers' reunion in Lee County,
Illinois, at some of their meetings, and received many tokens of esteem.
In September, 1838, while on his way to Rock Island to receive his
annuity from the Government, he contracted a severe cold which resulted
in a fatal attack of bilious fever which terminated his life on October 3.
His faithful wife, who was devotedly attached to him, mourned deeply
during his sickness. After his death he was dressed in the uniform pre-
sented to him by the President while in Washington. He was buried in
a grave six feet in depth, situated upon a beautiful eminence. " The
78 THE NORTHWEST TEREITOEY.
body was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture, upon a
seat constructed for the purpose. On his left side, the cane, given him
by Henry Clay, was placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it.
Many of the old warrior's trophies were placed in the grave, and some
Indian garments, together with his favorite weapons."
No sooner was the Black Hawk war concluded than settlers began
rapidly to pour into the northern parts of Illinois, and into Wisconsin,
now free from Indian depredations. Chicago, from a trading post, had
grown to a commercial center, and was rapidly coming into prominence.
In 1835, the formation of a State Government in Michigan was discussed,
but did not take active form until two years later, when the State became
a part of the Federal Union.
The main attraction to that portion of the Northwest lying west of
Lake Michigan, now included in the State of Wisconsin, was its alluvial
wealth. Copper ore was found about Lake Superior. For some time this
region was attached to Michigan for judiciary purposes, but in 1830 was
made a territory, then including Minnesota and Iowa. The latter State
was detached two years later. In 1848, Wisconsin was admitted as ,a
State, Madison being made the capital. We have now traced the various
■divisions of the Northwest Territory (save a little in Minnesota) from
the time it was a unit comprising this vast territory, until ciroumstaaoeg
compelled its pjesent division.
THE IfOETHWEST TEBEITOBY.
7»
PRESENT CONDITION OF THE NORTHWEST,
Preceding chapters have brought us to the close of the Black Hawk
war, and we now turn to the contemplation of the growth and prosperity
of the Northwest under the smile of peace and the blessings of our civili-
zation. The pioneers of this region date events back to the deep snow
OLD FOET DBAKBOEN, 1830.
of 1831, no one arriving here since that date taking first honors. The
inciting cause of the immigration which overflowed the prairies early in
the '30s was the reports of the marvelous beauty and fertility of the
region distributed through the East by those who had participated in the
Black Hawk campaign with Gen. Scott. Chicago and Milwaukee then
had a few hundred inhabitants, and Gurdon S. Hubbard's trail from the
former city to Kaskaskia led almost through a wilderness. Vegetables.
and clothing were largely distributed through the regions adjoining the
HO
THE NORTHWEST TEKKITORY.
lakes by steamers from the Ohio towns. There are men now living in
Illinois who came to the state when barely an acre was in cultivation,
and a man now prominent in the business circles of Chicago looked over
the swampy, cheerless site of that metropolis in 1818 and went south
ward into civilization. Emigrants from Pennsylvania in 1830 left behind
'/AH£ft-'
LINCOLN MONUMENT, SPEINGEIELD, ILLINOIS.
them but one small railway in the coal regions, thirty miles in length,
and made their way to the Northwest mostly with ox teams, finding in
Northern Illinois petty settlements scores of miles apart, although the
southern portion of the state was fairly dotted with farms. The
water courses of the lakes and rivers furnished transportation to the
second great army of immigrants, and about 1850 railroads were
pushed to that extent that the crisis of 1837 was precipitated upon us,
THE NORTHWEST TEKEITOEY.
81
from the effects of which the "Western country had not fully recovered
at the outbreak of the war. Hostilities found the colonists of the prairies
fully alive to the demands of the occasion, and the honor of recruiting
o
»
O
O
a
a
«
SI
•A
o
the vast armies of the Union fell largely to Gov. Yates, of Illinois, and
Gov. Morton, of Indiana. To recount the share of the glories of the
campaign won by our Western troops is a needless task, except to
mention the fact that Illinois gave to the nation the President who saved
82
THE SrOETHWEST TEBKITOEY.
it, and sent out at the head of one of its regiments tne general who led
«ts armies to the final victory at Appomattox. The struggle, on the
CO
CO
00
o
whole, had a marked effect for the better on the new Northwest, gi fing
it an impetus which twenty years of peace would not have produced.
In a large degree this prosperity was an inflated one, and with the rest
of the Union we have since been compelled to atone therefor by foui
THE NORTHWEST TBRBITOEY. 83
years of depression of values, of scarcity of employment, and loss of
fortune. To a less degree, however, than the manufacturing or mining
regions has the West suffered during the prolonged panic now so near its
end. Agriculture, still the leading feature in our industries, has been
quite prosperous through all these dark years, and the farmers have
cleared away many incumbrances resting over them from the period of
fictitious values. The population has steadily increased, the arts and
sciences are gaining a stronger foothold, the trade area of the region is
becoming daily more extended, and we have been largely exempt from
the financial calamities which have nearly wrecked communities on the
seaboard dependent wholly on foreign commerce or domestic manufacture.
At the present period there are no great schemes broached for the
Northwest, no propositions for government subsidies or national works
of improvement, but the capital of the world is attracted hither for the
purchase of our products or the expansion of our capacity for serving the
nation at large. A new era is dawning as to transportation, and we bid
fair to deal almost exclusively with the increasing and expanding lines
of steel rail running through every few miles of territory on the prairies.
The lake marine will no doubt continue to be useful in the warmer
season, and to serve as a regulator of freight rates ; but experienced
navigators forecast the decay of the system in moving to the seaboard
the enormous crops of the West. Within the past five years it has
become quite- common to see direct shipments to Europe and the West
Indies going through from the second-class towns along the Mississippi
and Missouri.
As to popular education, the standard has of late risen very greatly,
and our schools would be creditable to any section of the Union.
More and more as the events of the war pass into obscurity will the
fate of the Northwest be linked with that of the Southwest, and the
next Congressional apportionment will give the valley of the Mississippi
absolute control of the legislation of the nation, and do much toward
securing the removal of the Federal capitol to some more central location.
Our public men continue to wield the full share of influence pertain-
ing to their rank in the national autonomy, and* seem not to forget that
for the past sixteen years they and their constituents have dictated the
principles which should govern the country.
In a work like this, destined to lie on the shelves of the library for
generations, and not doomed to daily destruction like a newspaper, one
can not indulge in the same glowing predictions, the sanguine statements
of actualities that fill the columns of ephemeral publications. Time may
bring grief to the pet projects of a writer, and explode castles erected on
a pedestal of facts. Yet there are unmistakable indications before us of
84 THE NOKTHWEST TERRITORY.
the same radical change in our great Northwest which characterizes its
history for the past thirty years. Our domain has a sort of natural
geographical border, save where it melts away to the southward in the
cattle raising districts of the southwest. ,
Our prime interest will for some years doubtless be the growth of
the food of the world, in which branch it has already outstripped all
competitors, and our great rival in this duty will naturally be the fertile
plains of Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado, to say nothing of the new
empire so rapidly growing up in Texas. Over these regions there is a
continued progress in agriculture and in railway building, and we must
look to our laurels. Intelligent observers of events are fully aware of
the strides made in the way of shipments of fresh meats to Europe,
many of these ocean cargoes being actually slaughtered in the West and
transported on ice to the wharves of the seaboard cities. That this new
enterprise will continue there is no reason to doubt. There are in
Chicago several factories for the canning of prepared meats for European
consumption, and the orders for this class of goods are already immense.
English capital is becoming daily more and more dissatisfied with railway
loans and investments, and is gradually seeking mammoth outlaysin
lands and live stock. The stock yards in Chicago, Indianapolis and East
St. Louis are yearly increasing their facilities, and their plant stead^^
grows more valuable. Importations of blooded animals from the pro-,
gressive countries of Europe are destined to greatly improve the quality,
of our beef and mutton. Nowhere is there to be seen a more enticing
display in this line than at our state and county fairs, and the intergS
in the matter is on the increase. ■
To attempt to give statistics of our grain production for 1877 woul^
be useless, so far have we surpassed ourselves in the quantity and
quality of our product. "We are too liable to forget that we are giving
the world its first article of necessity — its food supply. An opportunity
to learn this fact so it never can be forgotten was afforded at Chicago at
the outbreak of the great panic of 1873, when Canadian purchasers,
fearing the prostration of business might bring about an anarchical condition
of affairs, went to that city with coin in bulk and foreign drafts to secure
their supplies in their own currency at first hands. It may be justly
claimed by the agricultural community that their combined efforts gave
the nation its first impetus toward a restoration of its crippled industries,
and their labor brought the gold premium to a lower depth than the
government was able to reach by its most intense efforts of legislation
and compulsion. The hundreds of millions about to be disbursed for
farm products have already, by the anticipation common to all commercial
THE NOKTHWEST TEBRITOEY.
85
nations, set the wheels in motion, and will relieve us from the perils so
long shadowing our efforts to return to a healthy tone.
Manufacturing has attained in the chief cities a foothold which bids
fair to render the Northwest independent of the outside world. Nearly
HirNTINfi PRAIBIE WOLVES IN AN EABIA' DAY.
our whole region has a distribution of coal measures which will in time
support the manufactures necQpsary to our comfort and prosperity. As
to transportation, the chief factor in the production of all articles except-
food, no section is so magnificently endowed, and our facilities are yearly
increasing beyond those of any other region. -
86 THE NORTHWEST TEERITOEY.
The period from a central point of the war to the outbreak of the
panic was marked by a tremendous growth in bur railway lines, but the
depression of the times caused almost a total suspension of operations.
Now that prosperity is returning to our stricken country we witness its
anticipation by the railroad interest in a series of projects, extensions,
and leases which bid fair to largely increase our transportation faciUties.
The process of foreclosure and sale of incumbered lines is another matter
to be considered. In the case of the Illinois Central road, which formerly
transferred to other lines at Cairo the vast burden of freight destined for
the Gulf region, we now see the incorporation of the tracks connecting
through to New Orleans, every mile co-operating in turning toward the
northwestern metropolis the weight of the inter-state commerce 'of a
thousand miles or more of fertile plantations. Three competing routes
to Texas have established in Chicago their general freight and passenger
agencies. Four or five lines compete for all Pacific freights to a point as
as far as the interior of Nebraska. Half a dozen or more splendid bridge
structures have been thrown across the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers by
the railways. The Chicago and Northwestern line has become an aggre-
gation of over two thousand miles of rail, and , the Chicago, Milwaukee
and St. Paul is its close rival in extent and importance. The three lines
running to Cairo via Vincennes form a through route for all traffic with
the states to the southward. The chief projects now under discussion
are the Chicago and Atlantic, which is to unite with lines now built to
Charleston, and the Chicago and Canada Southern, which line will con-
nect with all the various branches of that Canadian enterprise. Our
latest new road is the Chicago and Lake Huron, formed of three lines,
and entering the city from Valparaiso on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne
and Chicago track. The trunk lines being mainly in operation, the.
progress made in the way of shortening tracks, making air-line branches,
and running extensions does not show to the advantage it deserves, as
this process is constantly adding new facilities to the established order
of things. The panic reduced the price of steel to a point where the
railways could hardly afford to use iron rails, and all our northwestern
lines report large relays of Bessemer track. The immense crops now
being moved have given a great rise to the value of railway stocks, and
their transportation must result in heavy pecuniary advantages.
Few are aware of the importance of the wholesale and jobbing trade ■
of Chicago. One leading firm has since the panic sold $24,000,000 of
dry goods in one year, and they now expect most confidently to add
seventy per cent, to the figures of their last year's business. In boots
and shoes and in clothing, twenty or more great firms from the east have
placed here their distributing agents or their factories ; and in groceries
THE NORTHWEST TEEEITOEY.
87
Chicago supplies the entire Northwest at rates presenting advantages
over New York.
Chicago has stepped in between New York and the rural banks as a
financial center, and scarcely a banking institution in the grain or cattle
regions but keeps its reserve funds in the vaults of our commercial insti-
tutions. Accumulating here throughout the spring and summer months,
they are summoned home at pleasure to move the products of the
prairies. This process greatly strengthens the northwest in its financial
operations, leaving home capital to supplement local operations on
.behalf of home interests.
It is impossible to forecast the destiny of this grand and growing
section of the Union. Figures and predictions made at this date might
seem ten years hence so ludicrously small as to excite only derision.
KINZIB HOtrSB.
Early History gf Illinois.
The name of this beautiful Prairie State is derived from IlUm, a
Delaware word signifying Superior Men. It has a French terminationJ
and is a symbol of how the two races — the French and the Indians —
were intermixed during the early history of the country.
The appellation was no doubt well applied to the primitive inhabit^
ants of the soil whose prowess in savage warfare long withstood the
combined attacks of the fierce Iroquois on the one side, and the no less
savage and relentless Sacs and Foxes on the other. The Illinois were
once a powerful confederacy, occupying the most beautiful and fertile
region in the great Valley of the Mississippi, which their enemies coveted
and struggled long and hard to wrest from them.~^».By the fortunes of
war they were diminished in numbers, and finally destroyed. " Starved
Rock," on the Illinois River, according to tradition, commemorates their
last tragedy, where, it is said, the entire tribe starved rather than sur-
render, '
EARLY DISCOVERIES.
The first European discoveries in Illinois date back over two hun-
dred years. They are a part of that movement which, from the begin-
ning to the middle of the seventeenth century, brought the French
Canadian missionaries and fur traders into the Valley of the Mississippi,
and which, at a later period, established the civil and ecclesiastical
authority of France from the (*ulf of St. Lawrence to the Giilf of Mexico,
and from the foot-hills of the AUeghanies to the Rocky Mountains.
The great river of the West had been discovered by DeSoto, the
Spanish conqueror of Florida, three quarters of a century before the
French founded Quebec in 1608, but the Spanish left the country a wil-
derness, without further exploration or settlement within its borders, in
which condition it remained until the Mississippi was discovered by the
agents of the French Canadian government, Joliet and Marquette, in 1673.
These renowned explorers were not the first w'hite visitors to Illinois,
In 1671 — two years in advance of them — came Nicholas Perrot to Chicago.
He had been sent by Talon as an agent of the Canadian government to
88
HISTORY OF THE STATE OP ILLrSTOIS.
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30 HISTOET OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
call a great peace convention of Western Indians at Green Bay, preparv
tory to the movement for the discovery of the Mississippi. It was
deemed a good stroke of policy to secure, as far as possible, the friend-
ship and co-operation of the Indians, far and near, before venturing upon
an enterprise which their hostility might render disastrous, and which
their friendship and assistance would do so much to make successful ;
and to this end Perrot was sent to call together in council the tribes
throughout the Northwest, and to promise them the commerce and pro-
tection of the French government. He accordingly arrived at Green
Bay in 1671, and procuring an escort of Pottawattamies, proceeded in a
bark canoe upon a visit to the Miamis, at Chicago. Perrot was there-
fore the first European to set foot upon the soil of Illinois.
Still there were others before Marquette. In 1672, the Jesuit mis-,
"sionaries, Fathers Claude AUouez and Claude Dablon, bore the. standard
of the Cross from their mission at Green Bay through western Wisconsin
and northern Illinois, visiting the Foxes on Fox River, and the Masquo-
tines and Kickapoos at the mouth of the Milwaukee. These missionaries
penetrated on the route afterwards followed by Marquette as far as the
Kickapoo village at the head of Lake Winnebago, where Marquette, in
his journey, secured guides across the portage to the Wisconsin.
The oft-repeated story of Marquette and Joliet is well known.
They were the agents employed by the Canadian government to discover
the Mississippi. Marquette was a native of France, born in 1637, a
Jesuit priest by education, and a man of simple faith and of great zeal and
devotion in extending the Roman Catholic religion among the Indians.
Arriving in Canada in 1666, he was sent as a missionary to the far
Northwest, and, in 1668, founded a mission at Sault Ste. Marie. The
following year he moved to La Pointe, in Lake Superior, where he
instructed a branch of the Hurons till 1670, when he removed south, and
founded the mission at St. Ignace, on the Straits of Mackinaw. Here
he remained, devoting a portion of his time to the study of the IlUnois
language under a native teacher who had accompanied him to the mission
from La Pointe, till he was joined by Joliet in the Spring of 1673. By
the way of Green Bay and the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, they entered
the Mississippi, which they explored to the mouth of the Arkansas, and
returned by the way of the Illinois and Chicago Rivers to Lake Michigan.
On bis way up the Illinois, Marquette visited the great village of
the Kaskaskias, near what is now Utica, in the county of LaSalle. The
following year he returned and established among them the mission of
the Immaculate Virgin Mary, which was the first Jesuit mission founded
in Illinois and in the Mississippi Valley. The intervening winter be
had spent in a hut which his companions erected on the Chicago River, a
few leagues from its mouth. The founding of this mission was the last
HISTOETt OP THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 91
act of Marquette's life. He died in Michigan, on his way back to Green
Bay, May 18, 1675.
FIRST FRENCH OCCUPATION.
The first French occupation of the territory now embraced in Illi-
nois was effected by LaSalle in 1680, seven years after the time of Mar-
C[uette and Joliet. LaSalle, having constructed a vessel, the " Griffin,"
above the falls of Niagara, which he sailed to Green Bay, and having
passed thence in canoes to the mouth of the St. Joseph River, by which
and the Kankakee he reached the Illinois, in January, 1680, erected Fort
Crevecoeur, at the lower end of Peoria Lake, where the city of Peoria is
now situated. The place where this ancient fort stood may still be seen
just below the outlet of Peoria Lake. It was destined, however, to a
temporary existence. From this point, LaSalle determined to descend
the Mississippi to its mouth, but did not accomplish this purpose till two
years later — in 1682. Returning to Fort Frontenac for the purpose of
getting materials with which to rig his vessel, he left the fort in charge of
Touti, his lieutenant, who during his absence was driven off by the Iro-
quois Indians. These savages had made a raid upon the settlement of
the Illinois, and had left nothing in their track but ruin and desolation.
Mr. Davidson, in his History of Illinois, gives the following graphic
account of the picture that met the eyes of LaSalle and his companions
on their return :
" At the great town of the Illinois they were appalled at the scene
which opened to their view. No hunter appeared to break its death-like
silence with a salutatory whoop ot welcome. The plain on which the
town had stood was now strewn with charred fragments of lodges, which
•had so recently swarmed with savage life and hilarity. To render more
hideous the picture of desolation, large numbers of skulls had been
placed on the upper extremities of lodge-poles which had escaped the
devouring flames. In the midst of these horrors was the rude fort of
the spoilers, rendered frightful by the same ghastly relics. A near
approach showed that the graves had been robbed of their bodies, and
swarms of buzzards were discovered glutting their loathsome stomachs
on the reeking corruption. To complete the work of destruction, the
growing corn of the village had been cut down and burned, while the
pits containing the products of previous years, had been rifled and their
contents scattered with wanton waste. It was evident the suspected
blow of the Iroquois had fallen with relentless fury."
Tonti had escaped LaSalle knew not whither. Passing down the
lake in search of him and his men, LaSalle discovered that the fort had
been destroyed, but the vessel which he had partly constructed was still
92 HISTORY OP THE STATE OP ILLINOIS.
on the stocks, and but slightly injured. After further fruitless search,
failing to find Tonti, he fastened to a tree a painting representing himself
and party sitting in a canoe and bearing a pipe of peace, and to the paint-
ing attached a letter addressed to Tonti.
Tonti had escaped, and, after untold privations, taken shelter among
the Pottawattamies near Green Bay. These were friendly to the French;
One of their old chiefs used to say, " There were but three great cap-
tains in the world, himself, Tonti and LaSalle."
GENIUS OF LaSALLE.
We must now return to LaSalle, whose exploits stand out in such
bold relief. He was borp in Rouen, France, in 1643. His father was
wealthy, but he renounced his patrimony on entering a college of the
Jesuits, from which he separated and came to Canada a poor man in 1666.
The priests of St. Sulpice, among whom he had a brother, were then the
proprietors of Montreal, the nucleus of which was a seminary or con-
vent founded by that order. The Superior granted to LaSalle a large
tract of land at LaChine, where he established himself in the fur trade.
He was a man of daring genius, and outstripped all his competitors in
exploits of travel and commerce with the Indians. In 1669, he visited
the headquarters of the great Iroquois Confederacy, at Onondaga, in the
heart of New York, and, obtaining guides', explored the Ohio River to
the falls at Louisville.
In order to understand the genius of LaSalle, it must be remembered
that for many years prior to his time the missionaries and traders were
obliged to make their way to the Northwest by the Ottawa River (of
Canada) on account of the fierce hostility of the Iroquois along the lower
lakes and Niagara River, which entirely closed this latter route to the
Upper Lakes. They carried on their commerce chiefly by canoes, pad-
dling them through the Ottawa to Lake Nipissing, carrying them across
the portage to French River, and descending that to Lake Huron. This
being the route by which they reached the Northwest, accounts for the
fact that all the earliest Jesuit missions were established in the neighboi^
hood of the Upper Lakes. LaSalle conceived the grand idea of opening
the route by Niagara River and the Lower Lakes to Canadian commerce
by sail vessels, connecting it with the navigation of the Mississippi, and
thus opening a magnificent water communication from the Gulf of St.
Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. This truly grand and comprehensive
purpose seems to have animated him in all his wonderful achievements
and the matchless difficulties and hardships he surmounted. As the first
step in the accomplishment of this object he established himself on Lake
Ontario, and built and garrisoned Fort Frontenac, the site of the present
HISTOEY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 93
city of Kingston, Canada. Here he obtained a grant of land from the
French crown and a body of troops by which he beat back the invading
Iroquois and cleared the passage to Niagara Falls. Having by this mas-
terly stroke made it safe to attempt a hitherto untried expedition, his
next step, as we have seen, was to advance to the Falls with all his
outfit for building a ship with which to sail the lakes. He was success-
ful in this undertaking, though his ultimate purpose was defeated by a
strange combination of untoward circumstances. The Jesuits evidently
hated LaSalle and plotted against him, because he had abandoned them
and co-operated with a rival order. The fur traders were also jealous of
his superior success in opening new channels of commerce. At LaChine
he had taken the trade of Lake Ontario, which but for his presence there
would have gone to Quebec. While they were plodding with their barn:
canoes through the Ottawa he was constructing sailing vessels to com-
mand che trade of the lakes and the Mississippi. These great plans
excited the jealousy and envy of the small traders, introduced treason and
revolt into the ranks of his own companions, and finally led to the foul
assassination by which his great achievements were prematurely ended.
In 1682, LaSalle, having completed his vessel at Peoria, descended
the Mississippi to its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico. Erecting a
standard on which he inscribed the arms of France, he took formal pos-
session of the whole valley of the mighty river, in the name of Louis
XIV., then reigning, in honor of whom he named the country Louisiana.
LaSalle then went to France, was appointed Governor, and returned
with a fleet and immigrants, for the purpose of planting a colony in Illi-
nois. They arrived in due time in the Gulf of Mexico, but failing to
find the mouth of the Mississippi, up which LaSalle intended to sail, his
supply ship, with the immigrants, was driven ashore and wrecked on
Matagorda Bay. With the fragments of the vessel he constructed a
stockade and rude huts on the shore for the protection of the immigrants,
calling the post Fort St. Louis. He then made a trip into New Mexico,
in search of silver mines, but, meeting with disappointment, returned to
find his little colony reduced to forty souls. He then resolved to travel
on foot to Illinois, and, starting with his companions, had reached the
valley of the Colorado, near the mouth of Trinity river, when he was
shot by one of his men. This occurred on the 19th of March, 1687.
Dr. J. W. Foster remarks of him : " Thus fell, not far from the banks
of the Trinity, Robert Cavalier de la Salle, one of the grandest charac-
ters that ever figured in American history — a man capable of originating
the vastest schemes, and endowed with a will and a judgment capable of
carrying them to successful results. Had ample facilities been placed by
the King of France at his disposal, the result of the colonization of this
continent might have been far different from what we now behold."
94 HISTOET OP THE STATE OP ILLINOIS.
^ EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
A temporary- settlement was made at Fort St. Louis, or the old Kas-
kaskia village, on the Illinois River, in what is now LaSalle County, in
1682. In 1690, this was removed, with the mission connected with it, to
Kaskaskia, on the river of that name, emptying into the lower Mississippi
in St. Clair County. Cahokia was settled about the same time, or at
least, both of these settlements began in the year 1690, though it is now
pretty well settled that Cahokia is the older place, and ranks as the oldest
permanent settlement in Illinois, as well as in the Mississippi Valley.
The reason for the removal of the old Kaskaskia settlement and mission,
was probably because the dangeroucs and difficult route by Lake Michigan
and the Chicago portage had been almost abandoned, and travelers and
traders passed down and up the Mississippi by the Fox and Wisconsin
River route. They removed to the vicinity of the Mississippi in order
to be in the line of travel from Canada to Louisiana, that is, the lower
part of it, for it was all Louisiana then south of the lakes.
During the period of French rule in Louisiana, the population prob-
ably never exceeded ten thousand, including whites and blacks. Within
that portion of it now included in Indiana, trading posts were established
at the principal Miami villages which stood on the head waters of the
Maumee, the Wea villages situated at Ouiatenon, on the Wabash, and
the Piankeshaw villages at Post Vincennes ; all of which were probably
visited by French traders and missionaries before the close of the seven-
teenth century.
In the vast territory claimed by the French, many settlements of
considerable importance had sprung up. Biloxi, on Mobile Bay, had
been founded by D'lbervUle, in 1699 ; Antoine de Lamotte Cadillac had
founded Detroit in 1701 ; and New Orleans had been founded by Bien-
ville, under the auspices of the Mississippi Company, in 1718. In Illi-
nois also, considerable settlements had been made, so that in 1730 they
embraced one hundred and forty French families, about six hundred " con-
verted Indians," and many traders and voyageurs. In that portion of the
country, on the east side of the Mississippi, there were five distinct set-
tlements, with their respective villages, viz. : Cahokia, near the mouth
of Cahokia Creek and about five miles below the present city of St.
Louis ; St. Philip, about forty-five miles below Cahokia, and four miles
above Fort Chartres; Fort Chartres, twelve miles above Kaskaskia."
Kaskaskia, situated on the Kaskaskia River, five miles above its conhu-
ence with the Mississippi ; and Prairie du Rocher, near Fort Chartres-
To these must be added St. Genevieve and St. Louis, on the west side
of the Mississippi. These, with the exception of St. Louis, are among
I HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 95
the oldest French towns in the Mississippi Valley. Kaskaskia, in its best
days, was a town of some two or three thousand inhabitants. After it
passed from the crown of France its population for many years did not
exceed fifteen hundred. Under British rule, in 1773, the population had
decreased to four hundred and fifty. As early as 1721, the Jesuits had
established a college and a monastery in Kaskaskia.
Fort Chartres was first built under the direction of the Mississippi
Company, in 1718, by M. de Boisbraint, a military officer, under command
of Bienville. It stood on the east bank of the Mississippi, about eighteen
miles below Kaskaskia, and was for some time the headquarters of the
military commandants of the district of Illinois.
In the Centennial Oration of Dr. Fowler, delivered at Philadelphia,
by appointment of Gov. Beveridge, we find some interesting facts with
regard to the State of Illinois, which we appropriate in this history :
In 1682 Illinois became a possession of the French crown, a depend-
ency of Canada, and a part of Louisiana. In 1765 the English flag was
run up on old Fort Chartres, and IlHnois was counted among the treas-
ures of Great Britain.
In 1779 it was taken from the English by Col. George Rogers Clark.
This man was resolute in nature, wise in council, prudent in policy, bold
in action, and heroic in danger. Few men who have figured in the his-
tory of America are more deserving than this colonel. Nothing short of
first-class ability could have rescued Vincens and all Illinois from the
English. And it is not possible to over-estimate the influence of this
achievement upon the republic. In 1779 Illinois became a part of Vir-
ginia. It was soon known as Illinois County. In 1784 Virginia ceded
all this territory to the general government, to be cut into States, to be
republican in form, with " the same right of sovereignty, freedom, and
independence as the other States."
In 1787 it was the object of the wisest and ablest legislation found
in any merely human records. No man can study the secret history of
THE " COMPACT OF 1787,"
and not feel that Providence was guiding with sleepless eye these unborn
States. The ordinance that on July 13, 1787, finally became the incor-
porating act, has a most marvelous history. Jefferson had vainly tried
to secure a system of government for the northwestern territory. He
was an emancipationist of that day, and favored the exclusion of slavery
from the territory Virginia had ceded to the general government; but-
the South voted him down as often as it came up. In 1787, as late as-
July 10, an organizing act without the anti-slavery clause was pending.
This concession to the South was expected to carry it. Congress was ia
96 HISTORY OF THE STAa?E OF ILLINOIS.
session in New York City. On July 5, Rev. Dr. Manasseh Cutler, of
Massachusetts, came into New York to lobby on the northwestern terri-
tory. Everything seemed to fall into his hands. Events were ripe.
The state of the public credit, the growing of Southern prejudice,
the basis of his mission, his personal character, all combined to complete
6ne of those sudden and marvelous revolutions of public sentiment that
once in five or ten centuries are seen to sweep over a country like the
breath of the Almighty. Cutler was a graduate of Yale — received his
A.M. from Harvard, and his D.D. from Yale. He had studied and taken
degrees in the three learned professions, medicine, law, and divinity. He
had thus America's best indorsement. He had published a scientific
examination of the plants of New England. His name stood second only
to that of Franklin as a scientist in America. He was a courtly gentle-
man of the old style, a man of commanding presence, and of inviting
face. The Southern members said they had never seen such a gentleman
in the North. He came representing a company that desired to purchase
a tract of land now included in Ohio,«for the purpose of planting a colony.
It was a speculation. Government money was worth eighteen cents on
the dollar. This Massachusetts company had collected enough to pu^r-
chase 1,500,000 acres of land. Other speculators in New York made
Dr. Cutler their agent (lobbyist). On the 12th he represented a demand
for 5,500,000 acres. This would reduce the national debt. Jefferson
and Virginia were regarded as authority concerning the land Virginia
had just ceded. Jefferson's policy wanted to provide for the public credit,
and this was a good opportunity to do something.
Massachusetts then owned the territory of Maine, which she was
crowding on the market. She was opposed to opening the northwestern
region. This fired the zeal of Virginia. The South caught the inspira-
tion, and all exalted Dr. Cutler. The English minister invited him to
dine with some of the Southern gentlemen. He was the center of interest.
The entire South rallied round him. Massachusetts could not vote
against him, because many of the constituents of her members were
interested personally in the western speculation. Thus Cutler, making
friends with the South, and, doubtless, using all the arts of the lobby,
was enabled to command the situation. True to deeper convictions, he
dictated one of the most compact and finished documents of wise states-
manship that has ever adorned any human law book. He borrowed from
Jefferson the term " Articles of Compact," which, preceding the federal
constitution, rose into the most sacred character. He then followed very
closely the constitution of Massachusetts, adopted three years before.
Its most marked points were :
1. The exclusion of slavery from the territory forever.
2. Provision for public schools, giving one township for a seminary,
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. " 97
and every section numbered 16 in each township ; that is, one-thirty-sixth
of all the land, for public schools.
3. A provision prohibiting the adoption of any constitution or the
enactment of any law that should nullify pre-existing contracts.
Be it forever remembered that this compact declared that " Religion,
morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the
happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall always
be encouraged."
Dr. Cutler planted himself on this platform and would not yield.
Giving his unqualified declaration that it was that or nothing — that unless
they could make the land desirable they did not want it — he took his
horse and buggy, and started for the constitutional convention in Phila-
delphia. On July 13, 1787, the bill was put upon its passage, and was
unanimously adopted, every Southern member voting for it, and only one
man, Mr. Yates, of New York, voting against it. But as the States voted
as States, Yates lost his vote, and the compact was put beyond repeal.
Thus the great States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wis-
consin— a vast empire, the heart of the great valley — were consecrated
to freedom, intelligence, and honesty. Thus the great heart of the nation
was prepared for a year and a day and an hour. In the light of these eighty-
nine years I affirm that this act was the salvation of the republic and the
destruction of slavery. Soon the South saw their great blunder, and
tried to repeal the compact. In 1803 Congress referred it to a committee
of which John Randolph was chairman. He reported that this ordinance
was a compact, and opposed repeal. Thus it stood a rock, in the way
of the on-rushing sea of slavery.
With all this timely aid it was, after all, a most desperate and pro-
tracted struggle to keep the soil of Illinois sacred to freedom. It was
the natural battle-field for the irrepressible conflict. In the southern end
of the State slavery preceded the compact. It existed among the old
French settlers, and was hard to eradicate. The southern part of the
State was settled from the slave States, and this population brought their
laws, customs, and institutions with them. A stream of population from
the North poured into the northern part of the State. These sections
misunderstood and hated each other perfectly. The Southerners regarded
the Yankees as a skinning, tricky, penurious race of peddlers, filling the
country with tinware, brass clocks, and wooden nutmegs. The North-
erner thought of the Southerner as a lean, lank, lazy creature, burrowing
in a hut, and rioting in whisky, dirt and ignorance. These causes aided
in making the struggle long and bitter. So strong was the sympathy
with slavery that, in spite of the ordinance of 1787, and in spite of the
deed of cession, it was determined to allow the old French settlers to
retain their slaves. Planters from the slave States might bring their
98 HISTOKT OF THE STATE OP ILLrNOIS.
slaves, if they would give them a chance to choose freedom or years
of service and bondage for their children till they should become
thirty years of age. If they chose freedom they must leave the State
in sixty days or be sold as fugitives. Servants were whipped for offenses
for which white men are fined. Each lash paid forty cents of the fine. A
negro ten miles from home without a pass was whipped. These famous
laws were imported from the slave States just as they imported laws hi
the inspection of flax and wool when there was neither in the State.
These Black Laws are now wiped out. A vigorous effort was made
to protect slavery in the State Constitution of 1817. It barely failed.
It was renewed in 1825, when a convention was asked to make a new
constitution. After a hard fight the convention was defeated. But
slaves did not disappear from the census of the State until 1850. There
were mobs and murders in the interest of slavery. Lovejoy was added
to the list of martyrs — a sort of first-fruits of that long life of immortal
heroes who saw freedom as the one supreme desire of their souls, and
were so enamored of her that they preferred to die rather than survive her.
The population of 12,282 that occupied the territory in A.D. 1800,
increased to 45,000 in A.D. 1818, when the State Constitution was
adopted, and Illinois took her place in the Union, with a star on the flag
and two votes in the Senate.
Shadrach Bond was the first Governor, and in his first message he
recommended the "construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal.
The simple economy in those days is seen in the fact that the entire
bill for stationery for the first Legislature was only fl3.50. Yet this
simple body actually enacted a very superior code.
There was no money in the territory before the war of 1812. Deer
skins and coon skins were the circulating medium. In 1821, the Legis-
lature ordained a State Bank on the credit of the State. It issued notes
in the likeness of bank bills. These notes were made a legal tender for
every thing, and the bank was ordered to loan to the people f 100 on per-
sonal security, and more on mortgages. They actually passed a resolu-
tion requesting the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States to
receive these notes for land. The old French Lieutenant Governor, Col.
Menard, put the resolution as follows: " Gentlemen of the Senate : It is
moved and seconded dat de notes of dis bank be made land-office money.
All in favor of dat motion say aye ; all against it say no. It is decided
in de affirmative. Now, gentlemen, I bet you one hundred dollar he
never be land-office money ! " Hard sense, like hard money, is always
above par.
This old Frenchman presents a fine figure up against the dark back-
ground of most of his nation. They made no progress. They clung to
their aarliest and simplest implements. They never wore hats or cap»
HISTOKT OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 99
They pulled their blankets over their heads in the winter like the Indians,
with whom they freely intermingled.
Demagogism had an early development. One John Grammar (only
in name), elected to the Territorial and State Legislatures of 1816 and
1836, invented the policy of opposing every new thing, saying, " If it
succeeds, no one will ask who voted against it. If it proves a failure, he
could quote its record." In sharp contrast with Grammar was the char-
acter of D. P. Cook, after whom the county containing Chicago was
named. Such was his transparent integrity and remarkable ability that
his will was almost the law of the State. In Congress, a young man,
and from a poor State, he was made Chairman of the Ways and Means
Committee. He was pre-eminent for standing by his committee, regard-
less of consequences. It was his integrity that elected John Quincy
Adams to the Presidency. There were four candidates in 1824, Jackson,
Clay, Crawford, and John Quincy Adams. There being no choice by the
people, the election was thrown into the House. It was so balanced that
it turned on his vote, and that he cast for Adams, electing him ; then
went home to face the wrath of the Jackson party in Illinois. It cost
him all but character and greatness. It is a suggestive comment on the
times, that there was no legal interest till 1830. It often reached 150
per cent., usually 50 per cent. Then it was reduced to 12, and now to
10 per cent.
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE PRAIRIE STATE.
In area the State has 55,410 square miles of territory. It is about
150 miles wide and 400 miles long, stretching in latitude from Maine to
North Carolina. It embraces wide variety of climate. It is tempered
on the north by the great inland, saltless, tideless sea, which ke,eps the
thermometer from either extreme. Being a table land, from 600 to 1,600
feet above the level of the sea, one is prepared to find on the health
maps, prepared by the general government, an almost clean and perfect
record. In freedom from fever and malarial diseases and consumptions,
the three deadly enemies of the American Saxon, Illinois, as a State,
stands without a superior. She furnishes one of the essential conditions
of a great people — sound bodies. I suspect that this fact lies back of
that old Delaware word, lUini, superior men.
The great battles of history that have b^en determinative of dynas-
ties and destinies have been strategical battles, chiefly the question of
position. Thermopylae has been the war-cry of freemen for twenty-four
centuries. It only tells how much there may be in position. All this
advantage belongs to Illinois. It is in the heart of the greatest valley in
the world, the vast region between the mountains — a valley that could
H
100 HISTORY OP THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
feed mankind for one thousand years. It is well on toward the center of
the continent. It is in the great temperate belt, in which have been
found nearly all the aggressive civilizations of history. It has sixty-five
miles of frontage on the head of the lake. With the Mississippi forming
the western and southern boundary, with the Ohio running along the
southeastern line, with the Illinois River and Canal dividing the State
diagonally from the lake to the Lower Mississippi, and with the Rock and
Wabash Rivers furnishing altogether 2,000 miles of water-front, con-
necting with, and running through, in all about 12,000 miles of navi-
gable water. *
But this is not all. These waters are made most available by the
fact that the lake and the State lie oh the ridge running into the great
valley from the east. Within cannon-shot of the lake the water runs
away from the lake to the Gulf. The lake now empties at both ends,
one into the Atlantic and one into the Gulf of Mexico. The lake thus
seems to hang over the land. This makes the dockage most serviceable ;
there are no steep banks to damage it. Both lake and river are made
for use.
The climate varies from Portland to Richmond ; it favors every pro-
duct of the continent, including the tropics, with less than half a dozen
exceptions. It produces every great nutriment of the world except ban-
anas and rice. It is hardly too much to say that it is the most productive
spot known to civilization. With the soil full of bread and the earth full
of minerals ; with an upper surface of food and an under layer of fuel ;
with perfect natural drainage, and abundant springs and streams and
navigable rivers ; half way between the forests of the North and the fruits
of the South ; within a day's ride of the great deposits of iron, coal, cop-
per, lead, and zinc; containing and controlling the great grain, cattle,
pork, and lumber markets of the world, it is not strange that Illinois has
the advantage of position.
This advantage has been supplemented by the character of the popu-
lation. In the early days when Illinois was first admitted to the Union,
her population were chiefly from Kentucky and Virginia. But, in th§
conflict of ideas concerning slavery, a strong tide of emigration came in
from the East, and soon changed this composition. In 1870 her non-
native population were from colder soils. New York furnished 133,290 j
Ohio gave 162,623 ; Pennsylvania sent on 98,352 ; the entire South gave
us only 206,734. In all her cities, and in all her German and Scandina-
vian and other foreign colonies, Illinois has only about one-Mth of her
people of foreign birth.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. IQl
PROGRESS OF DEVELOPMENT.
One of the greatest elements in the early development of Illinpis is
the Jfllinois and Michigan Canal, connecting the Illinois and Mississippi
Rivers with the lakes. It was of the utmost importance to the State.
It was recommended by Gov. Bond, the first governor, in his first message.
In 1821, the Legislature appropriated §10,000 for surveying the route.
Two bright young engineers surveyed it, and estimated the cost at
1600,000 or $700,000. It finally cost $8,000,000. In 1825, a law was
passed to incorporate the Canal Company, but no stock was sold. In
1826, upon the solicitation of Cook, Congress gave 800,000 acres of land
on the line of the work. In 1828, another law — commissioners appointed,
and work commenced with new sjirvey and new estimates. In 1834-35,
George Farquhar made an able report on the whole matter. This was,
doubtless, the ablest report ever made to a western legislature, and it
became the model for subsequent reports and action. From this the
work went on till it was finished in 1848. It cost the State a large
amount of money ; but it gave to the industries of the State an impetus
that pushed it up into the first rank of greatness. It was not built as a
speculation any more than a doctor is employed on a speculation. But
it has paid into the Treasury of the State an average annual net sum of
over $111,000.
Pending the construction of the canal, the land and town-lot fevei
broke out in the State, in 1834-85. It took on the malignant type in
Chicago, lifting the town up into a city. The disease spread over the
entire State and adjoining States. It was epidemic. It cut up men's
farms without regard to locality, aud eut up the purses of the purchasers
without regard to consequences. It is estimated that building lots enough
were sold in Indiana alone to accommodate every citizen then in the
United States.
Towns and cities were exported to the Eastern market by the ship-
load. There was no lack of buyers. Every up-ship came freighted with
speculators and their money.
This distemper seized upon the Legislature in 1836-37, and left not
one to tell the tale. They enacted a system of internal improvement
without a parallel in the grandeur of its conception. They ordered the
construction of 1,300 miles of railroad, crossing the State in all direc-
tions. This was surpassed by the river and canal improvements.
There were a few counties not touched by either railroad or river or
canal, and those were to be comforted and. compensated by the free dis-
tribution of $200,000 among them. To inflate this balloon beyond cre-
dence it was ordered that work should be commenced on both ends of
102 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP ILLINOIS.
each of these railroads and rivers, and at each river-crossing, all at the
same time. The appropriations for these vast improvements were over
$12,000,000, and commissioners were appointed to borrow the money on
the credit of the State. Remember that all this was in the early days of
railroading, when railroads were luxuries; that the State had whole
counties with scarcely a cabin ; and that the population of the State was
less than 400,000, and you can form some idea of the vigor with which
these brave men undertook the work of making a great State. In the
light of history I am compelled to say that this was only a premature
throb of the power that actually slumbered in the soil of the State. It
was Hercules in the cradle.
At this juncture the State Bank loaned its funds largely to Godfrey
Gilman & Co., and to other leading houses, for the purpose of drawing
trade from St. Louis to Alton. Soon they failed, and took down the
bank with them.
In 1840, all hope seemed gone. A population of 480,000 were loaded
with a debt of $14,000,000. It had only six small cities, really only
towns, namely : Chicago, Alton, Springfield, Quincy, Galena, Nauvoo.
This debt was to be cared for when there was not a dollar in the treas-
ury, and when the State had borrowed itself out of all credit, and when
there was not good money enough in the hands of all the people to pay
the interest of the debt for a single year. Yet, in the presence of all
these difficulties, the young State steadily refused to repudiate. Gov.
Ford took hold of the problem and solved it, bringing the State through
in triumph.
Having touched lightly upon some of the more distinctive points in
the history of the development of Illinois, let us next briefly consider the
MATERIAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE.
It is a garden four hundred miles long and one hundred and fifty
miles wide. Its soil is chiefly a black sandy loam, from six inches to
sixty feet thick. On the American bottoms it has been cultivated for
one hundred and fifty years without renewal. About the old French
towns it has yielded corn for a century and a half without rest or help.
It produces nearly everything green in the temperate and tropical zones.
She leads all other States in the number of acres actually under plow.
Her products from 25,000,000 of acres are incalculable. Her mineral
we alth is scarcely second to her agricultural power. She has coal, iron,
lead, copper, zinc, many varieties of building stone, fire clay, curaa clay,
common brick clay, sand of all kinds, gravel, mineral paint — every thing
needed for a high civilization. Left to herself, she has the elements of
all greatness. The single item of coal is too vast for an appreciatitB
HTSTOEY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 103
handling in figures. We can handle it in general terms like algebraical
signs, but long before Ve get up into the millions and billions the human
mind drops down from comprehension to mere symbolic apprehension.
"When I tell you that nearly four-fifths of the entire State is under-
laid with a deposit of coal more than forty feet thick on the average (now
estimated, by recent surveys, at seventy feet thick), you can get some
idea of its amount, as you do of the amount of the national debt. There
it is! 41,000 square miles — one vast mine into which you could put
any of the States ; in which you could bury scores of European and
ancient empires, and have room enough all round to work without know-
ing that they had been sepulchered there.
Put this vast coal-bed down by the other great coal deposits of the
world, and its importance becomes manifest. Great Britain has 12,000
square miles of coal ; Spain, 3,000 ; France, 1,719 ; Belgium, 578 ; Illinois
about twice as many square miles as all combined. Virginia has 20,000
square miles ; Pennsylvania, 16,000 ; Ohio, 12,000. Illinois has 41,000
square miles. One-seventh of all the known coal on this continent is in
Illinois.
Could we sell the coal in this single State for one-seventh of one cent
a ton it would pay the national debt. Converted into power, even, with
the wastage in our common engines, it would do more work than could
be done by the entire race, beginning at Adam's we4ding and working
ten hours a day through all the centuries till the present time, and right
on into the future at the same rate for the next 600,000 years.
Great Britain uses enough mechanical power to-day to give to each
man, woman, and child in the kingdom the help and service of nineteen
untiring servants. No wonder she has leisure and luxuries. No wonder
the home of the common artisan has in it more luxuries than could be
found in the palace of good old King Arthur. Think, if you can conceive
of it, of the vast army of servants that slumber in the soil of Illinois,
impatiently awaiting the call of Genius to come forth to minister to our
comfort.
At the present rate of consumption England's coal supply will be
exhausted in 250 years. When this is gone she must transfer her dominion
either to the Indies, or to British America, which I would not resist ; or
to some other people, which I would regret as a loss to civilization.
COAL IS KING.
At the same rate of consumption (which far exceeds our own) the
deposit of coal in Illinois will last 120,000 years. And her kingdom shall
be an everlasting kingdom.
■^ Let us turn now from this reserve power to the awnual products of
104 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
the State. We shall not be humiliated in this field. Here we strike the
secret of our national credit. Nature provides a 'market in the constant
appetite of the race. Men must eat, and if we can furnish the provisions
we can command the treasure. All that a man hath will he give for his
Hfe.
According to the last census Illinois produced 30,000,000 of bushels
of wheat. That is more wheat than was raised by any other State in the
Union. She raised In 1875, 130,000,000 of bushels of corn — twice as
much as any other State, and one-sixth of all the corn raised in the United
States. She harvested 2,747,000 tons of hay, nearly one-tenth of all the
hay in the Republic. It is not generally appreciated, but it is true, that
the hay (*op of the country is worth more than the cotton crop. The
hay of Illinois equals the cotton of Louisiana. Go to Charleston, S. C,
and see them peddling handfuls of hay or grass, almost as a curiosity,
as we regard Chinese gods or the cryolite of Greenland ; drink your
coffee and condensed milk ; and walk back from the coast for many a
league through the sand and burs till you get up into the better atmos-
phere of the mountains, without seeing a waving meadow or a grazing
herd ; then you will begin to appreciate the meadows of the Prairie State,
where the grass often grows sixteen feet high.
The value of her farm implements is $211,000,000, and the value of
her live stock is only second to the great State. of New York. in 1875
she had 25,000,000 hogs, and packed 2,113,845, about one-half of all that
were packed in the United States. This is no insignificant item. Pork
is a growing demand of the old world. Since the laborers of Europe
have gotten a taste of our bacon, and we have learned how to pack it dry
in boxes, like dry goods, the world has become the market.
The hog is on the march into the future. His nose is ordained to
uncover the secrets of dominion, and his feet shall be guided by the star
of empire.
Illinois marketed $57,000,000 worth of slaughtered animals — ^more
than any other State, and a seventh of all the States.
Be patient with me, and pardon my pride, and I will give you a list
of some of the things in which Illinois excels all other States.
Depth and richness of soil ; per cent, of good ground ; acres of
improved land ; large farms — some farms contain from 40,000 to 60,000
acres of cultivated land, 40,000 acres of corn on a single farm ; number of
farmers ; amount of wheat, corn, oats and honey produced ; value of ani-
mals for slaughter ; number of hogs ; amount of pork ; number of horses
— three times as many as Kentucky, the horse State.
Illinois excels all other States in miles of railroads and in miles of
postal service, and in money orders sold per annum, and in the amount of
lumber sold in her markets.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OP nj<INOIS. 105
Illinois is only second in many important matters. This sample list
comprises a few of the more important : Permanent school fund (good
for a young state) ; total income for educational purposes ; number of pub-
lishers of books, maps, papers, etc.; value of farm products and imple-
ments, and of live stock ; in tons of coal mined.
The shipping of Illinois is only second to New York. Out of one
port during the business hours of the season of navigation she sends forth
a vessel every ten minutes. This does not include canal boats, which go
one every five minutes. No wonder she is only second in number of
bankers and brokers or in physicians and surgeons.
She is third in colleges, teachers and schools ; cattle, lead, hay,
flax, sorghum and beeswax.
She is fourth in population, jn children enrolled in public schools, in
law schools, in butter, potatoes and carriages.
She is fifth in value of real and personal property, in theological
seminaries and colleges exclusively for women, in milk sold, and in boots
and shoes manufactured, and in book-binding.
She is only seventh in the production of wood, while she is the
twelfth in area. Surely that is well done for the Prairie State. She now
has much more wood and growing timber than she had thirty years ago.
A few leading industries will justify emphasis. She manufactures
$205,000,000 worth of goods, which places her well up toward New York
and Pennsylvania. The number of her manufacturing establishments
.increased from 1860 to 1870, 300 per cent.; capital employed increased850
per cent., and the amount of product increased 400 per cent. She issued
5,500,000 copies of commercial and financial newspapers — only second to
New York. She has 6,759 miles of railroad, thus leading all other States,
worth $636,458,000, using 3,245 engines, and 67,712 cars, making a train
long enough to cover one-tenth of the entire roads of the State. Her
stations are only five miles apart. She carried last year 15,795,000 passen-
gers, an average of 36f miles, or equal to taking her entire population twice
across the State. More than two-thirds of her land is within five miles of
a railroad, and less than two per cent, is more than fifteen miles away.
The State has a large ^nancial interest in the Illinois Central railroad.
The road was incorporated in 1850, and the State gave each alternate sec-
tion for six miles on each side, and doubled the price of the remaining
land, so keeping herself good. The road received 2,595,000 acres of land,
and pays to the State one-seventh of the gross receipts. The State
receives this year $350,000, and has received in all about $7,000,000. It
is practically the people's road, and it has a most able and gentlemanly
management. Add to this the annual receipts from the canal, $111,000,
and a large per cent, of the State tax is provided for.,
106 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF n^LUfOlS.
THE RELIGION AND MORALS
of the State keep step with her productions and growth. She was horn
of the missionary spirit. It was a minister who secured for her the ordi-
nance of 1787, by which she has been saved from slavery, ignorance, and
dishonesty. Rev. Mr. Wiley, pastor of a Scotch congregation in Randolph
County, petitioned the Constitutional Convention of 1818 to recognize
Jesus Christ as king, and the Scriptures as the only necessary guide and
book of law. The convention did not act in the case, and the old Cove-
nanters refused to accept citizenship. They never voted until 1824, when
the slavery question was submitted to the people ; then they all voted
against it and cast the determining votes. Conscience has predominated
whenever a great moral question has been submitted to the people.
But little mob violence has ever been felt in the State. In 1817
regulators disposed of a band of horse-thieves that infested the territory.
The Mormon indignities finally awoke the same spirit. Alton was also
the scene of a pro-slavery mob, in which Lovejoy was added to the list of
martyrs. The moral sense of the people makes the law supreme, and gives
to the State unruffled peace.
With $22,300,000 in church property, and 4,298 church organizations,
the State has that divine police, the sleepless patrol of moral ideas, that
alone is able to secure perfect safety. Conscience takes the knife from
the assassin's hand and the bludgeon from the grasp of the highwayman.
We sleep in safety, not because we are behind bolts and bars — ^these only
fence against the innocent ; not because a lone officer drowses on a distant
corner of a street ; not because a sheriff may call his posse from a remote
part of the county ; but because conscience guards the very portals of the
air and stirs in the deepest recesses of the public mind. This spirit issues
within the State 9,500,000 copies of religious papers annually, and receives
still more from without. Thus the crime of the State is only one-fourth
that of New York and one-half that of Pennsylvania.
Illinois never had but one duel between her own citizens. In Belle-
ville, in 1820, Alphonso Stewart and William Bennett arranged to vindi-
cate injured honor. The seconds agreed to make it a sham, and make
them shoot blanks. Stewart was in the secret. Bennett mistrusted some-
thing, and, unobserved, slipped a bullet into his gun and killed Stewart.
He then fled the State. After two years he was caught, tried, convicted,
and, in spite of friends and political aid, was hung. This fixed the code
of honor on a Christian basis, and terminated its use in Illinois.
The early preachers were ignorant men, who were accounted eloquent
according to the strength of their voices. But they set the style for all
public speakers. Lawyers and political speakers followed this rule. Gov.
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF ILLmOIS. 107
Ford says: "Nevertheless, these first preachers were of incalculable
benefit to the country. They inculcated justice and morality. To them
are we indebted for the first Christian character of the Protestant portion
of the people."
In education Illinois surpasses her material resources. The ordinance
of 1787 consecrated one thirty-sixth of her soil to common schools, and
the law of 1818, the first law that went upon her statutes, gave three per
cent, of all the rest to
EDUCATION.
The old compact secures this interest forever, and by its yoking
morality and intelligence it precludes the legal interference with the Bible
in the public schools. With such a start it is natural that we should have
11,050 schools, and that our illiteracy should be less than New York or
Pennsylvania, and only about one-half of Massachusetts. We are not to
blame for not having more than one-half as many idiots as the great
States. These public schools soon made colleges inevitable. The first
college, still fiourishing, was started in Lebanon in 1828, by the M. E.
church, and named after Bishop McKendree. Illinois College, at Jackson-
ville, supported by the Presbyterians, followed in 1830. In 1832 the Bap-
tists built Shurtleff College, at Alton. Then the Presbyterians built Knox
College, at Galesburg, in 1838, and the Episcopalians built Jubilee College,
at Peoria, in 1847. After these early years colleges have rained down.
A settler could hardly encamp on the prairie but a college would spring
up by his wagon. The State now has one very well endowed and equipped
university, namely, the Northwestern University, at Evanston, with six
colleges, ninety instructors, over 1,000 students, and $1,500,000 endow-
ment.
Rev. J. M. Peck was the first educated Protestant minister in tne
State. He settled at Rock Spring, in St. Clair County, 1820, and left his
impress on the State. Before 1837 only party papers were published, but
Mr. Peck published a Gazetteer of Illinois. Soon after John Russell, of
BlufPdale, published essays and tales showing genius. Judge James Hall
published The Illinois Monthly Magazine with great ability, and an annual
called The Western Souvenir, which gave him an enviable fame all over the
United States. From these beginnings Illinois has gone on till she has
more volumes in public libaariee even than Massachusetts, and of the
44,500,000 volumes in all the public libraries of the United States, she
has one-thirteenth. In newspapers she stands fourth. Her increase is
marvelous. In 1850 she issued 5,000,000 copies; in 1860, 27,590,000 ; in
1870, 113,140,000. In 1860 she had eighteen colleges and seminaries ; in
1870 she had eighty. That is a grand advance for the war decade.
This brings us to a record unsurpassed in the history of any age,
THE STATE OF IOWA.
GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION.
The State of Iowa has an outline figure nearly approaching that of a rec-
tangular parallelogram, the northern and southern boundaries being nearly due
east and west lines, and its eastern and western boundaries determined by
southerly flowing rivers — the Mississippi on the east, and the Missouri, together
with its tributary, the Big Sioux, on the west. The northern boundary is upon
the parallel of forty-three degrees thirty minutes, and the southern is approxi-
mately upon that of forty degrees and thirty-six minutes. The distance from
the northern to the southern boundary, excluding the small prominent angle at
the southeast corner, is a little qjore than two hundred miles. Owing to the
irregularity of the river boundaries, however, the number of square miles does
not reach that of the multiple of these numbers ; but according to a report of
the Secretary of the Treasury to the United States Senate, March 12, 1863,
the State of Iowa contains 35,228,200 acres, or 55,044 square miles. When it
is understood that all this vast extent of surface, except that which is occupied
by our rivers, lakes and peat beds of the northern counties, is susceptible of the
highest cultivation, some idea may be formed of the immense agricultural
resources of the State. Iowa is nearly as large as England, and twice as large
as Scotland ; but when we consider the relative area of surface which may be
made to yield to the wants of man, those countries of the Old World will bear
no comparison with Iowa.
TOPOGRAPHY.
No complete topographical survey of the State of Iowa has yet been made.
Therefore all the knowledge we have yet upon the subject has been obtained
from incidental observations of geological corps, from barometrical observations
by authority of the General Government, and levelings done by railroad en-
gineer corps within the State.
Taking into view the facts that the highest p®int in the State is but a little
more than twelve hundred feet above the lowest point, that these two points are
nearly three hundred miles apart, and that the whole State is traversed by
109
110 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
gently flowing rivers, it will be seen that in reality the State of Iowa rests
wholly within, and comprises a part of, a vast plain, with no mountain or hill
ranges within its borders.
A clearer idea of the great uniformity of the surface of the State may be
obtained from a statement of the general slopes in feet per mile, from point to
joint, in straight lines across it :
From the N. E. corner to the S. E. corner of the State 1 foot 1 inch per mile. •
From the N. E. corner to Spirit Lake 5 feet 6 inches per mile.
From the N. W. corner to Spirit Lake 5 feetO inches per mile.
From the N. W. corner to the S. W. corner of the State 2 feet 0 inches peu mile.
From the S. W. corner to the highest ridge between the two
great rivers (in Ringgold County) 4 feet 1 inch per mile
From the dividing ridge in the S. E. corner of the State 6 feet 7 inches per mile.
From the highest point in the State (near Spirit Lake) to the
lowest point in the State (at the mouth of Bes Moines
River) 4 feet 0 inches per mile.
It will be seen, therefore, that there is a good degree of propriety in regard-
ing the whole State as a part of a great plain, "the lowest point of which within
its borders, the southeast corner of the State, is only 444 feet above the level of
the sea. The average height of the whole State above the level of the sea is
not far from eight hundred feet, although it is more than a thousand miles
inland from the nearest sea coast. These remarks are, of course, to be uncle^
Btood as applying to the surface of the State as a whole. When we come to
consider its surface feature in detail, we find » great diversity of surface by the
formation of valleys out of the general level, which hiave been evolved by the
action of streams during the unnumbered years of the terrace epoch.
It is in the northeastern part of the State that the river valleys are deepest;
consequently the country there has the greatest diversity of surface, and its
physical features are most strongly marked.
DRAINAGE SYSTEM.
The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers form the eastern and western bounda-
ries of the State, and receive the eastern and western drainage of it.
The eastern drainage system comprises not far from two-thirds of the en-
tire surface of the State. The great watershed which divides these two systems
is formed by the highest land between those rivers along the whole length of a
line running southward from a point on the northern boundary line of the State
near Spirit Lake, in Dickinson County, to a nearly central point in the northern
part of Adair County.
From the last named point, this highest ridge of land, between the two great
rivers, continues southward, without change of character, through Ringgold
County into the State of Missouri ; but southward from that point, in Adair
County, it is no longer the great watershed. From that point, another and
lower ridge bears off more nearly southeastward, through the counties of Madi-
son, Clarke, Lucas and Appanoose, and becomes itself the great watershed.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. Ill
RIVERS.
All streams that rise in Iowa rise upon the incoherent surface deposits,
occupying at first only slight depressions in the surface, and scarcely percept-
ible. These successively coalesce to form the streams.
The drift and bluff deposits are both so thick in Iowa that its streams not
only rise upon their surface, but they also reach considerable depth into these
deposits alone, in some cases to a depth of nearly two hundred feet from the,
general prairie level.
The majority of streams that constitute the western system of Iowa, drainage
run, either along the whole or a part of their course, upon that peculir deposit
known as bluff deposit. Their banks are often, even of the small streams,.
from five to ten feet in height, quite perpendicular, so that they make th&
streams almost everywhere unfordable, and a great impediment to travel across
the open country where there are no bridges.
The material of this deposit is of a slightly yellowish ash color, except
where darkened by decaying vegetation, very fine and silicious, but not sandy,
not Very cohesive, and not at all plastic. It forms excellent soil, arid does not
bake or' crack in drying, except limy concretions, which are generally dis-
tributed throughout the mass, in shape and size resembling pebbles ; not a
stone or pebble can be found in the whole deposit. It was called " silicious
marl " by Dr. Owen, in his geological report to the General Government, and
its origin referred to an accumulation of sediment in an ancient lake, which
was afterward drained, when its sediment became dry land. Prof. Swallaw
gives it the name of "bluff," which is here adopted; the term Lacustral would
have been better. The peculiar properties of this deposit are that it will stand
securely with a precipitous front two hundred feet high, and yet is easily
excavated with a spade. Wells dug in it require only to be walled to a point just
above the water line. Yet, compact as it is, it is very porous, so that water
which falls on its surface does not remain, but percolates through it ; neither
does it accumulate within its mass, as it does upon the surface of and within
the drift and the stratified formations.
The bluff deposit is known to occupy a region through which the Missouri
runs almost centrally, and measures, as far as is known, more than two hun-
dred miles in length and nearly one hundred miles in width. The thickest
part yet known in Iowa is in Fremont County, where it reaches two hundred
feet. The boundaries of this deposit in Iowa are nearly as follows : Com-
mencing at the southeast corner of Fremont County, follow up the watershed
between the East Nishnabotany and the West Tarkio Rivers to the southern
boundary of Cass County ; thence to the center of Audubon County ; thence
to Tip Top Station, on the Chicago & Northwestern Railway ; thence by a
broad curve westward to the northwest corner of Plymouth County.
This deposit is composed of fine sedimentary particles, similar to that
which the Missouri River now deposits from its waters, and is the same which
112 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
that river did deposit in a broad depression in the surface of the drift that
formed a lake-like expansion of that river in the earliest period of the history
of its valley. That lake, as shown by its deposit, -which now remains, was
about one hundred miles wide and more than twice as long. The water of the
river was muddy then, as now, and the broad lake became filled with the sedi-
ment which the river brought down, before its valley had enough in the lower
portion of its course to drain it. After the lake became filled with the sedi-
ment, the valley below became deepened by the constant erosive action of the
waters, to a depth of more than sufficient to have drained the lake of its first
waters ; but -the only efiiect then was to cause it to cut its valley put of the de-
posits its own muddy waters had formed. Thus along the valley of that river,
so far as it forms the western boundary of Iowa, the blufis which border it are
composed of that sediment known as bluff deposit, forming a distinct border
along the broad, level flood plain, the width of which varies from five to fifteen
miles, while the original sedimentary deposit stretches far inland.
All the rivers of the western system of drainage, except the Missouri itself,
are quite incomplete as rivers, in consequence of their being really only
branches of other larger tributaries of that great river , or, if they empty into
the Missouri direct, they have yet all the usual characteristics of Iowa rivers,
from their sources to their mouths.
Ghariton and Q-rand Rivers both rise and run for the first twenty-five miles
•of their courses upon the drift deposit alone. The first strata that are exposed
by the deepening valleys of both these streams belong to the upper coal meas-
ures, and they both continue upon the same formation until they make their
«xit from the State (the former in Appanoose County, the latter in Ringgold
County), near the boundary of which they have passed nearly or quite through
the whole of that formation to the middle coal measures. Their valleys gradu-
ally deepen from their upper portions downward, so that within fifteen or twenly
miles they have reached a depth of near a hundred and fifty feet below the gen-
eral level of the adjacent high land. When the rivers have cut their valleys
down through the series of limestone strata, they reach those of a clayey com-
position. Upon these they widen their valleys and make broad flood plains
{commonly termed " bottoms "), the soil of which is stiff and clayey,, except
"where modified by sandy washings.
A considerable breadth of woodland occupies the bottoms and valley sides
along a great part of their length ; but their upper branches and tributaries are
mostly prairie streams.
Platte River. — This river belongs mainly to Missouri. Its upper branches
pass through Ringgold County, and, with the west fork of the Grand River,
drain a large region of country.
Here the drift deposit reaches its maximum thickness on an east and west
line across the State, and the valleys are eroded in some instances to a depth of
two hundred feet, apparently, through this deposit alone.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 113
The term " drift deposit " applies to the soil and sub-soil of the greater part
of the State, and in it alone many of our wells are dug and our forests take
root. It rests upon the stratified rocks. It is composed of clay,, sand, gravel
aud boulders, promiscuously intermixed, without stratification, varying in char-
acter in difi'erent parts of the State.
The proportion of lime in the drift of Iowa is so great that the water of all
our wells and springs is too " hard " for washing purposes ; and the same sub-
stance is so prevalent in the drift clays that they are always found to have suffi-
cient flux when used for the manufacture of brick.
One Hundred and Two River is represented in Taylor County, the valleys
of which have the same general character of those j ust described. The country
around and between the east and west forks of this stream is almost entirely
prairie.
Nodaway River. — This stream is represented by east, middle and west
branches. The two former rise in Adair County, the latter in Cass County.
These rivers and valleys are fine examples of the small rivers and valleys of
Southern Iowa. They have the general character of drift valleys, and with
beautiful undulating and sloping sides. The Nodaways drain one of the finest
agricultural regions in the State, the soil of which is tillable almost to their very
banks. The banks and the adjacent narrow flood plains are almost everywhere
composed of a rich, deep, dark loam.
NisTinabotany River. — This river is represented by east and west branches,
the former having its source in Anderson County, the latter in Shelby County.
Both these branches, from their source to their confluence — and also the main
stream, from thence to the point where it enters the great flood plain of the
Missouri — run through a region the surface of which is occupied by the bluff
deposit. The West Nishnabotany is probably without any valuable mill sites.
In the western part of Cass County, the East Nishnabotany loses its identity
by becoming abruptly divided up into five or six different creeks. A few
good mill sites occur here on this stream. None, however, that are thought
reliable exist on either of these rivers, or on the main stream below the
confluence, except, perhaps, one or two in Montgomery County. The
valleys of the two branches, and the intervening upland, possess remarkable
fertility.
Boyer River. — Until it enters the flood plain of the Missouri, the Boyer
runs almost, if not quite, its entire course through the region occupied by the
bluff deposit, and has cut its valley entirely through it along most of its pas-
sage. The only rocks exposed are the upper coal measures, near Reed's mill, in
Harrison County. The exposures are slight, and are the most northerly now
known in Iowa. The valley of this river has usually gently sloping sides, and an
ndistinctly defined flood plain. Along the lower half of its course the adjacent
upland presents a surface of the billowy character, peculiar to the bluff deposit.
The source of this river is in Sac County.
114 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
Soldier River. — The east and middle branches of this stream have their
source in Crawford County, and the west branch in Ida County. The whole
course of , this river is through the bluff deposit. It has no exposure of strata,
along its course.
Idttle Sioux River. — Under this head are included both the main and irest
branches of that stream, together with the Maple, which is one of its branches.
The west branch and the Maple are so similar to the Soldier River that they
need no separate description. The main stream has its boundary near the
northern boundary of the State, and runs most of its course upon drift deposit
alone, entering the region of the bluff deposit in the southern part of Cherokee
County. The two principal upper branches, near their source in Dickinson
and Osceola .Counties, are small prairie creeks, with indistinct valleys. On
entering Clay County, the valley deepens, and at their confluence has a deptii
of one hundred feet, which still further increases until along the boundary line
between Clay and Buena Vista Counties, it reaches a depth of two hundred
feet. Just as the valley enters Cherokee County, it turns to the southward and
becomes much widened, with its sides gently sloping to the uplands. When the
valley enters the region of the bluff deposit, it assumes the billowy appearance.
No exposures of strata of any kind have been found in the valley of the Little
Sioux or any of its branches.
Floyd River. — This river rises upon the drift in O'Brien County, and flow-
ing southward enters the region of the bluff deposit a little north of the center
of Plymouth County. Almost from its source to its mouth it is a prairie stream,
with slightly sloping valley sides, which blend gradually with the uplands. A
single slight exposure of sandstone of cretaceous age occurs in the valley near
Sioux City, and which is the only known exposure of rock of any kind along
its whole length. Near this exposure is a mill site, but farther up the stream
It is not valuable for such purposes.
Rock River. — This stream passes through Lyon and Sioux Counties. It
was evidently so named from the fact that considerable exposures of the red
Sioux quartzite occur along the main branches of the stream in Minnesota, a
few miles north of our State boundary. Within this State the main stream and
its branches are drift streams, and strata are exposed. The beds and banks of
the streams are usually sandy and gravelly, with occasional boulders intermixed,
Big Sioux River. — The valley of this river, from the northwest corner of
the State to its mouth, possesses much the same character as all the streams of
the surface deposits. At Sioux Falls, a few miles above the northwest corner
of the State, the stream meets with remarkable obstructions from the presence
of Sioux quartzite, which outcrops directly across the stream, and causes a fall
of about sixty feet within a distance of half a mile, producing a series of cas-
cades. For the first twenty-five miles above its mouth, the valley is very broad,
with a broad, flat flood plain, with gentle slopes occasionally showing indistinctly
defined terraces. These terraces and valley bottoms constitute some of the finest
HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA. 115
agricultural land of the region. On the Iowa side of the valley the upland
presents abrupt bluffs, steep as the materials of which they are composed will
stand, and from one hundred to nearly two hundred feet high above the stream.
At rare intervals, about fifteen miles from its mouth, the cretaceous strata are
found exposed in the face of the bluffs of the Iowa side. No other strata are
exposed along that part of the valley which borders our State, with the single
exception of Sioux quartzite at its extreme northwestern corner. Some good mill
sites may be secured along that portion of this river which borders Lyon County,
but below this the fall will probably be found insufficient and the location for
dams insecure.
Missouri River. — This is one of th« muddiest streams on the globe, and its
waters are known to be very turbid far toward its source. The chief pecul-
iarity of this river is its broad flood plains, and its adjacent bluff deposits.
Much the greater part of the flood plain of this river is upon the Iowa side, and
continuous from the south boundary line of the State to Sioux City, a distance
of more than one hundred miles in length, varying from three to five miles in
width. This alluvial plain is estimated to contain more than half a million acres
of land within the State, upward of four hundred thousand of which are now
tillable.
The rivers of the eastern system of drainage have quite a different character
from those of the western system. They are larger, longer and have their val-
leys modified to a much greater extent by the underlying strata. For the lat-
ter reason, water-power is much more abundant upon them than upon the
streams of the western system.
Bes Moines River. — This river has its source in Minnesota, but it enters
Iowa before it has attained any size, and flows almost centrally through it from
northwest to southeast, emptying into the Mississippi at the extreme southeast-
ern corner of the State. It drains a greater area than any river within the
State. The upper portion of it is divided into two branches known as the east
and west forks. These unite in Humboldt County. The valleys of these
branches above their confluence are drift-valleys, except a few small exposures
of subcarboniferous limestone about five miles above their confluence. These
exposures produce several small mill-sites. The valleys vary from a few hun-
dred yards to half a mile in width, and are the finest agricultural lands. In the
northern part of Webster County, the character of the main valley is modified
by the presence of ledges and low cliffs of the subcarboniferous limestone and
gypsum. From a point a little below Fort Dodge to near Amsterdam, in Ma-
rion County, the river runs all the way through and upon the lower coal-meas-
ure strata. Along this part of its course the flood-plain varies from an eighth
to half a mile or more in width. From Amsterdam to Ottumwa the subcarbon-
iferous limestone appears at intervals in the valley sides. Near Ottumwa, the sub-
carboniferous rocks pass beneath the river again, bringing down the coal-measure
strata into its bed ; but they rise again from it in the extreme northwestern part
116 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
*
of Van Buren County, and subcarboniferous strata resume and keep their place
along the valley to the north of the river. From Fort Dodge to the northern
part of Lee County, the strata of the lower coal measures are present in the
valley. Its flood plain is frequently sandy, from the debris of the sandstone
and sandy shales of the coal measures produced by their removal in the process
of the formation of the valley.
The principal tributaries of the Des Moines are upon the western side.
These are the Raccoon and the three rivers, viz.: South, Middle and North Elv-
ers. The three latter have their source in the region occupied by the upper
coal-measure limestone formation, flow eastward over the middle coal measures,
and enter the valley of the Des Moines upon the lower coal measures. These
streams, especially South and Middle Rivers, are frequently bordered by high,
rocky cliffs. Raccoon River has its source upon the heavy surface deposits of
the middle region of Western Iowa, and along the greater part of its course it
has excavated its valley out those deposits and the middle coal measures alone.
The valley of the Des Moines and its branches are destined to become the seat
■of extensive manufactures in consequence of the numerous mill sites of immense
power, and the fact that the main valley traverses the entire length of the lom
•coal fields.
Skunh River. — This river has its source in Hamilton County, and runs
almost its entire course upon the border of the outcrop of the lower coal meas-
ures, or, more properly speaking, upon the subcarboniferous limestone, just where
it begins to pass beneath the coal measures by its southerly and westerly dip.
Its general course is southeast. From the western part of Henry County, up
as far as Story County, the broad, flat flood plain is covered with a rich deep
clay soil, which, in time of long-continued rains and overflows of the river, has
made the valley of Skunk River a terror to travelers from the earliest settle-
ment of the country. There are some excellent mill sites on the lower half of
this river, but they are not so numerous or valuable as on other rivers of the
eastern system.
Iowa River. — This river rises in Hancock County, in the midst of a broad,
slightly undulating drift region. The first rock exposure is that of subcarbon-
iferous limestone, in the southwestern corner of Franklin County. It enters
the region of the Devonian strata near the southwestern corner of Benton
County, and in this it continues to its confiuence with the Cedar in Louisa
County. Below the junction with the Cedar, and for some miles above that
point, its valley is broad, and especially on the northern side, with a well
marked fiood plain. Its borders gradually blend with the uplands as they slopfe
away in the distance from the river. The Iowa furnishes numerous and valua-
ble mill sites. '
Cedar River. — This stream is usually understood to be a branch of the
Iowa, but it ought, really, to be regarded as the main stream. It rises by
numerous branches in the northern part of the State, and flows the entire length
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA. 117
of the State, through the region occupied by the Devonian strata and along the
trend occupied by that formation.
The valley of this river, in the upper part of its course, is narrow, and the
sides slope so gently as to scarcely show where the lowlands end and the up-
lands begin. Below the confluence with the Shell Rock, the flood plain is more
distinctly marked and the valley broad and shallow. The valley of the Cedar
is one of the finest regions in the State, and both the main stream and its
branches afford abundant and reliable mill sites.
Wapsipinnicon River. — This river has its source near the source of the
Cedar, and runs parallel and near it almost its entire course, the upper half
upon the same formation — the Devonian. In the northeastern part of Linn
County, it enters the region of the Niagara limestone, upon which it continues
to the Mississippi. It is one hundred miles long, and yet the area of its drain-
age is only from twelve to twenty miles in width. Hence, its numerous mill
sites are unusually secure.
Turkey River. — This river and the Upper Iowa are, in many respects, un-
like oth^ Iowa rivers. The difference is due to the great depth they have
eroded their valleys and the different character of the material through which
they have eroded. Turkey River rises in Howard County, and in Winnesheik
County, a few miles from its source, its valley has attained a depth of more than
two hundred feet, and in Fayette and Clayton Counties its depth is increased to
three and four hundred feet. The summit of the uplands, bordering nearly the
whole length of the valley, is capped by the Maquoketa shales. These shales
are underlaid by the Galena limestone, between two and three hundred feet
thick. The valley has been eroded through these, and runs upon the Trenton
limestone. Thus, all the formations dlong and within this valley are Lower
Silurian. The valley is usually narrow, and without a well-marked flood plain.
Water power is abundant, but in most places inaccessible.
Upper Iowa River. — This river rises in Minnesota, just beyond the north-
em boundary line, and enters our State in Howard County before it has attained
any considerable size. Its course is nearly eastward until it reaches the Mis-
sissippi. It rises in the region of the Devonian rocks, and flows across the out-
crops, respectively, of the Niagara, Galena and Trenton limestone, the lower
magnesian limestone and Potsdam sandstone, into and through all of which,
except the last, it has cut its valley, which is the deepest of any in Iowa. The
Talley sides are, almost everywhere, high and steep, and cliffs of lower magne-
sian and Trenton limestone give them a wild and rugged aspect. In the lower
part of the valley, the flood plain reaches a width sufficient for the location of
small farms, but usually it is too narrow for such purposes. On the higher
surface, however, as soon as you leave the valley you come immediately upon a
cultivated country. This stream has the greatest slope per mile of any in Iowa,
consequently it furnishes immense water power. In some places, where creeks
come into it, the valley widens and affords good locations for farms. The town
118 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
of Decorah, in Winnesheik County, is located in one of these spots, which
makes it a lovely location ; and the power of the river and the small spring
streams around it oflFer fine facilities for manufacturing. This river and its
tributaries are the only trout streams in Iowa.
Mississippi River. — This river may be described, in general terms, as a broad
canal cut out of the general level of the country through which the river flows.
It is bordered by abrupt hills or blufls. The bottom of the valley ranges from
one to eight miles in width. The whole space between the bluffs is occupied by
the river and its bottom, or flood plain only, if we except the occasional terraces
or remains of ancient flood plains, which are not now reached by the highest
floods of the river. The river itself is from half a mile to nearly a mile in
width. There are but four points along the whole length of the State where the
blufis approach the stream on both sides. The Lower Silurian formations com-
pose the bluffs in the northern part of the State, but they gradually disappear
by a southerly dip, and the bluffs are continued successively by the Upper
Silurian, Devonian, and subcarboniferous rocks, which are reached near the
southeastern corner of the State.
Considered in their relation to the present general surface of the state, the
relative ages of the river valley of Iowa date back only to the close of the
glacial epoch ; but that the Mississippi, and all the rivers of Northeastern Iowa,
if no others, had at least a large part of the rocky portions of their valleys
eroded by pre-glacial, or perhaps even by palaeozoic rivers, can scarcely b&
doubted.
LAZES.
The lakes of Iowa may be properly divided into two distinct classes. The
first may be called drift lakes, having had their origin in the depressions left
in the surface of the drift at the close of the glacial epoch, and have rested upon
the undisturbed surface of the drift deposit ever since the glaciers disappeared.
The others may be properly teraie^ fluvatUe or alluvial lakes, because they have
had their origin by the action of rivers while cutting their own valleys out from^
the surface of the drift as it existed at the close of the glacial epoch, and are now
found resting upon the alluvium, as the others rest upon the drift. By the term
alluvium is meant the deposit which has accumulated in the valleys of rivers by
the action of their own currents. It is largely composed of sand and other
coarse material, and upon that deposit are some of the best and most productive
soils in the State. It is this deposit which form the flood plains and deltas of
our rivers, as well as the terraces of their valleys.
The regions to which the drift lakes are principally confined are near the
head waters of the principal streams of the State. We consequently find them
in those regions which lie between the Cedar and Des Moines Rivers, and the
Pes Moines and Little Sioux. No drift lakes are found in Southern Iowa.
The largest of the lakes to be found in the State are Spirit and Okoboji, ia
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 119
Dickinson County ; Clear Lake, in Cerro Gordo County ; and Storm Lake, in
Bunea Vista County.
Spirit Lake. — The width and length of this lake are about equal ; and it
contains about twelve square miles of surface, its northern border resting directly
on the boundary of the State. It lies almost directly upon the great watershed.
Its shores are mostly gravelly, and the country about it fertile.
Okohoji Lake. — This body of water lies directly south of Spirit Lake, and
has somewhat the shape of a horse-shoe, with its eastern projection within a few
rods of Spirit Lake, where it receives the outlet of the latter. Okoboji Lake
extends abo,ut five miles southward .from Spirit Lake, thence about the same
distance westward, and then bends northward about as far as the eastern projec-
tion. The eastern portion is narrow, but the western is larger, and in some
places a hundred feet deep. The surroundings of this and Spirit Lake are very
pleasant. Fish are abundant in them, and they are the resort of myriads of
water fowl.
Qlear Lake. — This lake is situated in Cerro Gordo County, upon the
watershed between the Iowa and Cedar Rivers. It is about five miles long,
and two or three miles wide, and has a maximum depth of only fifteen
feet. Its shores and the country around it are like that of Spirit Lake.
Storm Lake. — This body of water rests upon the great water shed in Buena
Vista County. It is a clear, beautiful sheet of water, containing a surface area
of between four and five square miles.
The outlets of all these drift-lakes are dry during a portion of the year, ex-
cept Okoboji.
Walled Lakes. — Along the water sheds of Northern Iowa great numbers of
small lakes exist, varying from half a mile to a mile in diameter. One of the lakes
in Wright County, and another in Sac, have each received the name of " Walled
Lake," on account of the existence of embankments on their borders, which are
supposed to be the work of ancient inhabitants. These embankments are from
two to ten feet in height, and from five to thirty feet across. They are the
result of natural causes alone, being referable to the periodic action of ice, aided,
to some extent, by the force of the waves. These lakes are very shallow, and
in winter freeze to the bottom, so that but little unfrozen water remains in the
middle. The ice freezes fast to everything upon the bottom, and the expansive
power of the water in freezing acts in all directions from the center to the cir-
cumference, and whatever was on the bottom of the lake has been thus carried
to the shore, and this has been going on from year to year, from century to
century, forming the embankments which have caused so much wonder.
SPBINGS.
Springs issue from all formations, and from the sides of almost every valley,
but they are more numerous, and assume proportions which give rise to the
name of sink-holes, along the upland borders of the Upper Iowa River, owing
120 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
to the peculiar fissured and laminated character and great thickness of the strata
of the age of the Trenton limestone which underlies the whole region of the
valley of that stream.
No mineral springs, properly so called, have yet been discovered in Iowa,
though the water of several artesian wells is frequently found charged with
soluble mineral substances.
ORIGIN OF THE PRAIRIES.
It is estimated that seven-eighths of the surface of the State was prairie
when first settled. They are not confined to level surfaces, nor to any partic-
ular variety of soil, for within the State they rest upon all formations, from
those of the Aioic to those of the Cretaceous age, inclusive. Whatever may
have been their origin, their present existence in Iowa is not due to the influ-
ence of climate, nor the soil, nor any of the underlying formations. The real
cause is the prevalence of the annual fires. If these had been prevented fifty
years ago, Iowa would now be a timbered country. The encroachment of forest
trees upon prairie farms as soon as the bordering woodland is protected from
the annual prairie fires, is well known to farmers throughout the State.
The soil of Iowa is justly famous for its fertility, and there is probably no
equal area of the earth's surface that contains so little untillable land, or whose
soil has so high an average of fertility. Ninety-five per cent, of its surface is
tillable land.
GEOLOGY.
The soil of Iowa may be separated into three general divisions, which not
only possess different physical characters, but also difiier in the mode of their
origin. These are drift, bluff and alluvial, and belong respectively to the
deposits bearing the same names. The drift occupies a much larger part of the
surface of the State than both the others. The bluff has the next greatest area
of surface, and the alluvial least.
All soil is disintegrated rock. The drift deposit of Iowa was derived, to a
considerable extent, from the rocks of Minnesota ; but the greater part of Iowa
drift was derived from its own rocks, much of which has been transported but a
short distance. In general terms the constant component element of the drift
soil is that portion which was transported from the north, while the inconstard
elements are those portions which were derived from the adjacent or underlying
strata. For example, in Western Iowa, wherever that cretaceous formation
known as the Nishnabotany sandstone exists, the soil contains more sand than
elsewhere. The same may be said of the soil of some parts of the State occu-
pied by the lower coal measures, the sandstones and sandy shales of that formar
tion furnishing the sand.
In Northern and Northwestern Iowa, the drift contains more sand and
gravel than elsewhere. This sand and gravel was, doubtless, derived from the
HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA
121
cretaceous rocks that now do, or formerly did, exist there, and also in part
from the conglomerate and pudding-stone beds of the Sioux quartzite.
In Southern Iowa, the soil is frequently stiff and clayey. This preponder-
ating clay is doubtless derived from the clayey and shaly beds which alternate
with the limestones of that region.
The bluff soil is that which rests upon, and constitutes a part of, the bluff
deposit. It is found only in the western part of the State, and adjacent to the
Missouri Eiver. Although it contains less than one per cent, of clay in its
composition, it is in no respect inferior to the best drift soil.
The alluvial soil is that of the flood plains of the river valleys, or bottom
lands. That which is periodically flooded by the rivers is of little value for
agricultural purposes ; but a large part of it is entirely above the reach of the
highest floods, and is very productive.
The stratified rocks of Iowa range from the Azoic to the Mesozoic, inclu-
sive ; but the greater portion of the surface of the State is occupied by those
of the Palaeozoic age. The table below will show each of these formations in
their order:
SYSTEMS.
AGES.
Cretaceous
Carboniferoua..
Devonian
Upper Silurian.
Lower Silurian.
Azoic
GROaPS.
PEKIODS.
■ Post Tertiary
Lower Cretaceous.
Coal Measures.
Subcarboniferous. -
Hamilton
Niagara
' Cincinnati .
Trenton.
Primordial,
fiuronian
FORMATIONS.
EPOCHS.
Drift .,..,
InoceramouB bed, ,
Woodbury Sandstone and Shales.
Nishnabotany Sandstone
Upper Coal Measures
Middle Coal Measures
Lower Coal Measures
St. Louis Limestone
Keokuk Limestone
Burlington Limestone
Kinderhook beds
Hamilton Limestone and Shales,
Niagara Limestone
Maquoketa Shales
Galena Limestone
Trenton Limestone
St. Peter's Sandstone
Lower Magnesian Limestone
Potsdam Sandstone
Sioux Quartzite
THICKNESS.
IN FBEI.
10
to 200
50
130
100
200
200
200
75
90
196
175
200
350
80
250
20O
80
260
800
50
THE AZOIC SYSTEM.
The Sioux quartzite is found exposed in natural ledges only upon a few
acres in the extreme northwest corner of the State, upon the banks of the Big
Sioux River, for which reason the specific name of Sioux Quartzite has been
given them. It is an intensely hard rock, breaks in splintery fracture, and a
color varying, in different localities, from a light to deep red. The process of
metamorphism has been so complete throughout the whole formation that the
rock is almost everywhere of uniform texture. The dip is four or five degrees
to the northward, and the trend of the outcrop is eastward and westward. This
122 HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA.
rock may be quarried in a few rare cases, but usually it cannot be secured in
dry forms except that into which it naturally cracks, and the tendency is to
angular pieces. It is absolutely indestructible.
LOWER SILURIAN SYSTEM.
PRIMOEDIAL GEOUP.
Potsdam Sandstone. — This formation is exposed only in a small portion of
the northeastern portion of the State. It is only to be seen in the bases of the
bluffs and steep valley sides which border the river there. It may be seen
underlying the lower magnesian limestone, St. Peter s sandstone and Trenton
limestone, in their regular order, along the bluffs of the Mississippi from the
northern boundary of the State as far south as Guttenburg, along the Upper
Iowa for a distance of about twenty miles from its mouth, and along a few of
the streams which empty into the Mississippi in Allamakee County.
It is nearly valueless for economic purposes.
No fossils have been discovered in this formation in Iowa.
Lower Magnesium Limestone. — This formation has but little greater geo-
graphical extent in Iowa than the Potsdam sandstone. It lacks a uniformity
of texture and stratification, owing to which it is not generally valuable for
building purposes.
The only fossils found in this formation in Iowa are a few traces of crinoids,
near McGregor.
St. Peter's Sandstone. — This formation is remarkably uniform in thickness
throughout its known geographical extent ; and it is evident it occupies a large
portion of the northern half of Allamakee County, immediately beneath the
drift.
TEBNTON GEOUP.
Trenton Limestone. — With the exception of this, all the limestones of both
Upper and Lower Silurian age in Iowa are magnesian limestones — nearly pure
dolomites. This formation occupies large portions of Winnesheik and Allar
makee Counties and a portion of Clayton. The greater part of it is useless for
economic purposes, yet there are in some places compact and evenly bedded
layers, which afford fine material for window caps and sills.
In this formation, fossils are abundant, so much so that, in some places, the
rock is made up of a mass of shells, corals and fragments of tribolites, cemented
by calcareous material into a solid rock. Some of these fossils are new to
science and peculiar to Iowa.
The Q-alena Limestone. — This is the upper formation of the Trenton group.
it seldom exceeds twelve miles in width, although it is fully one hundred and
fifty miles long. The, outcrop traverses portions of the counties of Howard,
Winnesheik, Allamakee, Fayette, Clayton, Dubuque and Jackson. It exhibits
its greatest development in Dubuque County. It is nearly a pure dolomite,
with a slight admixture of silicious matter. It is usually unfit for dressing,
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 123
though sometimes near the top of the bed good blocks for dressing are found.
This formation is the source of the lead ore of the Dubuque lead mines. The
lead region proper is confined to an area of about fifteen miles square in the
vicinity of Dubuque. The ore occurs in vertical fissures, which traverse the
rock at regular intervals from east to west ; some is found in those which have
a north and south direction. The ore is mostly that known as Galena, or sul-
phuret of lead, very small quantities only of the carbonate being found with it.
CINCINNATI GROUP.
Maquoheta Shales. — The surface occupied by this formation is singularly
long and narrow, seldom reaching more than a mile or two in width, but more
than a hundred miles in length. Its most southerly exposure is in the bluffs of
the Mississippi near Bellevue, in Jackson County, and the most northerly yet
recognized is in the western part of Winnesheik County. The whole formation
is largely composed of bluish and brownish shales, sometimes slightly arena-
ceous, sometimes calcareous, which weather into a tenacious clay upon the sur-
face, and the soil derived from it is usually stiff and clayey. Its economic
value is very slight.
Several species of fossils which characterize the Cincinnati group are found
in the Maquoketa shales ; but they contain a larger number that have been
found anywhere else than in these shales in Iowa, and their distinct faunal char-
acteristics seem to warrant the separation of the Maquoketa shales as a distinct
formation from any others of the group.
UPPER SILURIAN SYSTEM.
NIAGARA 050IIP.
Niagara Limestone. — The area occupied by the Niagara limestone is nearly
one hundred and sixty miles long from nOrth to south, and forty and fifty miles
wide.
This formation is entirely a magnesian limestone, with in some places a con- .
siderable proportion of silicious matter in the form of chert or coarse flint. A
large part of it is evenly bedded, and probably affords the best and greatest
amount "of quarry rock in the State. The quarries at Anamosa, LeClaire and
Farley are all opened in this formation.
DEVONIAN SYSTEM.
HAMILTON GROUP.
Hamilton Limestone. — The area of surface occupied by the Hamilton lime-
stone and shales is fully as great as those by all the formations of both Upper
and Lower Silurian age in the State. It is nearly two hundred miles long and
from forty to fifty miles broad. The general trend is northwestward and south-
eaatwfwi.
Although a large part of the material of this formation is practically quite
•worthless, yet other portions are valuable for economic purposes ; and having a
124 HISTOEY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
large geographical extent in tte State, is one of the most important formations,
in a practical point of view. At Waverly, Bremer County, its value for the
production of hydraulic lime has been practically demonstrated. The heavier
and more uniform magnesian beds furnish material for bridge piers and other
material requiring strength and durability.
All the Devonian strata of Iowa evidently belong to a single epoch, and re-
ferable to the Hamilton, as recognized by New York geologists.
The most conspicuous and characteristic fossils of this formation are hra^
chiopod, mollusks and corals. The coral Acervularia Davidson! occurs near
Iowa City, and is known as "Iowa City Marble," and " bird's-eye marble."
CAKBONIFEROUS SYSTEM.
Of the three groups of formations that constitute the carboniferous system,
viz., the subcarboniferous, coal measures and permian, only the first two are
found in Iowa.
SUBCARBONIFEROUS GROUP.
The area of the surface occupied by this group is very large. Its eastern
border passes from the northeastern part of Winnebago County, with conBlde^
able directness in a southeasterly direction to the northern part of Washington
County. Here it makes a broad and direct bend nearly eastward, striking
the Mississippi River at Muscatine. The southern and western boundary is to
a considerable extent the same as that which separates it from the coal, field.
From the southern part of Pocahontas County it passes southeast to Fort Dodge,
thence to Webster City, thence to a point three or four miles northeast of EI-
dora, in Hardin County, thence southward to the middle of the north line of
Jasper County, thence southeastward to Sigourney, in Keokuk County, thence
to the northeastern corner of Jefierson County, thence sweeping a few miles
eastward to the southeast corner of Van Buren County. Its area is nearly two
hundred and fifty miles long, and from twenty to fifty miles wide.
The Kinderhook Beds. — The most southerly exposure of these beds is near
the mouth of Skunk River, in Des Moines County. The most northerly now
known is in the eastern part of Pocahontas County, more than two hundred
miles distant. The principal exposures of this formation are along the bluffi
which border the Mississippi and Skunk Rivers, where they form the eastern
and northern boundary of Des Moines County, along English River, in Wash-
ington County ; along the Iowa River, in Tama, Marshall, Hamlin and Frank-
lin Counties ; and along the Des Moines River, in Humboldt County.
The economic value of this formation is very considerable, particularly in
the northern portion of the region it occupies. In Pocahontas and Humboldt
Counties it is almost invaluable, as no other stone except a few boulders are
found here. At Iowa Falls the lower division is very good for building pur-
poses. In Marshall County all the limestone to be obtained comes from thifl
formation, and the quarries near LeGrand are very valuable. At this point
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 125-
some of the layers are finely veined with peroxide of iron, and are wrought into
ornamental and useful objects.
In Tama County, the oolitic member is well exposed, where it is manufac-
tured into lime. It is not valuable for building, as upon exposure to atmosphere
and frost, it crumbles to pieces.
' The remains of fishes are the only fossils yet discovered in this formation
that can be referred to the sub-kingdom vertbbeata ; and so far as yet recog-
nized, they all belong to the order selachians.
' Of ARTICULATES, Only two species have been recognized, both of which
'belong to the genus phillipsia.
Thfe sub-kingdom mollusca is largely represented.
The RADiATA are represented by a few crinoids, usually found in a very im-
perfect condition. The sub-kingdom is also represented by corals.
The prominent feature ia the life of this epoch was molluscan ; so much so-
in fact as to overshadow all other branches of the animal kingdom. The pre-
vailing classes are : lamelUbranohiates, in the more arenaceous portions ; and.
ibraphiopods, in the more calcareous portions.
I No remains of vegetation have been detected in any of the strata of this-
ifarmatioa.
! The Burlington Limestone. — This formation consists of two distinct calca^
ireous divisions, which are separated by a series of silicious beds. Both divi-
isions are eminently crinoidal.
1 The southerly dip of the Iowa rocks carries the Burlington limestone down,
jso that it is seen for the last time in this State in the valley of Skunk River,
jQear the southern boundary of Des Moines County. The most northerly point-
(ftt which it has been recognized is in the northern part of Washington County.
|,It probably exists as far north as Marshall County.
J This formation afibrds much valuable material for economic purposes. The
apper division furnishes excellent common quarry rock*
j The great abundance and variety of its fossils — crinoids — now known to be
pore than three hundred, have justly attracted the attention of geologists in all
prts of the world.
J The only remains of vertebrates discovered in this formation are those of
ishes, and consist of teeth and spines ; Tione of bony fishes, like those most
'jommon at the present day, are found in these rocks. On Buffington Creek, in
Louisa County, is a stratum in an exposure so fully charged with these remains.
;hat it might with propriety be called bone breccia.
J Remains of articulates are rare in this formation. So far as yet discovered,.
|hey are confined to two species of tribolites of the genus phillipsia.
J Fossil shells are very common.
The two lowest classes of the sub-kingdom radiata are represented in the
,;enera zaphrentis, amplexus and syringapora, while the highest class — echino-
lerms — are found in most extraordinary profusion.
126 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
The Keokuk Limestone. — It is only in the four counties of Lee, Vai
Buren, Henry and Des Moines that this formation is to be seen.
In some localities the upper silicious portion of this formation is known ai
the Geode bed. It is not recognizable in the northern portion of the formation,
nor in connection with it where it is exposed, about eighty miles below Keokuk,
The geodes of the Geode bed are more or less spherical masses of silex,
usually hollow and lined with crystals of quartz. The outer crust is rough and
unsightly, but the crystals which stud the interior are often very beautiiiil,
They vary in size from the size of a walnut to a foot in diameter.
The economic value of this formation is very great. Large quantities of its
stone have been used in the finest structures in the State, among which are th
post offices at Dubuque and Des Moines. The principal quarries are along tht
banks of the Mississippi, from Keokuk to Nauvoo.
The only vertebrate fossils found in the formation are fishes, all belonging
to the order selachians, some of which indicate that their owners reached a
length of twenty-five or thirty feet.
Of the articulates, only two species of the genus pMlUpsia have been found
in this formation.
Of the moUusks, no cephalopods have yet been recognized in this formation in
this State ; gasteropoda are rare ; brachiopods and polyzoans are quite abundant,
Of radiates, corals of genera zaphrentes, amplexus and aulopera are found,
but crinoids are most abundant.
Of the low forms of animal life, the protozoans, a small fossil related to the
eponges, is found in this formation in small numbers.
The St. Louis Limestone. — This is the uppermost of the subcarboniferoM
group in Iowa. The superficial area it occupies is comparatively small, because
it consists of long, narrow strips, yet its exten*. is very great. It is first seen
resting on the geode division of the Keokuk limestone, near Keokuk. Pro-
ceeding northward, it forms a narrow border along the edge of the coal fields
in Lee, Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Washington, Keokuk and Mahaska
Counties. It is then lost sight of until it appears again in the banks of Boone
River, where it again passes out of view under the coal measures until it ii
next seen in the banks of the Des Moines, near Fort Dodge. As it exists in
Iowa, it consists of three tolerably distinct subdivisions — the magnesian, arena-
ceous and calcareous.
The upper division furnishes excellent material for quicklime, and wheJ
quarries are well opened, as in the northwestern part of Van Buren County,
large blocks* are obtained. The sandstone, or middle division, is of little
economic value. The lower or magnesian division furnishes a valuable
and durable stone, exposures of which are found on Lick Creek, in Van Buren
County, and on Long Creek, seven miles west of Burlington.
Of the fossils of this formation, the vertebrates are represented only by the
remains of fish, belonging to the two orders, selachians and ganoids. W
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 12T
articulates are represented by one species of the trilobite, genus philUpsia, and
two ostracoid, genera, cythre and beyrieia. The mollusks distinguish this
formation more than any other branch of the animal kingdom. Radiates are
exceedingly rare, showing a marked contrast between this formation and the
two preceding it.
The rocks of the subcarboniferous period have in other countries, and in
other parts of our own country, furnished valuable minerals, and even coal, but
in Iowa the economic value is confined to its stone alone.
The Lower Silurian, Upper Silurian and Devonian rocks of Iowa are largely
composed of limestone. Magnesia also enters largely into the subcarbon-
iferous group. With the completion of the St. Louis limestone, the
production of the magnesian limestone seems to have ceased among the rocks of
Iowa.
Although the Devonian age has been called the age of fishes, yet so far as
Iowa is concerned, the rocks of no period can compare with the subcarbon-
iferous in the abundance and variety of the fish remains, and, for this reason,
the Burlington and Keokuk limestones will in the future become more
famous among geologists, perhaps, than any other formations in North
America.
It will be seen that the Chester limestone is omitted from the subcarbon-
iferous group, and which completes the full geological, series. It is probable
the whole surface of Iowa was above the sea during the time of the
formation of the Chester limestone to the southward about one hundred
miles.
At the close of the epoch of the Chester limestone, the shallow seas in
which the lower coal measures were formed again occupied the land, extending
almost as far north as that sea had done in which the Kinderhook beds wer^
formed, and to the northeastward its deposits extended beyond the subcarbon-
jiferous groups, outlines of which are found upon the next, or Devonian rock.
THE COAL-MEASURE GROUP.
The coal-measure group of Iowa is properly divided into three formations,
viz., the lower, middle and upper coal measures, each having a vertical thick-
ness of about two hundred feet.
A line drawn upon the map of Iowa as follows, will represent the eastern
and northern boundaries of the coal fields of the State : Commencing at the
southeast corner of Van Buren County, carry the line to the northeast corner
of Jefferson County by a slight easterly curve through the western portions of
Lee and Henry Counties. Produce this line until it reaches a point six or
eight miles northward from the one last named, and then carry it northwest-
ward, keeping it at about the same distance to the northward of Skunk River
.and its north branch that it had at first, until it reaches the southern boundary
oi Marshall County, a little west of its center. Then carry it to a point
128 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
three or four miles northeast from Eldora, in Hardin County ; thence west-
ward to a point a little north of Webster City, in Hamilton County; and
thence further westward to a point a little north of Fort Dodge, in Webster
County.
Lower Qoal Measures. — In consequence of the recedence to the southward
of the borders of the middle and upper coal measures, the lower coal measures
alone exist to the eastward and northward of Des Moines River. They also
occupy a large area westward and southward of that river, but their southerly
■dip passes them below the middle coal measures at no great distance from the
river.
No other formation in the whole State possesses the economic value of the
lower coal measures. /The clay that underlies almost every bed of coal furnishes
a large amount of material for potters' use. The sandstone of these measures
is usually soft and unfit, but in some places, as near Red Rock, in Marion
County, blocks of large dimensions are obtained which make good building
material, samples of which can be seen in the State Arsenal, at Des Moines.
On the whole, that portion of the State occupied by the lower coal measures,
is not well supplied with stone.
But few fossils have been found in any of the strata of the lower coal meas-
ures, but such animal remains as have been found are without exception of
marine origin.
Of fossil plants found in these measures, all probably belong to the class
acrogens. Specimens of calamites, and several species of ferns, are found in
all o^the coal measures, but the genus lepidodendron seems not to have existed
later than the epoch of the middle coal measures.
Middle Coal Measures. — This formation within the State of Iowa occupies
a narrow belt of territory in the southern central portion of the State, emkaii-
ing a superficial area of about fourteen hundred square miles. The counties
more or less underlaid by this formation are Guthrie, Dallas, Polk, Madison,
Warren, Clarke, Lucas, Monroe, Wayne and Appanoose.
This formation is composed of alternating beds of clay, sandstone and lime-
stone, the clays or shales constituting the bulk of the formation, the limestone
occurring in their bands, the lithological peculiarities of which ofier many con-
trasts to the limestones of the upper and lower coal measures. The formation
is also characterized by regular wave-like undulations, with a parallelism which
indicates a widespread disturbance, though no dislocation of the strata have
been discovered.
Generally speaking, few species of fossils occur in these beds. Some of the
shales and sandstone have afforded a few imperfectly preserved land plants-
three or four species of ferns, belonging to the genera. Some of the carbonif-
erous shales afibrd beautiful specimens of what appear to have been sea-weeds.
Radiates are represented by corals. The moUusks are most numerously repre-
sented. TrilohiteS and ostraeoida are the only remains known of articulates.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 129
Vertebrates are only known by the remains of salaehiana, or sharks, and
ganoids.
Upper Ooal Measures. — The area occupied by this formation in Iowa is
very great, comprising thirteen whole counties, in the southwestern part of the
State. It adjoins by its northern and eastern boundaries the area occupied by
the middle coal measures.
The prominent lithological features of this formation are its limestones, yet
it contains a considerable proportion of shales and sandstones. Although it is
known by the name of upper coal measures, it contains but a single bed of coal,
and that only about twenty inches in maximum thickness.
The limestone exposed in this formation furnishes good material for building
as in Madison and Fremont Counties. The sandstones are quite worthless. No
beds of clay for potter's use are found in the whole formation.
The fossils in this formation are much more numerous than in either the
middle or lower coal measures. The vertebrates are represented by the fishes
of the orders selachians and ganoids. The articulates are represented by the
trilobites and ostracoids. Mollusks are represented by the classes cephalapoda,
gasteropoda, lamelli, Iranchiata, brachiapoda and polyzoa. Radiates are more
numerous than in the lower and middle coal measures. Protogoans are repre-
sented in the greatest abundance, some layers of limestone being almost entirely
composed of their small fusiform shells.
CRETACEOUS SYSTEM.
There being no rocks, in Iowa, of permian, triassic or Jurassic age, the
next strata in the geological series are of the cretaceous age. They are found
in the western half of the State, and do not dip, as do all the other formations
upon which they rest, to the southward and westward, but have a general dip
of their own to the north of westward, which, however, is very slight.
Although the actual exposures of cretaceous rocks are few in Iowa, there is
reason to believe that nearly all the western half of the State was originally
occupied by them ; but being very friable, they have been removed by denuda-
tion, which has taken place at two separate periods. The first period was
during its elevation from the cretaceous sea, and during the long tertiary age
that passed between the time of that elevation and the commencement of the
glacial epoch. The second period was during the glacial epoch, when the ice
produced their entire removal over considerable areas.
It is difficult to indicate the exact boundaries of these rocks ; the following
will approximate the outlines of the area :
From the northeast corner to the southwest corner of Kossuth County ;
thence to the southeast corner of Guthrie County; thence to the southeast
corner of Cass County ; thence to the middle of the south boundary of Mont-
gomery County ; thence to the middle of the north boundary of Pottawattamie
County; thence to the middle of the south boundary of Woodbury County;
130 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
thence to Sergeant's bluffs; up the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers to the
northwest corner of the State ; eastward along the State line to the place of
beginning.
All the cretaceous rocks in Iowa are a part of the same deposits farther up
the Missouri River, and in reality form their eastern boundary.
Nishnahotany Sandstone. — This rock has the most easterly and southerly
extent of the cretaceous deposits of Iowa, reaching the southeastern part of
\ Guthrie County and the southern part of Montgomery County. To the north-
ward, it passes beneath the Woodbury sandstones and shales, the latter passing
beneath the inoceramus, or chalky, beds. This sandstone is, with few excep-
tions, almost valueless for economic purposes.
The only fossils found in this formation are a few fragments of angiosper-
mous leaves.
Woodbury Sandstones and Shales. — These strata rest upon the Nishnsi-
botany sandstone, and have not been observed outside of Woodbury County,
hence their name. Their principal exposure is at Sergeant's Bluffs, seven
miles below Sioux City.
This rock has no value except for purposes of common masonry.
Fossil remains are rare. Detached scales of a lepidoginoid species have
been detected, but no other vertebrate remains. Of remains of vegetation,
leaves of salix meekii and sassafras cretaceum have been occasionally found.
Inoceramus Beds. — These beds rest upon the Woodbury sandstones and
shales. They have not been observed in Iowa, except in the bluffs which
border the Big Sioux River in Woodbury and Plymouth Counties. They are
composed almost entirely ot calcareous material, the upper portion of which is
extensively used for lime. No building material is to be obtained from these
beds ; and the only value they possess, except lime, are the marls, which at
some time may be useful on the soil of the adjacent region.
The only vertebrate remains found in the cretaceous rocks are the fishes.
Those in the inoceramus beds of Iowa are two species of squoloid selachians,
or cestratront, and three genera of teliosts. Molluscan remains are rare.
PEAT.
Extensive beds of peat exist in Northern Middle Iowa, which, it is esti-
mated, contain the following areas :
Counties. Acres.
Cerro Gordo 1,500
Worth 2,000
Winnebago 2,000
Hancock 1,500
Wright 500
KosButh 700
Dickinson 80
Several other counties contain peat beds, but the character of the peat is
inferior to that in the northern part of the State. The character of the peat
HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA. 131
named is equal to that of Ireland. The beds are of an average depth of four
feet. It is estimated that each acre of these beds will furnish two hundred and
fifty tons of dry fuel for each foot in depth. At present, owing to the sparse-
ness of the population, this peat is not utilized ; but, owing to its great distance
from the coal fields and the absence of timber, the time is coming when their
value will be realized, and the fact demonstrated that Nature has abundantly
compensated the deficiency of other fuel.
GYPSUM.
The only deposits of the sulphates of the alkaline earths of any economic
value in Iowa are those of gypsum at and in the vicinity of Fort Dodge, in
Webster County. All others are small and unimportant. The deposit occupies
a nearly central position in Webster County, the Des Moines River running
nearly centrally through it, along the valley sides of which the gypsum is seen
in the form of ordinary rock cliff and ledges, and also occurring abundantly in
similar positions along both sides of the valleys of the smaller streams and of
the numerous ravines coming into the river valley.
The most northerly known limit of the deposit is at a point near the mouth
of Lizard Creek, a tributary of the De^ Moines River, and almost adjoining
the town of Fort Dodge. The most southerly point at which it has been
found exposed is about six miles, by way of the river, from this northerly point
before mentioned. Our knowledge of the width of the area occupied by it is
limited by the exposures seen in the valleys of the small streams and in the
ravines which come into the valley within the distance mentioned. As one goes
up these ravines and minor valleys, the gypsum becomes lost beneath the over-
lying drift. There can be no doubt that the difiierent parts of this deposit, now
disconnected by the valleys and ravines having been cut through it, were orig-
inally connected as a continuous deposit, and there seems to be as little reason
to doubt that the gypsum still extends to considerable distance on each side of
the valley of the river beneath the drift which covers the region to a depth of
from twenty to sixty feet.
The country round about this region has the prairie surface approximating
a general level which is so characteristic of the greater part of the State, and
which exists irrespective of the character or geological age of the strata beneath,
mainly because the drift is so deep and uniformly distributed that it frequently
almost alone gives character to the surface. The valley sides of the Des Moines
River, in the vicinity of Fort Dodge, are somewhat a,brupt, having a depth there
from the general level of the upland of about one hundred and seventy feet,
and consequently presents somewhat bold and interesting features in the land-
scape.
As one walks up and down the creeks and ravines wl\ich come into the
valley of the Des Moines River there, he sees the gypsum exposed on
either side of them, jutting out from beneath the drift in the form of
132 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
ledges and bold quarry fronts, having almost the exact appearance of
ordinary limestone exposures, so horizontal and regular are its lines of
stratification, and so similar in color is it to some varieties of that rock. The
principal quarries now opened are on Two Mile Creek, a couple of miles below
Fort Dodge.
The reader will please bear in mind that the gypsum of this remarkabfe
deposit does not occur in "heaps" or "nests," as it does in most deposits of
gypsum in the States farther eastward, but that it exists here in the form of a
regularly stratified, continuous formation, as uniform in texture, color and
quality throughout the whole region, and from top to bottom of the deposit
as the granite of the Quincy quarries is. Its color is a uniform gray, result-
ing from alternating fine horizontal lines of nearly white, with similar hnes
of darker shade. The gypsum of the white lines is almost entirely pure, the
darker lines containing the impurity. This is at intervals barely sufficient in
amount to cause the separation of the mass upon those lines into beds or layers,
thus facilitating the quarrying of it into desired shapes. These bedding sur-
faces have occasionally a clayey feeling to the touch, but there is nowhere any
intercalation of clay or other foreign substance in a separate form. The deposit
is known to reach a thickness of thirty feet at the quarries referred to, but
although it will probably be found to exceed this thickness at some other points,
at the natural exposures, it is seldom seen to be more than from ten to twenty
feet thick. ,
Since the drift is usually seen to rest directly upon the gypsum, with noth-
ing intervening, except at a few points where traces appear of an overlying bed
of clayey material without doubt of the same age as the gypsum, the latter
probably lost something of its thickness by mechanical erosion during the
glacial epoch ; and it has, doubtless, also suffered some diminution of thickness
since then by solution in the waters which constantly percolate through the
drift from the surface. The drift of this region being somewhat clayey, partic-
ulary in its lower part, it has doubtless served in some degree as a protection
against the diminution of the gypsum by solution in consequence of its partial
imperviousness to water. If the gypsum had been covered by a deposit of sand
instead of the drift clays, it would have no doubt long since disappeared by
being dissolved in the water that would have constantly reached it from the sur-
face. Water merely resting upon it would not dissolve it away to any extent,
but it rapidly disappears under the action of running water. Where little rills
of water at the time of every rain run over the face of an unused quarry, from
the surface above it, deep grooves are thereby cut into it, giving it somewhat the
appearance of melting ice around a waterfall. The fact that gypsum is now
suffering a constant, but, of course, very slight, diminution, is apparent in the
fact the springs of the region contain more or less of it in solution in their
waters. ' An analysis of water from one of these springs will be found in Prof.
Emery's report.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 133 ,
Besides the clayey beds that are sometimes seen to rest upon the gypsum,
there are occasionally others seen beneath them that are also of the same
age, and not of the age of the coal-measure strata upon which they rest.
Age of the Qypsum Deposit. — In neither the gypsum nor the associated
clays has any trace of any fossil remains been found, nor has any other indica-
tion of its geological age been observed, except that which is afforded by its
stratigraphical relations ; and the most that can be said with certainty is that it
is newer than the coal measures, and older than the drift. The indications
afforded by the stratigraphical relations of the gypsum deposit of Fort Dodge
are, however, of considerable value.
As already shown, it rests in that region directly and unconformably upon
the lower coal measures ; but going southward from there, the whole series of
coal-measure strata from the top of the subcarboniferous group to the upper
coal measures, inclusive, can be traced without break or unconformability.
The strata of the latter also may be traced in the same manner up into the
Permian rocks of Kansas; and through this long series, there is no place or
horizon which suggests that the gypsum deposit might belong there.
Again, no Tertiary deposits are known to exist within or near the borders
of Iowa to suggest that the gypsum might be of that age ; nor are any of the
palaeozoic strata newer than the subcarboniferous unconformable upon each
other as the other gypsum is unconformable upon the strata beneath it. It
therefore seems, in a measure, conclusive, that the gypsum is of Mesozoic age,
perhaps older than the Cretaceous.
Lithological Origin. — As little can be said with certainty concerning the
lithological origin of this deposit as can be said concerning its geological age,
for it seems to present itself in this relation, as in the former one, as an isolated
fact. None of the associated strata show any traces of a double decomposition
of pre-existing materials, such as some have supposed all deposits of gypsum to
have resulted from. No considerable quantities of oxide of iron nor any trace
of native sulphur have been found in connection with it ; nor has any salt been
found in the waters of the region. These substances are common in association
with other gypsum deposits, and are regarded by some persons as indicative of
the method of or resulting from their origin as such. Throughout the whole
region, the Fort Dodge gypsum has the exact appearance of a sedimentary
deposit. It is arranged in layers like the regular layers of limestone, and the
whole mass, from top to bottom, is traced with fine horizontal laminae of alter-
nating white and gray gypsum, parallel with the bedding surfaces of the layers,
but the whole so intimately blended as to form a solid mass. The darker lines
contain almost all the impurity there is in the gypsum, and that impurity is
evidently sedimentary in its character. Frcii these facts, and also from the
further one that no trace of fossil remains has been detected in the gypsum, it
seems not unreasonable to entertain the opinion that the gypsum of Fort Dodge
originated as a chemical precipitation in comparatively still waters which were
134 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
saturated with sulphate of lime and destitute of life; its stratification and
impurities being deposited at the same time as clayey impurities which had been
held suspended in the same waters.
Physical Properties. — Much has already been said of the physical proper-
ties or character of this gypsum, but as it is so different in some respects from
that of other deposits, there are yet other matters worthy of mention in connec-
tion with those. According to the results of a complete and exhaustive anal-
ysis by Prof. Emery, the ordinary gray gypsum contains only about eight per
cent, of impurity ; and it is possible that the average impurity for the whole
deposit will not exceed that proportion, so uniform in quality is it from to top
to bottom and from one end of the region to the other.
When it is remembered that plaster for agricultural purposes is sometimes
prepared from gypsum that contains as much as thirty per cent, of impurity, it
will be seen that ours is a very superior article for such purposes. The impu-
rities are also of such a character that they do not in any way interfere with its
value for use in the arts. Although the gypsum rock has a gray color, it
becomes quite white by grinding, and still whiter by the calcining process nec-
essary in the preparation of plaster of Paris. These tests have all been practi-
cally made in the rooms of the Geological Survey, and the quality pf the plaster
of Paris still further tested by actual use and experiment. No hesitation,
therefore, is felt in stating that the Fort Dodge gypsum is of as good a quality
as any in the country, even for the finest uses.
In view of the bounteousness of the primitive fertility of our Iowa soils,
many persons forget that a time may come when Nature will refuse to respond
so generously to our demand as she does now, without an adequate return.
Such are apt to say that this vast deposit of gypsum is valueless to our com-
monwealth, except to the small extent that it may be used in the arts. This
is undoubtedly a short-sighted view of the subject, for the time is even nov
rapidly passing away when a man may purchase a new farm for leSs money
than he can re-fertilize and restore the partially wasted primitive fertility of the
one he now occupies. There are farms even now in a large part of the older
settled portions of the State that would be greatly benefited by the proper
application of plaster, and such areas will continue to increase until it will be
difiicult to estimate the value of the deposit of gypsum at Fort Dodge. It
should be remembered, also, that the inhabitants of an extent of country
adjoining our State more than three times as great as its own area will find it
more convenient to obtain their supplies from Fort Dodge than from any other
source.
For want of direct railroad communication between this region and other
parts of the State, the only use yet made of the gypsum by the inhabitants is
for the purposes of ordinary building stone. It is so compact that it is found
to be comparatively unafiected by the frost, and its ordinary situation in walls
of houses is such that it is protected from the dissolving action of water, which
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA. 135
can at most reach it only from occasional rains, and the effect of these is too
slight to be perceived after the lapse of several years.
One of the citizens of Fort Dodge, Hon. John F. Buncombe, built a large,
fine residence of it, in 1861, the walls of which appear as unaffected by
exposure and as beautiful as they were when first erected. It has been so long
and successfully used for building stone by the inhabitants that they now prefer
it to the limestone of good quality, which also exists in the immediate vicinity.
This preference is due to the cheapness of the gypsum, as compared with the
stone. The cheapness of the former is largely due to the facility with which it
is quarried and wrought. Several other houses have been constructed of it in
Fort Dodge, including the depot building of the Dubuque & Sioux City Rail-
road. The company have also constructed a large culvert of the same material
to span a creek near the town, limestone only being used for the lower courses,
which come in contact with the water. It is a fine arch, each stone of gypsum
being nicely hewn, and it will doubtless prove a very durable one. Many of
the sidewalks in the town are made of the slabs or flags of gypsum which occur
in some of the quarries in the form of thin layers. They are more durable
than their softness would lead one to suppose. They also possess an advantage
over stone in not becoming slippery when worn.
The method adopted in quarrying and dressing the blocks of gypsum is
peculiar, and quite unlike that adopted in similar treatment of ordinary stone.
Taking a stout auger-bit of an ordinary brace, such as is used by carpenters,
and filing the cutting parts of it into a peculiar form, the quarryman bores his
holes into the gypsum quarry for blasting, in the same manner and with as
great facility as a carpenter would bore hard wood. The pieces being loosened
by blasting, they are broken up with sledges into convenient sizes, or hewn
into the desired shapes by means of hatchets or ordinary chopping axes, or cut
by means of ordinary wood-saws. So little grit does the gypsum contain that
these tools, made for working wood, are found to be better adapted for working
the former substance than those tools are which are universally used for work-
ing stone.
MINOR DEPOSITS OF SULPHATE OF LIMB.
Besides the great gypsum deposit of Fort Dodge, sulphate of lime in the
various forms of fibrous gypsum, selenite, and small, amorphous masses, has
also been discovered in various formations in different parts of the State, includ-
ing the coal-measurd shales near Fort Dodge, where it exists in small quanti-
ii^, quite independently of the great gypsum deposit there. ■ The quantity of
gypsum in these mine? deposits is always too small to be of any practical value,
and frequently minute. They usually occur in shales and shaly clays, asso-
ciated with strata that contain more or less sulphuret of iron (iron pyrites).
Gypsum has thus been detected in the coal measures, the St. Louis limestone,
the cretaceous strata, and also in the lead caves of Dubuque. In most of these
eases it is evidently the result of double decomposition of iron pyrites and car-
136 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
bonate of lime, previously existing there ; in which, cases the gypsum is of course
not an original deposit as the great one at Fort Dodge is supposed to be.
The existence of these comparatively minute quantities of gypsum in the
shales of the coal measures and the subcarboniferous limestone which are exposed
within the region of and occupy a stratigraphical position beneath the great
gypsum deposits, suggests the possibility that the former may have originated as
a precipitate from percolating waters, holding gypsum in solution which they '
had derived from that deposit in passing over or through it. Since, however,
the same substance is found in similar small quantities and under similar con-
ditions in regions where they could have had no possible connection with that
deposit, it is believed that none of those mentioned have necessarily originated
from it, not even those that are found in close proximity to it.
The gypsum found in the lead caves is usually in the form of efflorescent
fibers, and is always in small quantity. In the lower coal-measure shale near
Fort Dodge, a small mass was found in the form of an intercalated layer, which
had a distinct fibrous structure, the fibers being perpendicular to the , plane of
the layer. The same mass had also distinct, horizontal planes of cleavage at
right angles with the perpendicular fibers. Thus, being more or less transpa-
rent, the mass combined the characters of both fibrous gypsum and selenite.
No anhydrous sulphate of lime (anhydrite) has been found in connection with
the great gypsum deposit, nor elsewhere in Iowa, so far as yet known.
SULPHATE OF STRONTIA.
{Celestine.)
The only locality at which this interesting mineral has yet been found in
Iowa, or, so far as is known, in the great valley of the Mississippi, is at Fort
Dodge. It occurs there in very small quantity in both the shales of the lower
coal measures and in the clays that overlie the gypsum deposit, and which are
regarded as of the same age with it. The first is just below the city, near Rees'
coal bank, and occurs as a layer intercalated among the coal measure shales,
amounting in quantity to only a few hundred pounds' weight. The mineral is
fibrous and crystalline, the fibers being perpendicular to the plane of the layer.
Breaking also with more or less distinct horizontal planes of cleavage, it resem-
bles, in physical character, the layer of fibro-crystalline gypsum before men-
tioned. Its color is light blue, is transparenb and shows crystaline facets upon
both the upper and under surfaces of the layer ; those of the upper surface
being smallest and most numerous. It breaks up readily into small masses
along the lines of the perpendicular fibers or columns. The layer is probably
not more than a rod in extent in any direction and about three inches in maxi-
mum thickness. Apparent lines of stratification occur in it, corresponding with
those of the shales which imbed it.
The other deposit was still smaller in amount, and occurred as a mass of
crystals imbedded in the clays that overlie the gypsum at Cummins' quarry in
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA. 137
the valley of Soldier Creek, upon the north side of the town. The mineral is
in this case nearly colorless, and but for the form of the separate crystals would
closely resemble masses of impure salt. The crystals are so closely aggregated
that they enclose but little impurity in the mass, but in almost all cases their
fundamental forms are obscured. This mineral has almost no real practical
value, and its occurrence, as described, is interesting only as a mineraldgical
fact.
SULPHATE OF BAKTTA.
(Barytea, Heavy Spar.)
This mineral has been found only in minute quantities in Iowa. It has
been detected in the coal-measure shales of Decatur, Madison and Marion
Counties, the Devonian limestone of Johnson and Bremer Counties and in the
lead caves of Dubuque. In all these cases, it is in the form of crystals or small
crystalline masses.
SULPHATE OF MAGNESIA.
(^Epsomite.)
Epsomite, or native epsom salts, having been discovered near Burlington,
we have thus recognized in Iowa all the sulphates of the alkaline earths of
natural origin ; all of them, except the sulphate of lime, being in very small
quantity. Even if the sulphate of magnesia were produced in nature, in large
quantities, it is so very soluble that it can accumulate only in such positions aa
afford it complete shelter from the rains or running water. The epsomite
mentioned was found beneath the overhanging cliff of Burlington limestone,
near Starr's mill, which are represented in the sketch upon another page, illus-
trating the subcarboniferous rocks. It occurs in the form of efflorescent encrus-
tations upon the surface of stones and in similar small fragile masses among the
fine debris that has fallen down beneath the overhanging cliff. The projection
of the cliff over the perpendicular face of the strata beneath amounts to near
twenty feet at the point where epsomite was found. Consequently the rains
never reach far beneath it from any quarter. The rock upon which the epsom-
ite accumulates is an impure limestone, containing also some carbonate of mag-
nesia, together with a small proportion of iron pyrites in a finely divided con-
dition. It is doubtless by double decomposition of these that the epsomite re-
sults. By experiments with this native salt in the office of the Survey, a fine
article of epsom salts was produced, but the quantity that might be annually
obtained there would amount to only a few pounds, and of course is of no prac-
tical value whatever, on account of its cheapness in the market.
CLIMATOLOGY.
No extended record of the climatology of Iowa has been made, yet much of
great value may be learned from observations made at a single point. Prof. T.
S. Parvin, of the State University, has recorded observations made from 1839
to the present time. Previous to 1860, these observations were made at Mus-
138 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
catine. Since that date, they were made in Iowa City. The result is that the
atmospheric conditions of the climate of Iowa are in the highest degree favo^
able to health.
The highest temperature here occurs in August, while July is the hottest
month in the year by two degrees, and January the coldest by three degrees.
The mean temperature of April and October most nearly corresponds to the
mean temperature of the year, as well as their seasons of Spring and Fall,
while that of Summer and Winter is best represented in that of August and
December.
The period of greatest heat ranges from June 22d to August 31st ; the next
mean time being July 27th. The lowest temperature extends from December
16th to February 15th, the average being January 20th — the range in each
case being two full months.
The climate of Iowa embraces the range of that of New York, Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The seasons are not characterized by the
frequent and sudden changes so common in the latitudes further south. The
temperature of the Winters is somewhat lower than States eastward, but of other
seasons it is higher. The atmosphere is dry and invigorating. The surface of
the State being free at all seasons of the year from stagnant water, with good
breezes at nearly all seasons, the miasmatic and pulmonary diseases are
unknown. Mortuary statistics show this to be one of the most healthful States
in the Union, being one death to every ninety-four persons. The Spring,
Summer and Fall months are delightful ; indeed, the glory of Iowa is her
Autumn, and nothing can transcend the splendor of her Indian Summer, which
lasts for weeks, and finally blends, almost imperceptibly, into Winter.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
DISCOVERY AND OCCUPATION.
Iowa, in the symbolical and expressive language of the aboriginal inhab-
itants, is said to signify " The Beautiful Land," and was applied to this
magnificent and fruitful region by its ancient owners, to express their apprecia-
tion of its superiority of climate, soil and location. Prior to 1803, the Mississippi
River was the extreme western boundary of the United States. All the great
empire lying west of the " Father of Waters," from the Gulf of Mexico on the
south to British America on the north, and westward to the Pacific Ocean, was
a Spanish province. A brief historical sketch of the discovery and occupation
of this grand empire by the Spanish and French governments Will be a fitting
introduction to the history of the young and thriving State of Iowa, which,
until the commencement of the present century, was a part of the Spanish
possessions in America.'
Early in the Spring of 1542, fifty years after Columbus discovered the New
World, and one hundred and thirty years before the French missionaries discov-
ered its upper waters, Ferdinand De Soto discovered the mouth of the Mississippi
River at the mouth of the Washita. After the sudden death of De Soto, in
May of the same year, his followers built a small vessel, and in July, 1543,
descended the great river to the Gulf of Mexico.
In accordance with the usage of nations, under which title to the soil was
claimed by right of discovery, Spain, having conquered Florida and discovered
the Mississippi, claimed all the territory bordering on that river and the Gulf of
Mexico. But it was also held by the European nations that, while discovery
gave title, that title must be perfected by actual possession and occupation.
Although Spain claimed the territory by right of first discovery, she made no
efibrt to occupy it ; by no permanent settlement had she perfected and held her
title, and therefore had forfeited it when, at a later period, the Lower Mississippi
Valley was re-discovered and occupied by France.
The unparalleled labors of the zealous Fr( nch Jesuits of Canada in penetrating
the unknown region of the West, commencing in 1611, form a history of no ordi-
nary interest, but have no particular connection with the scope of the present
work, until in the Fall of 1665. Pierre Claude Allouez, who had entered Lake
Superior in September, and sailed along the southern coast in search of copper,
had arrived at the great village of the Chippewas at Chegoincegon. Here a
grand council of some ten or twelve of the principal Indian nations was held.
The Pottawatomies of Lake Michigan, the Sacs and Foxes of the West, the
Hurons from the North, the Illinois from the South, and the Sioux from the
land of the prairie and wild rice, were all assembled there. The Illinois told
140 ' HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA.
the story of their ancient glory and about the noble river on the banks of whicli
they dwelt. The Sioux also told their white brother of the same great river,
and Allouez promised to the assembled tribes the protection of the French
nation against all their enemies, native or foreign.
The purpose of discovering the great river about which the Indian na-
tions had given such glowing accounts appears to have originated with Mar-
quette, in 1669. In the year previous, he and Claude Dablon had established
the Mission of St. Mary's, the oldest white settlement within the present limite
of the State of Michigan. Marquette was delayed in the execution of his great
undertaking, and spent the interval in studying the language and habits of the
Illinois Indians, among whom he expected to travel.
About this time, the French Government had determined to extend the do-
minion of France to the extreme western borders of Canada. Nicholas Parrot
was sent as the agent of the government, to propose a grand council of the
Indian nations, at St. Mary's.
When Perrot reached Green Bay, he extended the invitation far and near;
and, escorted by Pottawatomies, repaired on a mission of peace and friend-
ship to the Miamis, who occupied the region about the present location of
Chicago.
In May, 1671, a great council of Indians gathered at the Falls of St,
Mary, from all parts of the Northwest, from the head waters of the St. Law-
rence, from the valley of the Mississippi and from the Red River of the North!
Perrot met with them, and after grave consultation, formally announced to the
assembled nations that their good French Father felt an abiding interest in their
welfare, and had placed them all under the powerful protection of the French
Government.
Marquette, during that same year, had gathered at Point St. Ignace the
remn ants of one branch of the Hurons. This station, for a long series of
years, was considered the key to the unknown West.
The time was now auspicious for the consummation of Marquette's grand
project. The successful termination of Perrot's mission, and the general friend-
liness of the native tribes, rendered the contemplated expedition much less per-
ilous. But it was not until 1673 that the intrepid and enthusiastic priest waa
finally ready to depart on his daring and perilous journey to lands never trod by
white men.
The Indians, who had gathered in large numbers to witness his departure,
were astounded at the boldness of the proposed undertaking, and tried to dis-
courage him, representing that the Indians of the Mississippi Valley were cruel
and bloodthirsty, and would resent the intrusion of strangers upon their domain.
The great river itself, they said, was the abode of terrible monsters, who could
swallow both canoes and men. ,
But Marquette was not to be diverted from his purpose by these fearful re-
ports. He assured his dusky friends that he was ready to make any sacrifice,
even to lay down his life for the sacred cause in which he was engaged. He
prayed with them ; and having implored the blessing of God upon his undertak-
ing, on the 13th day of May, 1673, with Joliet and five Canadian-French voy-
ageurs, or boatmen, he left the mission on his daring journey. Ascending
Green Bay and Fox River, these bold and enthusiastic pioneers of religion and
discovery proceeded until they reached a Miami and .Kickapoo village, where
Marquette was delighted to find " a beautiful cross planted in the middle of the
town, ornamented with white skins, red girdles and bows and arrows, which
these good people had oiFered to the Great Manitou, or God, to thank Him for
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 141
the pity He had bestowed on them during the Winter, in having given them
abundant chase."
This waa the extreme point beyond which the explorations of the French
missionaries had not then extended. Here Marquette was instructed by his
Indian hosts in the secret of a root that cures the bite of the venomous rattle-
snake, drank mineral water with them and was entertained with generous hos-
pitality. He called together the principal men of the village, and informed
them that his companion, Joliet, had been sent by the French Governor of Can-
ada to discover new countries, to be added to the dominion of France ; but that
he, himself, had been sent by the Most High God, to carry the glorious religion
of the Cross ; and assured his wondering hearers that on this mission he had
no fear of death, to which he knew he would be exposed on his perilous journeys.
Obtaining the services of two Miami guides, to conduct his little band to the
Wisconsin River, he left the hospitable Indians on the 10th of June. Conduct-
ing them across the portage, their Indian guides returned to their village, and
the little party descended the Wisconsin, to the great river which had so long
been so anxiously looked for, and boldly floated down its unknown waters.
On the 25th of June, the explorers discovered indications of Indians on the
west bank of the river and landed a little above the .mouth of the river now
known as Des Moines, and for the first time Europeans trod the soil of Iowa.
Leaving the Canadians to guard the canoes, Marquette and Joliet boldly fol-
lowed the trail into the interior for fourteen miles (some authorities say six), to
an Indian village situate on the banks of a river, and discovered two other vil-
lages, on the rising ground about half a league distant. Their visit, 'while it
created much astonishment, did not seem to be entirely unexpected, for there
was a tradition or prophecy among the Indians that white visitors were to come
to them. They were, therefore, received with great respect and hospitality, and
were cordially tendered the calumet or pipe of peace. They were informed that
this band was a part of the lUini nation and that their village was called Mon-
in-gou-ma or Moingona, which was the name of the river on which it stood.
This, from its similarity of sound, Marquette corrupted into Des Moinea
(Monk's River), its present name.
Here the voyagers remained six days, learning much of the manners and
customs of their new friends. The new religion they boldly preached and the
authority of the King of France they proclaimed were received without hos-
tility or remonstrance by their savage entertainers. On their departure, they
were accompanied to their canoes by the chiefs and hundreds of warriors.
Marquette received from them the sacred calumet, the emblem of peace and
safeguard among the nations, and re-embarked for the rest of his journey.
It is needless to follow him further, as his explorations beyond his discovery
of Iowa more properly belong to the history of another State.
In 1682, La Salle descended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, and in
the aame of the King of France, took formal possession of all the immense
region watered by the. great river and its tributaries from its source to its mouth,
and named it Louisiana, in honor of his master, Louis XIV. The river he
called " Colbert," after the French Minister, and at its mouth erected a column
and a cross bearing the inscription, in the French language,
"Louis the Great, King of France and Navarre,
Reigning April 9th, 1682."
At the close of the seventeenth century, France claimed, by right of dis-
covery and occupancy, the whole valley of the Mississippi and its tributariesi,
including Texas, as far as the Rio del Norte.
142 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
The province of Louisiana stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the sources
of the Tennessee, the Kanawha, the Allegheny and the Monongahela on the
east, and the Missouri and the other great tributaries of the Father of Waters
on the west. Says Bancroft, " France had obtained, under Providence, the
guardianship of this immense district of country, not, as it proved, for her own
benefit, but rather as a trustee for the infant nation by which it was one day to
be inherited."
By the treaty of Utrecht, France ceded to England her possessions
in Hudson's Bay, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. France still retained
Louisiana ; but the province had so far failed to meet the expectations of the
•crown and the people that a change in the government and policy of the country
was deemed indispensable. Accordingly, in 1711, the province was placed ia
the hands of a Governor General, with headquarters at Mobile. This govern-
ment was of brief duration, and in 1712 a charter was granted to Anthony
Crozat, a wealthy merchant of Paris, giving him the entire control and mo-
nopoly of all the trade and resources of Louisiana. But this scheme also failed.
Crozat met with no success in his commercial operations ; every Spanish harbor
on the Gulf was closed against his vessels ; the occupation of Louisiana was
deemed an encroachment on Spanish territory ; Spain was jealous of the am-
bition of France.
Failing in his efforts to open the ports of the district, Crozat " sought to
■develop the internal resources of Louisiana, by causing trading posts to be
opened, and explorations to be made to its remotest borders. But he
actually accomplished nothing for the advancement of the colony. The only
prosperity which it ever possessed grew out of the enterprise of humble indi-
viduals, who had succeeded in instituting a little barter between themselves
and the natives, and a petty trade with neighboring European settlements.
After a persevering effort of nearly five years, he surrendered his charter in
August, 1717."
Immediately following the surrender of his charter by Crozat, another and
more magnificent scheme was inaugurated. The national government of France
was deeply involved in debt ; the colonies were nearly bankrupt, a^d John Law
appeared on the scene with his famous Mississippi Company, as the Louisiana
"branch of the Bank of France. The charter granted to this company gave it a
legal existence of twenty-five years, and conferred upon it more extensive powers
and privileges than had been granted to Crozat. It invested the new company
"with the exclusive privilege of the entire commerce of Louisiana, and of New
France, a ad with authority to enforce their rights. The Company was author-
ized to monopolize all the trade in the country; to make treaties with the
Indians ; to declare and prosecute war ; to grant lands, erect forts, open mines
•of precious metals, levy taxes, nominate civil officers, commission those of the
army, and to appoint and remove judges, to cast cannon, and build and equip
ships of war. All this was to be done with the paper currency of John Law's
Bank of France. He had succeeded in getting His Majesty the French King
to adopt and sanction his scheme of financial operations both in France and in
the colonies, and probably there never was such a huge financial bubble ever
blown by a visionary theorist. Still, such was the condition of France that (-
was accepted as a national deliverance, and Law became the most powerful man
in France. He became a Catholic, and was appointed Comptroller General of
Finance.
Among the first operations of the Company was to send eight hundred
emigrants to Louisiana, who arrived at Dauphine Island in 1718.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 143
In 1719, Philipe Francis Renault arrived in Illinois with two hundred
miners and artisans. The war between France and Spain at this time rendered
it extremely probable that the Mississippi Valley might become the theater of
Spanish hostilities against the French settlements ; to prevent this, as well as to
extend French claims, a chain of forts was begun, to keep open the connection
between the mouth and the sources of the Mississippi. Fort Orleans, high up
the Mississippi River, was erected as an outpost in 1720.
The Mississippi scheme was at the zenith of its power and glory in January,
1720, but the gigantic bubble collapsed more suddenly than it had been inflated,
and the Company was declared hopelessly bankrupt in May following. France
was impoverished by it, both private and public credit were overthrown, capi-
talists suddenly found themselves paupers, and labor was left without employ-
ment. The effect on the colony of Louisiana was disastrous.
While this was going on in Lower Louisiana, the region about the lakes was
the theater of Indian hostilities, rendering the passage from Canada to Louisiana
extremely dangerous for many years. The English had not only extended their
Indian trade into the vicinity of the French settlements, but through their
friends, the Iroquois, had gained a m6,rked ascendancy over the Foxes, a fierce
and powerful tribe, of Iroquois descent, whom they incited to hostilities against,
the French. The Foxes began their hostilities with the siege of Detroit in
1712, a siege which they continued for nineteen consecutive days, and although,
the expedition resulted in diminishing their numbers and humbling their pride,
yet it was not until after several successive campaigns, embodying the best
military resources of New France, had been directed against them, that were
finally defeated at the great battles of Butte des Morts, and on the Wisconsin
River, and driven west in 1746.
The Company, having found that the cost of defending Louisiana exceeded
the returns from its commerce, solicited leave to surrender the Mississippi
wilderness to the home government. Accordingly, on the 10th of April, 1732,,
the jurisdiction and control over the commerce reverted to the crown of France.
The Company had held possession of Louisiana fourteen years. In 1735, Bien-
ville returned to assume command for the King.
A glance at a few of the old French settlements will show the progress made
in portions of Louisiana during the early part of the eighteenth century. As.
early as 1705, traders and hunters had penetrated the fertile regions of the
Wabash, and from this region, at that early date, fifteen thousand hides and
skins had been collected and sent to Mobile for the European market.
In the year 1716, the French population on the Wabash kept up a lucrative
commerce with Mobile by means of traders and voyageurs. The Ohio River
was comparatively unknown.
In 1746, agriculture on the Wabash had attained to greater prosperity than
in any of the French settlements besides, and in that year six hundred barrels
of flour were manufactured and shipped to New Orleans, together with consider-
able quantities of hides, peltry, 'tallow and beeswax.
In the Illinois country, also, considerable settlements had been made, so that,
in 1730, they embraced one hundred and forty French families, about six
hundred " converted Indians," and many traders and voyageurs.
In 1753, the first actual conflict arose between Louisiana and the Atlantic
colonies. From the earliest advent of the Jesuit fathers, up to the period of
which we speak, the great ambition of the French had been, not alone to preserve
their possessions in the West, but by every possible means to prevent the
slightest attempt of the English, east of the mountains, to extend their settk-
144 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
nents toward the Mississippi. France was resolved on retaining possession of
ihe great territory which her missionaries had discovered and revealed to tlie
syorld. French commandants had avowed their purpose of seizing every
Englishman within the Ohio Valley.
The colonies of Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia were most affected by
the encroachments of France in the extension of her dominion, and particularly
in the great scheme of uniting Canada with Louisiana. To carry out this
purpose, the French had taken possession of a tract of country claimed hy Vir-
[finia, and had commenced a line of forts extending from the lakes to the Ohio
River. Virginia was not only alive to her own interests, but attentive to the
vast importance of an immediate and effectual resistance on the part of all
the English colonies to the actual and contemplated encroachments of the
French.
In 1753, Governor Dinwiddle, of Virginia, sent George Washington, then a
young man just twenty-one, to demand of the French commandant "a reason
for invading British dominions while a solid peace subsisted." Washington met
the Fifench commandant, Gardeur de St. Pierre, on the head waters of the
Alleghany, and having communicated to him the object of his journey, received
the insolent answer that the French would not discuss the matter of right, but
would make prisoners of every Englishman found trading on the Ohio and its
waters. The country, he said, belonged to the French, by virtue of the dis-
coveries of La Salle, and they would not withdraw from it.
In January, 1754, Washington returned to Virginia, and made his report to
the Governor and Council. Forces were at once raised, and Washington, as
Lieutenant Colonel, was dispatched at the head of a hundred and fifty men, to
the forks of the Ohio, with orders to "finish the fort already begun there by the
Ohio Company, and to make prisoners, kill or destroy all who interrupted the
English settlements."
On his march through the forests of Western Pennsylvania, Washington,
through the aid of friendly Indians, discovered the French concealed, among the
rocks, and as they ran to seize their arms, ordered his men to fire upon them, at
the same time, with his own musket, setting the example. An action lasting
about a quarter of an hour ensued ; ten of the Frenchmen were killed, among
them Jumonville, the commander of the party, and twenty-one were made pris-
oners. The dead were scalped by the Indians, and the chief, bearing a toma-
hawk and a scalp, visited all the tribes of the Miamis, urging them to join the
Six Nations and the English against the French. The French, however, were
soon re-enforced, and Col. Washington was compelled to return to Fort
Necessity. Here, on the 3d day of July, De Villiers invested the fort with
600 French troops and 100 Indians. On the 4th, Washington accepted
terms of capitulation, and the English garrison withdrew from the valley of
the Ohio.
This attack of Washington upon Jumonville aroused the indignation of
France, and war was formally declared in May, 1756, and the " French and
Indian War" devastated the colonies for several years. Montreal, Detroit
and all Canada were surrendered to the English, and on the iOth of February,
1763, by the treaty of Paris — which had been signed, though not formally ratified
by the respective governments, on the 3dof November, 1762 — France relinquished
to Great Britian all that portion of the province of Louisiana lying on the east
side of the Mississippi, except the island and town of New Orleans. On the
same day that the treaty of Paris was signed, France, by a secret treaty, ceded
to Spain all her possessions on the west side of the Mississippi, including the
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 145
whole countrj to the head waters of the Great River, and west to the Rocky
Mountains, and the jurisdiction of France in America, which had lasted nearly
a century, was end,ed.
^ At the close of the Revolutionary war, by the treaty of peace between Great
Britain and the United States, the English Government ceded to the latter
all the territory on the east side of the Mississippi River and north of the thirty-
first parallel of north latitude. At the same time. Great Britain ceded to
Spain all the Floridas, comprising all the territory east of the Mississippi and
south of the southern limits of the United States.
At this time, therefore, the present State of Iowa was a part of the Spanish
possessions in North America, as all the territory west of the Mississippi River
was under the dominion of Spain. That government also possessed all the
territory of the Floridas east of the great river and south of the thirty-firs*t
parallel of north latitude. The Mississippi, therefore, so essential to the pros-
perity of the .western portion of the United States, for the last three hundred
miles of its course flowed wholly within the Spanish dominions, and that govern-
ment claimed the exclusive right to use and control it below the southern boun-
dary of the United States.
The free navigation of the Mississippi was a very important question during
all the time that Louisiana remained a dependency of the Spanish Crown, and
as the final settlement intimately afiiected the status of the then fiiture State
of Iowa, it will be interesting to trace its progress. '
The people of the United States occupied and exercised jurisdiction over
the entire eastern valley of the Mississippi, embracing all the country drained
by its eastern tributaries ; they had a natural right, according to the accepted in-
ternational law, to follow these rivers to the sea, and to the. use of the Missis-
sippi River accordingly, as the great natural channel of commerce. The river
was not only necessary but absolutely indispensable to the prosperity and growth
of the western settlements then rapidly rising into commercial and political
importance. They were situated in the heart of the great valley, and with
wonderfully expansive energies and accumulating resources, it was very evident
that, no power on earth could deprive them of the free use of the river below
them, only while their numbers were insufficient to enable them to maintain
their right by force. Inevitably, therefore, immediately after the ratification of
the treaty of 1783, the Western people began to demand the free navigation
of the Mississippi — not as a favor, but as a right. In 1786, both banks of
the river, below the mouth of the Ohio, were occupied by Spain, and military
posts on the east bank enforced her power to exact heavy duties on all im-
ports by way of the river for the Ohio region. Every boat descending the
river was forced to land and submit to the arbitrary revenue exactions of the
Spanish authorities. Under the administration of Governor Miro, these rigor-
ous exactions were somewhat relaxed from 1787 to 1790 ; but Spain held it as
her right to make them. Taking advantage of the claim of the American people,
that the Mississippi should be opened to them, in 1791, the Spanish Govern-
ment concocted a scheme for the dismembership of the Union. The plan was
to induce the Western people to separate from the Eastern States by liberal land
grants and extraordinary commercial privileges.
Spanish emissaries, among the people of Ohio and Kentucky, informed them
that the Spanish Government would grant them favorable commercial privileges,
provided they would secede from the Federal Government east of the mountains.
The Spanish Minister to the United States plainly declared to his confidential
correspondent that, unless the Western people would declare their independence
l(j HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
id refuse to remain in the Union, Spain was determined never to grant the
ee navigation of the Mississippi.
By the treaty of Madrid, October 20, 1795, however, Spain formally stip-
[ated that the Mississippi River, from its source to the Gulf, for its entire widtl,
lould be free to American trade and commerce, and that the people of the
nited States should be permitted, for three years, to use the port of New
'rleans as a port of deposit for their merchandise and produce, duty free.
In November, 1801, the United States Government received, through Rufiis
[ing, its Minister at the Court of St. James, a copy of the treaty between Spain
id France, signed at Madrid March 21, 1801, by which the cession of Loui-
ana to France, made the previous Autumn, was confirmed.
The change offered a favorable opportunity to secure the just rights of the
United States, in relation to the free navigation of the Mississippi, and ended
le attempt to dismember the Union by an eifort to secure an independent
Dvernment west of the Alleghany Mountains. On the 7th of January, 1803,
le American House of Representatives adopted a resolution declaring their
unalterable determination to maintain the boundaries and the rights of navi-
ition and commerce through the River Mississippi, as established by existing
■eaties."
In the same month. President Jefferson nominated and the Senate confirmed
Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe as Envoys Plenipotentiary to the
ourt of France, and Charles Pinckney and James Monroe to the Cour|; of
pain, with plenary powers to negotiate treaties to effect the object enunciated
y the popular branch of the National Legislature. These envoys were in-
ducted to secure, if possible, the cession of Florida and New Orleans, but it
DBS not appear that Mr. Jefferson and his Cabinet had any idea of purchasing
lat part of Louisiana lying on the west side of the Mississippi. In fact, on
le 2d of March following, the instructions were sent to our Ministers, contain-
ig a plan which expressly left to France " all her territory on the west side of
le Mississippi." Had these instructions been followed, it might have been that
lere would not have been any State of Iowa or any other member of the glori-
is Union of States west of the " Father of Waters."
In obedience to his instructions, however, Mr. Livingston broached this
Ian to M. Talleyrand, Napoleon's Prime Minister, when that courtly diplo-
atist quietly suggested to the American Minister that France might be willing
I cede the wholh French domain in North America to the United States, and
sked how much the Federal Government would be willing to give for it. Liv-
igston intimated that twenty millions of francs might be a fair price. Talley-
i.nd thought that not enough, but asked the Americans to "think of it." A
w days later. Napoleon, in an interview with Mr. Livingston, in effect informed
le American Envoy that he had secured Louisiana in a contract with Spain
r the purpose of turning it over to the United States for a mere nominal sum.
^e had been compelled to provide for the safety of that province by the treaty,
id he was " anxious to give the United States a magnificent bargain for a
ere trifle." The price proposed was one hundred and twenty-five million
ancs. This was subsequently modified to fifteen million dollars, and on this
isis a treaty was negotiated, and was signed on the 30th day of April, 1808.
This treaty was ratified by the Federal Government, and by act of Congress,
)proved October 31, 1803, the President of the United States was authorized
i take possession of the territory and provide for it a temporary government
ccordingly, on the 20th day of December following, on behalf of the Prepi-
snt. Gov. Clairborne and Gen. Wilkinson took possession of the Louisiana
HISTORY OP THE STATE OP IOWA. 147
purchase, and raised the American flag over the newly acquired domain, at New
Orleans. Spain, although it had by treaty ceded the province to France in
1801, still held quasi possession, and at first objected to the transfer, but with-
drew her opposition early in 1804.
By this treaty, thus successfully consummated, and the peaceable withdrawal
of Spain, the then infant nation of the New World extended its dominion west
of the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, and north from the Gulf of Mexico to
British America.
If the original design of Jefferson's administration had been accomplished,
the United States would have acquired only that portion of the French territory
lying east of the Mississippi River, and while the American people would thus
have acquired the free navigation of that great river, all of the vast and fertile
empire on the west, so rich in its agricultural and inexhaustible mineral
resources, would have remained under the dominion of a foreign power. To
Napoleon's desire to sell the whole of his North American possessions, and Liv-
ingston's act transcending his instructions, which was acquiesced in after it was
dope, does Iowa owe her position as a part of the United States by the
Louisiana purchase.
By authority of an act of Congress, approved March 26, 1804, the newly
acquired territory was, on the 1st day of October following, divided : that part
lying south of the 33d parallel of north latitude was called the Territory of
Orleans, and all north of that parallel the District of Louisiana, which was placed
under the authority of the officers of Indiana Territory, until July 4, 1805, when
it was organized, with territorial government of its own, and so remained until
1812, when the Territory of Orleans became the State of Louisiana, and the
name of the Territory of Xouisiana was changed to Missouri. On the 4th of
July, 1814, that part of Missouri Territory comprising the present State of
Arkansas, and the country to the westward, was organized into the Arkansas
Territory.
On the 2d of March, 1821, the State of Missouri, being a part of the Terri-
tory of that name, was admitted to the Union. June 28, 1834, the territory
west of the Mississippi River and north of Missouri was made a part of the
Territory of Michigan ; but two years later, on the 4th of July, 1836, Wiscon-
sin Territory was erected, embracing within its limits the present States of
Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
By act of Congress, approved June 12, 1838, the
TERRITORY OP IOWA
was erected, comprising, in addition to the present State, much the larger part
of Minnesota, and extending north to the boundary of the British Possessions.
THE ORIGINAL OWNERS.
Having traced the early history of the great empire lying west of the Mis-
sissippi, of which the State of Iowa constitutes a part, from the earliest dis-
covery to the organization of the Territory of Iowa, it becomes necessary to
give some history of
THE INDIANS OF IOWA.
According to the policy of the European nations, possession perfected title
to any territory. We have seen that the country west of the Mississippi was first
discovered by the Spaniards, but afterward, was visited and occupied by the
French. It was ceded by France to Spain, and by Spain back to France again,
K
L48 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
nd then was purchased and occupied by the United States. During all that
ime, it does not appear to have entered into the heads or hearts of the high
ontracting parties that the country they bought, sold and gave away was in
be possession of a race of men who, although savage, owned the vast domain
efore Columbus first crossed the Atlantic. Having purchased the territory,
he United States found it still in the possession of its original owners, who had
lever been dispossessed ; and it became necessary to purchase again what had
Iready been bought before, or forcibly eject the occupants ; therefore, the his-
ory of the Indian nations who occupied Iowa prior to and during its early set-
lement by the whites, becomes an important chapter in the history of the State,
hat cannot be omitted.
For more than one hundred years after Marquette and Joliet trod the virgin
oil of Iowa, not a single settlement had been made or attempted ; not even a
rading post had been established. The whole country remained in the undis-
luted possession of the native tribes, who roamed at will over her beautiful and
ertile prairies, hunted in her woods, fished in her streams, and often poured out
heir life-blood in obstinately contested contests for supremacy. That this State
o aptly styled "The Beautiful Land," had been the theater of numerous,
ierce and bloody struggles between rival nations, for possession of the favored
egion, long before its settlement by civilized man, there is no room for doubt.
'n these savage wars, the weaker party, whether aggressive ' or defensive, was
ither exterminated or driven from their ancient hunting grounds.
In 1673, when Marquette discovered Iowa, the Ulini were a very powerful
»eople, occupying a large portion of the State ; but when the country was again
isited by the whites, not a remnant of that once powerful tribe remained on
he west side of the Mississippi, and Iowa was principally in the possession of
he Sacs and Foxes, a warlike tribe which, originally two distinct nations,
esiding in New York and on the waters of the St. Lawrence, had gradually
ought their way westward, and united, probably, after the Foxes had been driveii
lut of the Fox River country, in 1846, and crossed the Mississippi. The death
if Pontiac, a famous Sac chieftain, was made the pretext for war against the
'llini, and a fierce and bloody struggle ensued, which continued until the Illinois
vere nearly destroyed and their hunting grounds possessed by their victorious
bes. The lowas also occupied a portion of the State for a time, in oomnion
fith the Sacs, but they, too, were nearly destroyed by the Sacs and Foxes, and,
n "The Beautiful Land," these natives met their equally warlike foes, the
*Jorthern Sioux, with whom they maintained a constant warfare for the posses-
ion of the country for many years.
When the United States came in possession of the great valley of the Mis-
issippi, by the Louisiana purchase, the Sacs and Foxes and lowas possessed
he entire territory now comprising the State of lowa. The Sacs and Foxes,
Iso, occupied the most of the State of Illinois.
The Sacs had four principal villages, where most of them resided, viz.:
["heir largest and most important town — if an Indian village may be called
uch — and from which emanated most of the obstacles and difficulties encoun-
ered by the Government in the extinguishment of Indian titles to land in this
egion, was on Rock River, near Rock Island ; another was on the east bank of
he Mississippi, near the mouth of Henderson River ; the third was at the
lead of the Des Moines Rapids, near the present site of Montrose, and the fourth
fas near the mouth of the Upper Iowa.
The Foxes had three principal villages, viz. : One on the west side of the
ilississippi, six miles above the rapids of Rock River ; another about
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 149
miles from the river, in tte rear of the Dubuque lead mines, and the third on
Turkey River.
The lowas, at one time identified with the Sacs, of Rock River, had with-
drawn from them and become a separate tribe. Their principal village was on
the Des Moines River, in Van Buren County, on the site where lowaville now
stands. Here the last great battle between the Sacs and Foxes and the lowas
was fought, in which Black Hawk, then a young man, commanded one division
of the attacking forces. The following account of the battle has been given :
"Contrary to long established custom of Indian attack, this battle was commenced in the day
time, the attending circumstances justifying this departure from the well settled usages of Indian
warfare. The battle field was a level river bottom, about four miles in length, and two miles
wide near the middle, narrowing to a point at either end. The main area of this bottom rises
perhaps twenty feet above the river, leaving a narrow strip of low bottom along the shore, covered
with trees that belted the prairie on the river side with a thick forest, and the immediate bank of
the river was fringed with a dense growth of willows. Near the lower end of this prairie, near
the river bank, was situated the Iowa village. About two miles above it and near the middle of
the prairie is a mound, covered at the time with a tuft of small.trees and underbrush growing on
its summit. In the rear of this little elevation or mound lay a belt of wet prairie, covered, at that
time, with a dense growth of rank, coarse grass. Bordering •this wet prairie on the north, the
country rises abruptly into elevated broken river bluffs, covered with a heavy forest for many
miles in extent, and in places thickly clustered with undergrovvth, affording a convenient shelter
for the stealthy approach of the foe.
" Through this forest the Sao and Fox war party made their ^ay in the night and secreted
themselves in the tall grass spoken of above, intending to remain in ambush during the day and
make such observations as this near proximity to their intended victim might afford, to aid them
in their contemplated attack oil the town during the following night. From this situation their
spies could take a full survey of the village, and watch every movement of the inhabitants, by
which means they were soon convinced that the lowas had no suspicion of their presence.
"Atthefootofthemoundabovementioned, the lowas hadtheirraoe course, where they diverted
themselves with the excitement of horse racing, and schooled their young warriors in cavalry
«volutions. In these exercises mock battles were fought, and the Indian tactics of attack and
defense carefully inculcated, by which means a skill in horsemanship was acquired rarely excelled.
Unfortunately for them this day was selected for their equestrian sports, and wholly uncon-
scious of the proximity of their foes, the warriors repaired to the race ground, leaving most of
their arms in the village and their old men and women and children unprotected.
" Pash-a-po-po, who was chief in command of the Sacs and Foxes, perceived at once the
advantage this state of things afforded for a complete surprise of his now doomed victims, and
ordered Black Hawk to file off with his young warriors through the tall grass and gain the cover
of the timber along the river bank, and with the utmost speed reach the village and commence
the battle, while he remained with his division in the ambush to make a simultaneous assault on
the unarmed men whose attention was engrossed with the excitement of the races. The plan
was skillfully laid and most dexterously executed. Black Hawk with his forces reached the
village undiscovered, and made a furious onslaught upon the defenseless inhabitants, by firing
one general volley into their midst, and completing the slaughter with the tomahawk and scalp-
ing knife, aided by the devouring flames with which they enveloped the village as soon as the
fire brand could be spread from lodge to lodge.
" On the instant of the report of fire arms at the village, the forces under Pash-a-po-po
leaped from their couchant position in the grass and sprang tiger-like upon the astonished and
unarmed lowas in the midst of their racing sports. The first impulse of the latter naturally led
them to make the utmost speed toward their arms in the village, and protect if possible their
wives and children from the attack of their merciless assailants. The distance from the place of
attack on the prairie was two miles, and a great number fell in their flight by the bullets and
tomahawks of their enemies, who pressed them closely with a running fire the whole way, and
the survivors only reached their town in time to witness the horrors of its destruction. Their
whole village was in Sames, and the dearest objects of their lives lay in slaughtered heaps
amidst the devouring element, and the agonizing groans of the dying, mingled with the exulting
shouts of tie victorious foe, filled their hearts with maddening despair. Their wives and children
who had been spared the general massacre were prisoners, and together with their arms were in
the hands of the victors ; and all that could now be done was to draw off their shattered and
defenseless forces and save as many lives as possible by a retreat across the Des Moines River,
which they effected in the best possible manner, and took a position among the Soap Creek
Hills."
The Sacs and Foxes, prior to the settlement of their village on Rock River,
had a fierce conflict with the Winnebagoes, subdued them and took possession
150 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
of their lands. Their village on Kock River, at one time, contained upward of
sixty lodges, and was among the largest Indian villages on the continent. In
1825, the Secretary of War estimated the entire number of the Sacs and Foxes
at 4,600 souls. Their village vras situated in the immediate vicinity of the
upper rapids of the Mississippi, where the beautiful and flourishing towns of
Rock Island and Davenport are now situated. The beautiful scenery of the
island, the extensive prairies, dotted over with groves ; the picturesque bluffs
along the river banks, the rich and fertile soil, producing large crops of corn,
squash and other vegetables, with little labor ; the abundance of wild fruit,
game, fish, and almost everything calculated to make it a delightful spot for an
Indian village, which was found there, had made this place a favorite home of
the Sacs, and secured for it the strong attachment and veneration of the whole
nation.
North of the hunting grounds of the Sacs and Foxes, were those of the
Sioux, a fierce and warlike nation, who often disputed possession with their
rivals in savage and bloody warfare. The possessions of these tribes were
mostly located in Minnesota, but extended over a portion of Northern and
Western Iowa to the Missouri River. Their descent from the north upon the
hunting grounds of Iowa frequently brought them into collision with the Sacs
and Foxes ; and after many a conflict and bloody struggle, a boundary line was
established between them by the Government of the United States, in a treaty
held at Prairie du Chien, in 1825. But this, instead of settling the difficulties,
caused them to quarrel all the more, in consequence of alleged trespasses upon
each other's side of the line. These contests were kept up and became so unre-
lenting that, in 1830, Government bought of the respective tribes of the Saci
and Foxes, and the Sioux, a strip of land twenty miles in width, on both Bides
of the line, and thus throwing them forty miles apart by creating between them
a "neutral ground," commanded them to cease their hostilities. Both the
Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux, however, were allowed to fish and hunt on this
ground unmolested, provided they did not interfere with each other on United
States territory. The Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux were deadly enemies, and
neither let an opportunity to punish the other pass unimproved.
In April, 1852, a fight occurred between the Musquaka band of Sacs and
Foxes and a band of Sioux, about six miles above Algona, in Kossuth County,
on the west side of the Des Moines River. The Sacs and Foxes were under
the leadership of Ko-ko-wah, a subordinate chief, and had gone up from their
home in Tama County, by way of Clear Lake, to what was then the " neutral
ground." At Clear Lake, Ko-ko-wah was informed that a party of Sioux we
encamped on the west side of the East Fork of the Des Moines, and he clete-
mined to attack them. With sixty of his warriors, he started and arrived at 3
point on the east side of the river, about a mile above the Sioux encampment,
in the night, and concealed themselves in a grove, where they were able to di«-
cover the position and strength of their hereditary foes. The next morning,
after many of the Sioux braves had left their camp on hunting tours, the vin-
dictive Sacs and Foxes crossed the river aiid suddenly attacked the camp. Tk
conflict was desperate for a short time, but the advantage was with the assail'
ants, and the Sioux were routed. Sixteen of them, including some of then
women and children, were killed, and a boy 14 years old was captured. Oh(
of the Musquakas was shot in the breast by a squaw as they were rushing ij"
the Sioux's camp. He started to run away, when the same brave squaws'"'
him through the body, at a distance of twenty rods, and he fell dead. TW
other Sac braves were killed. But few of the Sioux escaped. The victorio"'
HISTORT OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 151
party hurriedly buried their own dead, leaving the dead Sioux above ground,
and made their way home, with their captive, with all possible expedition.
pike's expedition.
Very soon after the acquisition of Louisiana, the United States Government
adopted measures for the exploration of the new territory, having in view the
conciliation of the numerous tribes of Indians by whom it was possessed, and,
also, the selection of proper sites for the establishment of military posts and
trading stations. The Army of the West, Gen. James Wilkinson commanding,
had its headquarters at St. Louis. From this post. Captains Lewis and Clark,
with a sufficient force, were detailed to explore the unknown sources of the
Missouri, and Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike to ascend to the head waters of the Mis-
sissippi. Lieut. Pike, with one Sergeant, two Corporals and seventeen privates,
left the military camp, near St. Louis, in a keel-boat, with four months' rations,
on the 9th day of August, 1805. On the 20th of the same month, the expe-
dition arrived within the present limits of Iowa, at the foot of the Des Moines
Rapids, where Pike met William Ewing, who had just been appointed Indian
Agent at this point, a French interpreter and four chiefs and fifteen Sac and
Fox warriors.
At the head of the Rapids, where Montrose is now situated, Pike held a
council with the Indians, in which he addressed them substantially as follows :
" Your great Father, the President of the United States, wished to be more
intimately acquainted with the situation and wants of the different nations of
red people in our newly acquired territory of Louisiana, and has ordered the
General to send a number of his warriors in different directions to take them by
the hand and make such inquiries as might afford the satisfaction required."
At the close of the council he presented the red men with some knives, whisky
and tobacco.
Pursuing his way up the river, he arrived, on the 23d of August, at what is
supposed, from his description, to be the site of the present city of Burlington,
which he selected as the location of a military post. He describes the place as
being " on a hill, about forty miles above the River de Moyne Rapids, on the
west side of the river, in latitude about 41° 21' north. The channel of the
river runs on that shore ; the hill in front is about sixty feet perpendicular ;
nearly level on top ; four hundred yards in the rear is a small prairie fit for
gardening, and immediately under the hill is a limestone spring, sufficient for
the consumption of a whole regiment." In addition to this description, which
corresponds to Burlington, the spot is laid down on his map at a bend in the
river, a short distance below tbe mouth of the Henderson, which pours its waters
into the Mississippi from Illinois. The fort was built at Fort Madison, but from
the distance, latitude, description and map furnished by Pike, it could not. have
been the place selected by him, while all the circumstances corroborate the
opinion that the place he selected was the spot where Burlington is now located,
called by the early voyagers on the Mississippi, "Flint Hills."
On the 24th, with one of his men, he went on shore on a hunting expedition,
and following a stream which they supposed to be a part of the Mississippi, they
were led away from their course. Owing to the intense heat and tall grass, his
two favorite dogs, which he had taken with him, became exhausted and he left
them on the prairie, supposing that they would., follow him as soon as they
should get rested, and went on to overtake his boat. Reaching the river, he
waited some time for his canine friends, but they did not come, and as he deemed
it inexpedient to detain the boat longer, two of his men volunteered to go in pur-
152 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
suit of them, and he continued on his way up the river, expecting that the two
men would soon overtake him. They lost their way, however, and for six days
were without food, except a few morsels gathered from the stream, and might
have perished, had they not accidentally met a trader from St. Louis, who in-
duced two Indians to take them up the river, and they overtook the boat at
Dubuque.
At Dubuque, Pike was cordially received by Julien Dubuque, a Frenchman,
who held a mining claim under a grant from Spain. Dubuque had an old field
piece and fired a salute in honor of the advent of the first Americans who had
visited that part of the Territory. Dubuque, however, was not disposed to pub-
lish the wealth of his mines, and the young and evidently inquisitive officer
obtained but little information from him.
After leaving this place, Pike pursued his way up the river, but as he passed
beyond the limits of the present State of Iowa, a detailed history of his explo-
rations on the upper waters of the Mississippi more properly belongs to the his-
tory of another State.
It is sufScient to say that on the site of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, at the
mouth of the Minnesota River, Pike held a council with the Sioux, September
23, and obtained from them a grant of one hundred thousand acres of land.
On the 8th of January, 1806, Pike arrived at a trading post belonging to the
Northwest Company, on Lake De Sable, in latitude 47°. At this time the
then powerful Northwest Company carried on their immense operations from
Hudson's Bay to the St. Lawrence ; up that river on both sides, along the great
lakes to the head of Lake Superior, thence to the sources of the Red River of
the north and west, to the Rocky Mountains, embracing within the scope of
their operations the entire Territory of Iowa. After successfully accomphshing
his mission, and performing a valuable service to Iowa and the whole Northwest,
Pike returned to St. Louis, arriving there on the 30th of April, 1806.
INDIAN WARS.
The Territory of Iowa, although it had been purchased by the United States,
and was ostensibly in the possession of the Government, was still occupied by
the Indians, who claimed title to the soil by right of ownership and possession.
Before it could be open to settlement by the whites, it was indispensable that
the Indian title should be extinguished and the original owners removed. The
accomplishment of this purpose required the expenditure of large sums of
money and blood, and for a long series of years the frontier was disturbed by
Indian wars, terminated repeatedly by treaty, only to be renewed by some act
of oppression on the part of the whites or some violation of treaty stipulation.
As previously shown, at the time when the United States assumed the con-
trol of the country by virtue of the Louisiana purchase, nearly the whole State
was in possession of the Sacs and Foxes, a powerful and warlike nation, who
were not disposed to submit without a struggle to what they considered the
encroachments of the pale faces.
Among the most noted chiefs, and one whose restlessness and hatred of the
Americans occasioned more trouble to the Government than any other of Us
tribe, was Black Hawk, who was born at the Sac village, on Rock River, in
1767. He was simply the chief of his own band of Sac warriors, but by Us
energy and ambition he became the leading spirit of the united nation of Sacs
and Foxes, and one of the prominent figures in the history of the country from
1804 until his death. In early manhood he attained some distinction as a
fighting chief, having led campaigns against the Osages, and other neighboring
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 153
tribes. About the beginning of the present century he began to appear prom-
inent in affairs on the Mississippi. Some historians have added to the statement
that " it does not appear that he was ever a great general, or possessed any of
the qualifications of a successful leader." If this was so, his life was a marvel.
How any man who had none of the qualifications of a leader became so prom-
inent as such, as he did, indicates either that he had some ability, or that his
cotemporaries, both Indian and Anglo-Saxon, had less than he. He is said
to have been the " victim of a narrow prejudice and bitter ill-will against the
Americans," but the impartial historian must admit that if he was the enemy
of theAmericans, it was certainly not without some reason.
It will be remembered that Spain did not give up possession of the country
to France on its cession to the latter power, in 1801, but retained possession of
it, and, by the authority of France, transferred it to the United States, in 1804.
Black Hawk and his band were in St. Louis at the time, and were invited to be
present and witness the ceremonies of the transfer, but he refused tKe invitation,
and it is but just to say that this refusal was caused probably more from
regret that the Indians were to be transferred from the jurisdiction of the
Spanish authorities than from any special hatred toward the Americans. In
his life he says : " I found many sad and gloomy faces because the United
States were about to take possession of the town and country. Soon after the
Americans came, I took my band and went to take leave of our Spanish father.
The Americans came to see him also. Seeing them approach, we passed out
of one door as they entered another, and immediately started in our canoes for
our village, on Rock River, not liking the change any more than our friends
appeared to at St. Louis. On arriving at our village, we gave the news that
strange people had arrived at St. Louis, and that we should never see our
Spanish father again. The information made all our people sorry."
, On the 3d day of November, 1804, a treaty was concluded between William
Henry Harrison, then Governor of Indiana Territory, on behalf of the United
States, and five chiefs of the Sac and Fox nation, by which the latter, in con-
sideration of two thousand two hundred and thirty-four dollars' worth of goods
then delivered, and a yearly annuity of one thousand dollars to be paid in
goods at just cost, ceded to the United . States all that land on the east side of
the Mississppi, extending from a point opposite the Jefferson, in Missouri, to
the Wisconsin River, embracing an area of over fifty-one millions of acres.
To this treaty Black Hawk always objected and always refused to consider
it binding upon his people. He asserted that the chiefs or braves who made it
had no authority to relinquish the title of the nation to any of the lands they
held or occupied ; and, moreover, that they had been sent to St. Louis on quite
a different errand, namely, to get one of their people released, who had been
imprisoned at St. Louis for killing a white man.
The year following this treaty (1805), Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike came up
the river for the purpose of holding friendly councils with the Indians and select-
ing sites for forts within the territory recently acquired from France by the
United States. Lieutenant Pike seems to have been the first American whom
Black Hawk ever met or had a personal interview with ; and he was very much
prepossessed in Pike's favor. He gives the following account of his visit to
Rock Island :
" A boat came up the river with a young American chief and a small party
of soldiers. We heard of them soon after they passed Salt River. Some of our
young braves watched them every day, to see what sort of people he had on
board. The boat at length arrived at Rock River, and the young chief came on
154 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
shore with his interpreter, and made a speech and gave us some presents. We
in turn presented them with meat and such other provisions as we had to spare.
We were well pleased with the young chief. He gave us good advice, and said
our American father would treat us well."
The events which soon followed Pike's expedition were the erection of Port
Edwards, at what is now Warsaw, Illinois, and Fort Madison, on the site of the
present town of that name, the latter being the first fort erected in Iowa. These
movements occasioned great uneasiness among the Indians. When work was
commenced on Fort Edwards, a delegation from their nation, headed by some of
their chiefs, went down to see what the Americans were doing, and had an in-
terview with the commander ; after which they returned home apparently satis-
fied. In like manner, when Fort Madison was being erected, they sent down
another delegation from a council of the nation held at Rock River. Accord-
ing to Black Hawk's account, the American chief told them that he was build-
ing a house for a trader who was coming to sell them goods cheap, and that the
soldiers were coming to keep him company — a statement which Black Hawk
says they distrusted at the time, believing that the fort was an encroachment
upon their rights, and designed to aid in getting their lands away from them.
It has been held by good American authorities, that the erection of Fort
Madison at the point where it was located was a violation of the treaty of 1804.
By the eleventh article of that treaty, the United States had a right to build a
fort near the mouth of the Wisconsin River ; by article six they had bound
themselves "that if any citizen of the United States or any other white persons
should form a settlement upon their lands, such intruders should forthwith be
removed." Probably the authorities of the United States did not regard the
establishment of military posts as coming properly within the meaning of the
term "settlement," as used in the trcoty. At all events, they erected Fort
Madison within the territory reserved to the Indians, who became very indig-
nant. Not long after the fort was built, a party led by Black Hawk attempted
its destruction, They sent spies to watch the movements of the garrison, who
ascertained that the soldiers were in the habit of marching out of the fort every
morning and evening for parade, and the plan of the party was to conceal them-
selves near the fort, and attack and surprise them when they were outside. On
the morning of the proposed day of attack, five soldiers came out and were fired
upon by the Indians, two of them being killed. The Indians were too hasty in
their movement, for the regular drill, had not yet commenced. However, they
kept up the attack for several days, attempting the old Fox strategy of setting
fire to the fort with blazing arrows ; but finding their efforts unavailing, they
soon gav« up and returned to Rock River.
When war was declared between the United States and Great Britain,' in
1812, Black Hawk and his band allied themselves with the British, partly
because he was dazzled by their specious promises, and more probably because
they had been deceived by the Americans. Black Hawk himself declared that
they were "forced into the war by being deceived." He narrates the circum-
stances as follows : " Several of the chiefs and head men of the Sacs and
Foxes were called. upon to go to Washington to see their Great Father. On
their return, they related what had been said and done. They said the Great
Father wished them, in the event of a war taking place with England, not to
interfere on either side, but to remain neutral. He did not want our help, but
wished us to hunt and support our families, and live in peace. He said that
British traders would not be permitted to come on the Mississippi to furnish us
with goods, but that we should be supplied with an American trader. Our
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 155
chiefs then told him that the British traders always gave them credit in the
Fall for guns, powder and goods, to enable us to hunt and clothe our families.
He repeated that the traders at Fort Madison would have plenty of goods ;
that we should go there in the Fall and he would supply us on credit, as the
British traders had done."
Black Hawk seems to have accepted of this proposition, and he and his
people were very much pleased. Acting in good faith, they fitted out for their
Winter's hunt, and went to Fort Madison in high spirits to receive from the
trader their outfit of supplies. But, after waiting some time, they were told by
the trader that he would not trust them. It was in vain that they pleaded the
promise of their great father at Washington. The trader was inexorable ; and,
disappointed and crestfallen, they turned sadly toward their own village. "Few
•of us," says Black Hawk, "slept that night; all was gloom and discontent. In
the morning, a canoe was seen ascending the river ; it soon arrived, bearing an
express, who brought intelligence that a British trader had landed at Rock
Island with two boats loaded with goods, and requested us to come up imme-
diately, because he had good news for us, and a variety of presents. The
express presented us with tobacco, pipes and wampum. The news ran through
our camp like fire on a prairie. Our lodges were soon taken down, and all
started for Rock Island. Here ended all hopes of our remaining at peace,
having been forced into the war by being deceived."
He joined the British, who flattered him, styled him " G-en. Black Hawk,"
decked him with medals, excited- his jealousies against the Americans, and
armed his band ; but he met with defeat and disappointment, and soon aban-
doned the service and came home.
With all his skill and courage, Black Hawk was unable to lead all the Sacs
and Foxes into hostilities to the United States. A portion of them, at the head
of whom was Keokuk ("the Watchful Fox"), were disposed to abide by the
treaty of 1804, and to cultivate friendly relations with the American people.
Therefore, when Black Hawk and his band joined the fortunes of Great
Britain, the rest of the nation ftjmained neutral, and, for protection, organized,
with Keokuk for their chief. This divided the nation into the " War and the
Peace party."
Black Hawk says he was informed, after he had gone to the war, that the
nation, which had been reduced to so small a body of fighting men, were unable
to defend themselves in case the Americans should attack them, and havmg all
the old men and women and children belonging to the warriors who had joined
the British on their hands to provide for, a council was held, and it was agreed
that Quash-qua-me (the Lance) and other chiefs, together with the old men,
women and children, and such others as chose to accompany them, should go to
St. Louis and place themselves under the American chief stationed there.
They accordingly went down, and were received as the " friendly band " of the
Sacs and Foxes, and were provided for and sent up the Missouri River. On
Black Hawk's return from the British army, he says Keokuk was introduced
to him as the war chief of the braves then in the village. He inquired how he
had become chief, and was informed that their spies had seen a large armed
force going toward Peoria, and fears were entertained of an attack upon the
village ; whereupon a council was held, which concluded to leave the village
and cross over to the west side of the Mississippi. Keokuk had been standing
at the door of the lodge where the council was held, not being allowed to enter
on account of never having killed an enemy, where he remained until Wa-co-me
came out. Keokuk asked permission to speak in the council, which Wa-co-me
156 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
obtained for him. Keokuk then addressed the chiefs ; he remonstrated against
the desertion of their village, their own homes and the graves of their fathers,
and offered to defend the village. The council consented that he should be
their war chief. He marshaled his braves, sent out spies, and advanced on the
trail leading to Peoria, but returned without seeing the enemy. The Americans
did not disturb the village, and all were satisfied with the appointment of
Kebkuk.
Keokuk, like Black Hawk, was a descendant of the Sac branch of the
nation, and was born on Rock River, in 1780. He was of a pacific disposition,
but possessed the elements of true courage, and could fight, when occasion
required, with a cool judgment and heroic energy. In his first battle, he en-
countered and killed a Sioux, which placed him in the rank of warriors, and he
was honored with a public feast by his tribe in commemoration of the event.
Keokuk has been described as an orator, entitled to rank with the most
gifted of his race. In person, he was tall and of portly bearing ; in his public
speeches, he displayed a commanding attitude and graceful gestures ; he spoke
rapidly, but his enunciation was clear, distinct and forcible ; he culled his fig-
ures from the stores of nature and based his arguments on skillful logic. Un-
fortunately for the reputation of Keokuk, as an orator among white people, he
was never able to obtain an interpreter who could claim even a slight acquaint-
ance with philosophy. With one exception only, his interpreters were unac-
quainted with the elements of their mother-tongue. Of this serious hindrance
to his fame, Keokuk was well aware, and retained Frank Labershure, who had
received a rudimental education in the French and English languages, until the
latter broke down by dissipation and died. But during the meridian of his
career among the white people, he was compelled to submit his speeches for
translation to uneducated men, whose range of thought fell below the flights of
a gifted mind, and the fine imagery drawn from nature was beyond their power
of reproduction. He had sufiicient knowledge of the English language to make
him sensible of this bad rendering of his thoughts, and often a feeling of morti-
fication at the bungling efforts was depicted on his countenance while speaking.
The proper place to form a correct estimate of his ability as an orator was in
the Indian council, where he addressed himself exclusively to those who under-
stood his language, and witness the electrical effect of his eloquence upon his
audience.
Keokuk seems to have possessed a more sober judgment, and to have had a
more intelligent view of the great strength and resources of the United States,
than his noted and restless cotemporary. Black Hawk. He knew from the first
that the reckless war which Black Hawk and his band had determined to carry on
could result in nothing but defeat and disaster, and used every argument against
it. The large number of warriors whom he had dissuaded from following Black
Hawk became, however, greatly excited with the war spirit after Stillman's
defeat, and but for the signal tact displayed by Keokuk on that occasion, would
have forced him to submit to their wishes in joining the rest of the warriors in
the field. A war-dance was held, and Keokuk took part in it, seeming to be
moved with the current of the rising storm. When the dance was over, he
called the council to prepare for war. He made a speech, in which he admitted
the justice of their complaints against the Americans. To seek redress was a
noble aspiration of their nature. The blood of their brethren had been shed by
the white man, and the spirits of their braves, slain in battle, called' loudly for
vengeance. "I am your chief," he said, " and it is my duty to lead you to bat-
tle, if, after fully considering the matter, you are determined to go. But before
HISTORY OF. THE STATE OP IOWA. 15T
you decide on taking this important step, it is wise to inquire into the chances of
success." He then poutrayed to them the great power of the United States,
against whom they would have to contend, that their chance of success was
utterly hopeless. " But," said he, " if you do determine to go upon the war-
path, I will agree to lead you, on one condition, viz.: that before we go, we will
kill all our old men and our wives and children, to save them from a lingering
death of starvation, and that every one of us determine to leave our homes on
the other side of the Mississippi."
This was a strong but truthful picture of the prospect before them, and was
presented in such a forcible light as to cool their ardor, and cause them to aban-
don the rash undertaking.
But during the war of 1832, it is now considered certain that small bands of
Indians, from the west side of the Mississippi, made incursions into the white
settlements, in the lead mining region, and committed some murders and dep-
redations.
When peace was declared between the United States and England, Black
Hawk was required to make peace with the former, and entered into a treaty
at Portage des Sioux, September 14, 1815, but did not " touch the goose-quill
to it until May 13, 1816, when he smoked the pipe of peace with the great
white chief," at St. Louis. This treaty was a renewal of the treaty of 1804,
but Black Hawk declared he had been deceived ; that he did not know that by
signing the treaty he was giving away his village. This weighed upon his mind,
already soured by previous disappointment and the irresistible encroachments of
the whites ; and when, a few years later, he and his people were driven from
their possessions by the military, he determined to return to the home of his
fathers.
It is also to be remarked that, in 1816, by treaty with various tribes, the
United States relinquished to the Indians all the lands lying north of a, line
drawn from the southernmost point of Lake Michigan west to the Mississippi,
except a reservation five leagues square, on the Mississippi River, supposed then
to be suflBcient to include all the mineral lands on ^.nd adjacent to Fever Biver^
and one league square at the mouth of the Wisconsin River.
THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
The immediate cause of the Indian outbreak in 1830 was the occupation of
Black Hawk's village, on the Rock River, by the whites, during the absence of
tbe chief and his braves on a hunting expedition, on the west side of the
Mississippi, When they returned, they found their wigwams occupied by white
families, and their own women and children were sheltferless on the banks of
the river. The Indians were indignant, and determined to repossess their village
at all hazards, and early in the Spring of 1831 recrossed the Mississippi and
menacingly took possession of their own corniields and cabins. It may be well
to remark here that it was expressly stipulated in the treaty of 1804, to which
they attributed all their troubles, that the Indians should not be obliged to
leave their lands until they were sold by the United States, and it does not
appear that they occupied any lands other than those owned by the Government.
If this was true, the Indians had good cause for indignation and complaint.
But the whites, driven out in turn by the returning Indians, became so clamorous
! against what they termed the encroachments of the ifatives, that Gov. Reynolds, of
Illinois, orde;red Gen, Gaines to Rock Island with a military force to drive the
Indians again from their homes to the west side of the Mississippi. Black Hawk
says he did not intend to be provoked into war by anything less than the blood of
158 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
some of his own people ; in other words, that there would be no war unless it should
be commenced by the pale faces. But it was said and probably thought by the mili-
tary commanders along the frontier that the Indians inteifded to unite in a general
war against the whites, from Rock River to the Mexican borders. But it does not
appear that the hardy frontiersmen themselves h^d any fears, for their experi-
ence had been that, when well treated, their Indian neighbors were not . danger-
ous. Black Hawk and his band had done no more than to attempt to repossess the
the old homes of which they had been deprived in their absence. No blood
had been shed. Black Hawk and his chiefs sent a flag of truce, and a new
treaty was made, by which Black Hawk and his band agreed to remain forever
on the Iowa side and never recross the river without the permission of the
President or the Governor of Illinois. Whether the Indians clearly understood
the terms of this treaty is uncertain. As was usual, the Indian traders had
dictated terms on their behalf, and they had received a large amount of pro-
visions, etc., from the Government, but it may well be doubted whether the
Indians comprehended that they could never revisit the graves of their fathers
without violating their treaty. They undoubtedly thought that they had agreed
never to recross the Mississippi with hostile intent. However this may be, on
the 6th day of April, 1832, Black Hawk and his entire band, with their women
and children, again recrossed the Mississippi in plain view of the garrison of
Fort Armstrong, and went up Rock River. Although this act was construed
into an act of hostility by the military authorities, who declared that Black
Hawk intended to recover his village, or the site where it stood, by force ; but
it does not appear that he made any such attempt, nor did his apearance
create any special alarm among the settlers. They knew that the Indians never
went on the war path encumbered with the old men, their women and their
children.
The Cralenian, printed in Galena, of May 2, 1832, says that Black Hawk
was invited by the Prophet and had taken possession of a tract about forty
miles up Rock River ; but that he did not remain there long, but commenced
his march up Rock River. Capt. W. B. Green, who served in Capt. Stephen-
son's company of mounted rangers, says that " Black Hawk and h's band
crossed the river with no hostile intent, but that his band had had bad luck in
hunting during the previous Winter, were actually in a starving condition, and
had come over to spend the Summer with a friendly tribe on the head waters of
the Rock and Illinois Rivers, by invitation from their chief Other old set-
tlers, who all agree that Black Hawk had no idea of fighting, say that he came
back to the west side expecting to negotiate another treaty, and get a new
supply of provisions. The most reasonable explanation of this movement, which
resulted so disastrously to Black Hawk and his starving people, is that, during
the Fall and Winter of 1831-2, his people became deeply indebted to their
favorite trader at Fort Armstrong (Rock Island). They had not been fortunate
in hunting, and he was likely to lose heavily, as an Indian debt was outlawed
in one year. If, therefore, the Indians could be induced to come over, and the
fears of the military could be sufficiently aroused to pursue them, another treaty
could be negotiated, and from the payments from the Government the shrewd
trader could get his pay. Just a week after Black Hawk crossed the river, on
the 13th of April, 1832, George Davenport wrote to Gen. Atkinson : " I am
informed that the British band of Sac Indians are determined to make war on
the frontier settlements. * * * From every information that I have
received, I am of the opinion that the intention of the British band of Sac
Indians is to commit depredations on the inhabitants of the frontier." And
HISTOEr OP THE STATE OF IOWA. 159
yet, from the 6th day of April until after Stillman's men commenced -war by
firing on a flag of truce from Black Hawk, no murders nor depredations were
committed by the British band of Sac Indians.
It is not the purpose of this sketch to detail the incidents of the Black
Hawk war of 1832, as it pertains rather to the history of the State of Illinois.
It is sufficient to say that, after the disgraceful affair at Stillman's Run, Black
Hawk, concluding that the whites, refusing to treat with him, were determined
to exterminate his people, determined to return to the Iowa side of the Missis-
sippi. He could not return by the way he came, for the army was behind him,
an army, too, that would sternly refuse to recognize the white flag of peace.
His only course was to make his way northward and reach the Mississippi, if
possible, before the troops could overtake him, and this he did ; but, before he
could get his women and children across the Wisconsin, he was overtaken, and a
battle ensued. Here, again, he sued for peace, and, through his trusty Lieu-
tenant, "the Prophet," the whites were plainly informed that the starving
Indians did not wish to fight, but would return to the west side of the Missis-
sippi, peaceably, if they could be permitted to do so. No attention was paid to
this second effort to negotiate peace, and, as soon as supplies could be obtained,
the pursuit was resumed, the flying Indians were overtaken again eight miles
before they reached the mouth of the Bad Axe, and the slaughter (it should not
be dignified by the name of battle) commenced. Here, overcome by starvation
and the victorious -vyhites, his band was scattered, on the 2d day of August,
1832. Black Hawk escaped, but was brought into camp at Prairie du Chien
by three Winnebagoes. He was confined in Jefferson Barracks until the
Spring of 1833, when he was sent to Washington, arriving there April 22. On
the 26th of April, they were taken to Fortress Monroe, where they remained
till the 4th of June, 1833, when orders were given for them to be liberated and
returned to their own country. By order of the President, he was brought
back to Iowa through the principal Eastern cities. Crowds flocked to see him
all along ' his route, and he was very much flattered by the attentions he
received. He lived among his people on the Iowa River till that reservation
was sold, in 1836, when, with the rest of the Sacs and Foxes, he removed to
the Des Moines Reservation, where he remained till his death, which occurred
on the 3d of October, 1838,
INDIAN PURCHASES, RESERVES AND TREATIES.
At the close of the Black Hawk War, in 1832, a treaty was made at a
council held on the west bank of the Mississippi, where now stands the thriving
city of Davenport,' on grounds now occupied by the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific Railroad Company, on the 21st day of September, 1832. At this
council, the United States were represented by Gen. Winfield Scott and Gov.
Reynolds, pf Illinois. Keokuk, Pash-a-pa-ho and some thirty other chiefs and
warriors of the Sac and Fox nation were present. By this treaty, the Sacs and
Foxes ceded to the United States a strip of land on the eastern border of Iowa
fifty miles wide, from the northern boundary of Missouri to the mouth of the
Upper Iowa River, containing about six million acres. The western line of the
purchase was parallel with the Mississippi. In consideration of this cession,
the United States Government stipulated to pay annually tothe confederated
tribes, for thirty consecutive years, twenty thousand dollars in specie, and to
pay the debts of the Indians at Rock Island, which had been accumulating for
160 HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA.
seventeen years and amounted to fifty thousand dollars, due to Davenport k
Farnham, Indian traders. The Government also generously donated to the
Sac and Fox women and children whose husbands and fathers had fallen in the
Black Hawkwar, thirty-five beef cattle, twelve bushels of salt, thirty barrels of
pork, fifty barrels of flour and six thousand bushels of corn.
This territory is known as the " Black Hawk Purchase." Although it was
not the first portion of Iowa ceded to the United States by the Sacs and Foxes,
it was the first opened to actual settlement by the tide of emigration that flowed
across the Mississippi as soon as the Indian title was extinguished. The treaty
was ratified February 13, 1833, and took eff'ect on the 1st of June following,
-when the Indians quietly removed from the ceded territory, and this fertile and
beautiful region was opened to white settlers.
By the terms of the treaty, out of the Black Hawk Purchase was reserved for
the Sacs and Foxes 400 square miles of land situated on the Iowa River, and in-
Icuding within its limits Keokuk's village, on the right bank of that river. This
tract was known as " Keokuk's Reserve, ' and was occupied by the Indians until
1886, when, by a treaty made in September between them and Gov. Dodge, of
Wisconsin Territory, it was ceded to the United States. The council was held
-on the banks of the Mississippi, above Davenport, and was the largest assem-
blage of the kind ever held by the Sacs and Foxes to treat for the sale of lands.
About one thousand of their chiefs and braves were present, and Keokuk was
their leading spirit and principal speaker on the occasion. By the terms of the
"treaty, the Sacs and Foxes were removed to another reservation on the Des
Moines River, where an agency was established for then! at what is now the
town of Agency City.
Besides the Keokuk Reserve, the Government gave out of the Black Hawk
Purchase to Antoine Le Claire, interpreter, in fee simple, one section of land
■opposite Rock Island, and another at the head of the first rapids above the
island, on the Iowa side. This was the first land title granted by the United
States to an individual in Iowa.
Soon after the removal of the Sacs and Foxes to their new reservation
on the Des Moines River, Gen. Joseph M. Street was transferred from the
agency of the Winnebagoes, at Prairie du Chien, to establish an agency
among them. A farm was selected, on which the necessary buildings were
erected, including a comfortable farm house for the agent and his family, M
the expense of the Indian Fund. A salaried agent was employed to superin-
tend the farm and dispose of the crops. Two mills were erected, one on Soap
Creek and the other on Sugar Creek. The latter was soon swept away by a
fiood, but the former remained and did good service for many years. Connected
with the agency were Joseph Smart and John Goodell, interpreters. The
latter was interpreter for Hard Fish's band. Three of the Indian chiefs, Keo-
kuk, Wapello and Appanoose, had each a large field improved, the two former
on the right bank of the Des Moines, back from the river, in what is now
" Keokuk's Prairie," and the latter on the present site of the city of Ottumwa.
Among the traders connected with the agency were the Messrs. Ewing, from
Ohio, and Phelps & Co., from Illinois, and also Mr. J. P. Eddy, who estab-
lished his post at what is now the site of Eddyville.
The Indians at this agency became idle and listless in the absence of their
natural and wonted excitements, and many of them plunged into dissipation.
Keokuk himself became dissipated in the latter years of his life, and it has
been reported that he died of delirium tremens after his removal with his
tribe to Kansas.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 161
In May, 1843, most of the Indians were removed up the Des Moines River,
above the temporary line of Red Rock, having ceded the remnant of their
lands in Iowa to the United States on the 21st of September, 1837, and on the
11th of October, 1842. By the terms of the latter treaty, they held possession
of the " New Purchase " till tiie Autumn of 1845, when the most of them
were removed to their reservation in Kansas, the balance being removed in the
Spring of 1846.
1. Treaty with the Sioux— a&ie July 19, 1815 ; ratified December 16, 1815. This treaty
was made at Portage des Sioux, between the Sioux of Minnesota and Upper Iowa and the United
States, by William Clark and Ninian Edwards, Commissioners, and was merely a treaty of peace
and friendship on the part of those Indians toward the United States at the close of the war of
1812.
2. Treaty with the Sacs. — A simjlar treaty of peace was made at Portage des Sioux.'betweeu
the United States and the Sacs, by William Clark, Ninian Edwards and Auguste Choteau, on the
13th of September, 1815, and ratified at the same date as the above. In this, the treaty of 1804
was re-affirmed, and the Sacs here represented promised for themselves and their bands to keep
entirely separate from the Sacs of Bock River, who, under Black Hawk, had joined the British
in the war just then closed.
3. Treaty with the Foxes. — A separate treaty of peace was made with the Foxes at Portage
des Sioux, by the same Commissioners, on the 14th of September, 1815, and ratified the same as
the above, wherein the Foxes re-affirmed the treaty of St. Louis, of November 3, 1804, and
agreed to deliver up all their prisoners to the officer in commandat Fort Clark, now Peona,
Illinois.
4. Treaty with the lowat. — A treaty of peace and mutual good will was made between the
United States and the Iowa tribe of Indians, at Portage des Sioux, by the same Commissioners
as above, on the 16th of September, 1815, at the close of the war with Great Britain, and ratified
at the same date as the others.
6. Treaty with the Sacs of Bock River — Made at St. Louis on the 13th of May, 1816, between
the United States and the Sacs of Rock River, by the Commissioners, William Clark, Ninian
Edwards and Auguste Choteau, and ratified December 30, 1816. In this treaty, that of 1804
was re-established and confirmed by twenty-two chiefs and head men of the Sacs of Rock River,
and Black Hawk himself attached to it his signature, or, as he said, " touched the goose quill."
6. Treaty of 18^4 — On the 4th of August, 1824, a treaty was made between the United
States and the Sacs and Foxes, in the city of Washington, by William Clark, Commissioner,
wherein the Sao and Fox nation relinquished their title to all lands in Missouri and that portion
of the southeast corner of Iowa known as the " Half-Breed Tract" was set off and reserved for
the use of the half-breeds of the Sacs and Foxes, they holding title in the same manner as In-
dians. Ratified January 18, 1825.
7. Treaty of August 19, 18Z5. — At this date a treaty was made by William Clark and Lewis
Cass, at Prairie du Chien, between the United States and the Chippewas, Sacs and Foxes, Me-
nomonees, Winnebagoes and a portion of the Ottawas and Pottawatomies. In this treaty, in
order to make peace between the contending tribes as to the limits of their respective hunting
grounds in Iowa, it was agreed that the United States Government should run a boundary line
between the Sioux, on the north, and the Sacs and Foxes, on the south, as follows :
Commencing at the mouth of the Upper Iowa River, on the west bank of the Mississippi,
and ascending said Iowa River to its west fork ; thence up the fork to its source ; thence cross-
ing the fork of Red Cedar River in a direct line to the second or upper fork of the Des Moines
River ; thence in a direct line to the lower fork of the Calumet River, and down that river to its
junction with the Missouri River.
8. Treaty of 18S0. — On the 16th of July, 1830, the confederate tribes of the Sacs and Foxes
ceded to the United States a strip of country lying south of the above line, twenty miles in width,
and extending along the line aforesaid from the Mississippi to the Des Moines River. The Sioux
also, whose possessions were north of the line, ceded to the Government, in the same treaty, a
like strip on the north side of the boundary. Thus the United States, at the ratification of thi't
treaty, February 24, 1831, came into possession of a portion of Iowa forty miles wide, extend
ing along the Clark and Cass line of 1825, from the Mississippi to the Des Moines River. TMf
territory was known as the " Neutral Ground," and the tribes on either side of the line wert
allowed to fish and hunt on it unmolested till it was made » Winnebago reservation, and th»
Winnebagoes were removed to it In 1841.
9. Treaty with the Sacs and Foxes and other Tribes. — At the same time of the above treaty re-
specting the " Neutral Ground" (July 15, 1830), the Sacs and Foxes, Western Sioux, Omahas,
lowas and Missouris ceded to the United States a portion ofthe western slope of Iowa, the boun-
daries of which were defined as follows : Beginning at the upper fork of the Des Moines River,
and passing the sources of the Little Sioux and Floyd Rivers, to the fork of the first creek that
falls into the Big Sioux, or Calumet, on the east side ; thence down said creek and the Calumet
162 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
River to the Missouri River ; thence down said Missouri River to the Missouri State line abovs
the Kansas ; thence along said line to the northwest comer of said State ; thence to the high lands
between the waters falling into the Missouri and Des Moines, passing to said high lands along
the dividing ridge between the forks of the Grand River ; thence along said high lands or ridge
separating the waters of the Missouri from those of the Des Moines, to a point opposite the source
of the Boyer River, and thence in a direct line to the upper fork of the Des Moines, the plswe of
beginning.
It was understood that the lands ceded and relinquished by this treaty were to be assigned
and allotted, under the direction of the President of the United States, to the tribes then living
thereon, or to such other tribes as the President might locate thereon for hunting and other pur-
poses. In consideration of three tracts of land ceded in this treaty, the United States agreed to
pay to the Sacs three thousand dollars ; to the Foxes, three thousand dollars ; to the Sioux
two thousand dollars; to the Yankton and Santie bands of Sioux, three thousand dollars; to the
Omahas, two thousand five hundred dollars ; and to the Ottoes and Missouris, two thousand five
hundred doUars^to be paid annually for ten successive years. In addition to these annuities
the Government agreed to furnish some of the tribes with blacksmiths and agricultural imple-
ments to the amount of two hundred dollars, at the expense of the United States, and to set apart
three thousand dollars annually for the education of the children of these tribes. It does not
appear that any fort was erected in this territory prior to the erection of Fort Atkinson on the
Neutral Ground, in 1840-41.
This treaty was made by William Clark, Superintendent of Indian affairs, and Col. WlUoughlijf
Morgan, of tie United States First Infantry, and came into effect by proclamation, February
24, 1831.
10. Treaty with the Winnebagoes. — Made at Fort Armstrong, Rock Island, September 16, 1832,
by Gen. Winiield Scott and Hon. John Reynolds, Governor of Illinois. In this treaty the Win-
nebagoes ceded to the United States all their land lying on the east side of the Mississippi, tmd
in part consideration therefor the United States granted to the Winnebagoes, to be held as other
Indian lands are held, that portion of Iowa known as the Neutral Ground. The exchange of the
two tracts of country was to take place on or before the 1st day of June, 1833. In addition to
the Neutral Ground, it was stipulated that the United States should give the Winnebagoesj begin-
ning in September, 1833, and continuing for twenty-seven successive years, ten thousand dollars
in specie, and establish a school among them, with a farm and garden, and provide other facili-
ties for the education of their children, not to exceed in cost three thousand dollars a year, and
to continue the same for twenty-seven successive years. Six agriculturists, twelve yoke of oxen
and plows and other farming tools were to be supplied by the Government.
11. Treaty of 18S2 with the Sacs and Foxes. — Already mentioned as the Black Hawk purchase.
12. Treaty of 1S36, with the Sacs and Foxes, ceding Keokuk's Reserve to the United States;
for which the Government stipulated to pay thirty thousand dollars, and an annuity of ten thou-
sand dollars for ten successive years, together with other sums and debts of the Indians to
various parties.
13. Treaty of 1837.— On the 21st of October, 1837, a treaty was made at the city of Wash-
ington, between Carey A. Harris, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the confederate tribes of
Sacs and Foxes, ratified February 21, 1838, wherein another slice of the soil of Iowa was obtained,
described in the treaty as follows: "A tract of country containing 1,250,000 acres, lying west
and adjoining the tract conveyed by them to the United States in the treaty of September 21,
1832. It is understood that the points of termination for the present cession shall be the north-
ern and southern points of said tract as fixed by the survey made under the authority of the
United States, and that a line shall be drawn between them so as to intersect a line extended
westwardly from the angle of said tract nearly opposite to Rock Island, as laid down in the abore
survey, so far as may be necessary to include the number of acres hereby ceded, which last
mentioned line, it is estimated, will be about twenty-five miles."
This piece of laud was twenty-five miles wide in the middle, and ran off to a point at both
ends, lying directly back of the Black Hawk Purchase, and of the same length.
14. Treaty of ReUnquishment. — At the same date as the above treaty, in the city of Washing-
ton, Carey A. Harris, Commissioner, the Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States all their
right and interest in the country lying south of the boundary line between the Sacs and Foxes
and Sioux, as described in the treaty of August 19, 1825, and between the Mississippi and Mis-
souri Rivers, the United States paying for the same one hundred and sixty thousand dollars.
The Indians also gave up all claims and interests under the treaties previously made with thenii
for the satisfaction of which no appropriations had been made.
15. Treaty of 184S. — The last treaty was made with the Sacs and Foxes October 11, 18^2;
ratified March 23, 1843. It was made at the Sac and Fox agency (Agency City), by Joto
Chambers, Commissioner on behalf of the United States. In this treaty the Sac and Fox Indian
" ceded to the United States all their lands west of the Mississippi to which they had any claiB
or title." By the terms rf this treaty they were to be removed from the country at the expiW'
tion of three years, and all who remained after that were to move at their own expense. ?"'
of them were removed to Eausas in the Fall of 1845, and the rest the Spring following.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 163
SPANISH GRANTS.
While the territory now eml^racied in the State of Iowa was under Spanish
rule as a part of its province of Louisiana, certain claims to and grants of land
were made by the Spanish authorities, with which, in addition to the extinguishment
of Indian titles, the United States had to deal. It is proper that these should
be briefly reviewed.
Dubuque. — On the 22d day of September, 1788, Julien Dubuque, a French-
man, from Prairie du Chien, obtained from the Foxes a cession or lease of lands
on the Mississippi River for mining purposes, on the site of the present city of
Dubuque. Lead had been discovered here eight years before, in 1780, by the
wife of Peosta Fox, a warrior, and Dubuque's claim embraced nearly all the lead
bearing lands in that vicinity. He immediately took possession of his claim and
commenced mining, at the same time making a settlement. The place became
known as the "Spanish Miners," or, more commonly, "Dubuque's Lead
Mines."
In 1796, Dubuque filed a petition with Baron de Carondelet, the Spanish
Governor of Louisiana, asking that the tract ceded to him by the Indians might
be granted to him by patent from the Spanish Government. In this petition,
Dubuque rather indefinitely set forth the boundaries of this claim as " about
seven leagues along the Mississippi River, and three leagues in width from the
river," intending to include, as is supposed, the river front between the Little
Maquoketa and the Tete des Mertz Rivers, embracing more than twenty thou-
sand acres. Carondelet granted the prayer of the petition, and the grant was
subsequently confirmed by the Board of Land Commissioners of Louisiana.
In October, 1804, Dubuque transferred the larger part of his claim to
Auguste Choteau, of St. Louis, and on the 17th of May, 1805, he and Choteau
jointly filed their claims with the Board of Commissioners. On the 20th of
September, 1806, the Board decided in their favor, pronouncing the claim to be
a regular Spanish grant, made and completed prior to the 1st day of October,
1800, only one member, J. B. C. Lucas, dissenting. ,
Dubuque died March 24, 1810. The Indians, understanding that the claim
of Dubuque under their former act of cession was only a permit to occupy the
tract and work the mines during his life, and that at his death they reverted to
them, took possession and continued mining operations, and were sustained by
the military authority of the United States, notwithstanding the decision of the
Commissioners. When the Black Hawk purchase was consummated, the Du-
buque claim thus held by the Indians was absorbed by the United States, as the
Sacs and Foxes made no reservation of it in the treaty of 1832.
The heirs of Choteau, however, were not disposed to relinquish their claim
without a struggle. Late in 1832, tney employed an agent to look after their
interests, and authorized 'him to lease the right to dig lead on the lands. The
miners who commenced work under this agent were compelled by the military to
abandon their operations, and one of the claimants went to Galena to institute
legal proceedings, but found no court of competent jurisdiction, although he did
bring an action for the recovery of a quantity of lead dug at Dubuque, for the
purpose of testing the title. Being unable to identify the lead, however, he was
non-suited.
By act of .Congress, approved July 2, 1836, the town of Dubuque was sur-
veyed and platted. After lots had been sold and occupied by the purchasers,
Henry Choteau brought an action of ejectment against Patrick Malony, who
164 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
held land in Dubuque under a patent from the United States, for the recovery
of seven undivided eighth parts of the Dubuque claim, as purchased by Augusta
Choteau in 1804. The case was tried in the District Court of the United States
for the District of Iowa, and was decided adversely to the plaintiff. The case was
carried to the Supreme Court of the United States on a writ of error, when it
was heard at the December term, 1853, and the decision of the lower court was
affirmed, the court holding that the permit from Carondolet was merely a lease
or permit to work the mines ; that Dubuque asked, and the G overnor of Louisiana
granted, nothing more than the " peaceable possession " of certain lands obtained
from the Indians ; that Carondelet had no legal authority to make snch a grant
as claimed, and that, feven if he had, this was but an " inchoate and imperfect
title."
Criard. — In 1795, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Louisiana granted to
Basil Giard five thousand eight hundred and sixty acres of land, in what is now
Clayton County, known as the "Giard Tract." He occupied the land during
the time that Iowa passed from Spain to France, and from France to the United
States, in consideration of which the Federal Government granted a patent of
the same to Giard in his own right. His heirs sold the whole tract to James H.
Lockwood and Thomas P. Burnett, of Prairie du Chien, for three hundred dollars.
Honori. — March 30, 1799, Zenon Trudeau, Acting Lieutenant Governor of
Upper Louisiana, granted to Louis Honori a tract of land on the site of the
present town of Montrose, as follows : " It is permitted to Mr. Louis (Fresson)
Henori, or Louis Honore Fesson, to establish himself at the head of the rapids
of the River Des Moines, and his establishment once formed, notice of it shall be
given to the Governor General, in order to obtain for him a commission of a space
sufficient to give value to such establishment, and at the same time to render it
useful to the commerce of the peltries of this country, to watch the Indians and
keep them in the fidelity which they owe to His Majesty."
Honori took immediate possession of his claim, which he retained until 1805.
While trading with the natives, he became indebted to Joseph Robedoux, who
obtained an execution on which the property was sold May 13, 1803, and was
purchased by the creditor. In these proceedings the property was described as
being " about six leagues above the River Des Moines." Robedoux died soon
after he purchased the proprerty. Auguste Choteau, his executor, disposed of
the Honori tract to Thomas F. Reddeck, in April, 1805, up to which time
Honori continued to occupy it. The grant, as made by the Spanish government,
was a league square, but only one mile square was confirmed by the Uuited
States. After the half-breeds sold their lands, in which the Honori grant was
included, various claimants resorted to litigation in attempts to invalidate the
title of the Reddeck heirs, but it was finally confirmed by a decision of the
Supreme Court of the United States in 1839, and is the oldest legal title to any
land in the State of Iowa.
THE HALF-BREED TRACT.
Before any permanent settlement had been made in the Territory of Iowa,
white adventurers, trappers and traders, many of whom were scattered along
the Mississippi and its tributaries, as agents and employes of the American Fur
Company, intermarried with the females of the Sac and Fox Indians, producing
a race of half-breeds, whose number was never definitely ascertained. There
were some respectable and excellent people among them, children of men of
some refinement and education. For instance : Dr. Muir, a gentleman educated
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 165
at Edinburgh, Scotland, a surgeon in the United States Army, stationed at a
military post located on the present site of Warsaw, married an Indian woman,
and reared his family of three daughters in the city of Keokuk. Other exam-
ples might be cited, but they are probably exceptions to the general rule, and
the race is now nearly or quite extinct in Iowa.
A treaty was made at Washington, August 4, 1824, between the Sacs and
Foxes aiid the United States, by which that portion of Lee County was reserved
to the half-breeds of those tribes, and which was afterward known as " The
Half-Breed Tract." This reservation is the triangular piece of land, containing
about 119,000 acres, lying between the Mississippi andDes Moines Rivers. It is
bounded on the north by the prolongation of the northern line of Missouri.
This line was intended to be a straight one, running due east, which would have
caused it to strike the Mississippi River at or below Montrose ; but the surveyor who
run it took no notice of the change in the variation of the needle as he proceeded
eastward, and, in consequence, the line he run was bent, deviating more and more
to the northward of a direct line as he approached the Mississippi, so that it
struck that river at the lower edge of the town of Fort Madison. " This errone-
ous line," says Judge Mason, "has been acquiesced in as well in fixing the
northern limit of the Half-Breed Tract as in determining the northern boundary
line of the State of Missouri." The line thus run included in the reservation
a portion of the lower part of the city of Fort Madison, and all of the present
townships of Van Buren, Charleston, Jefferson, Des Moines, Montrose and
Jackson.
Under the treaty of 1824, the half-breeds had the right to occupy the soil,
but could not convey it, the reversion being reserved to the United States. But
on the 30th day of January, 1834, by act of Congress, this reversionary right
was relinquished, and the half-breeds acquired the lands in fee simple. This
was no sooner done, than a horde of speculators rushed in to buy land of the
half-breed owners, and, in many instances, a gun, a blanket, a pony or a few
quarts of whisky was sufficient for • the purchase of large estates. There was
a deal of sharp practice on both sides ; Indians would often claim ownership of
land by virtue of being half-breeds, and had no difficulty in proving their mixed
blood by the Indians, and they would then cheat the speculators by selling land
to which they had no rightful title. On the other hand, speculators often
claimed land in which they had no ownership. It was diamond cut diamond,
until at last things became badly mixed. There were no authorized surveys,
and no boundary lines to claims, and, as a natural result, numerous conflicts and
quarrels ensued.
To settle these difficulties, to decide the validity of claims or sell them for
the benefit of the real owners, by act of the Legislature of Wisconsin Territory,
approved January 16, 1838, Edward Johnstone, Thomas S. Wilson and David
Brigham were appointed Commissioners, and clothed with power to effect these
objects. The act provided that these Commissioners should be paid six dollars
a day each. The commission entered upon its duties and continued until the
next session of the Legislature, when the act creating it was repealed, invalidat-
ing all that had been done and depriving the Commissioners of their pay. The
repealing act, however, authorized the Commissioners to commence action against
the owners of the Half-Breed Tract, to receive pay for their services, in the Dis-
trict Court of Lee County. Two judgments were obtained, and on execution
the whole of the tract was sold to Hugh T. Reid, the Sheriff executing the
deed. Mr. Reid sold portions of it to various parties, but his own title was
questioned and he became involved in litigation. Decisions in favor of Reid
166 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
and those holding under him were made by both District and Supreme Courts,
but in December, 1850, these decisions were finally reversed by the Supreme
Court of the United States in the case of Joseph Webster, plaintiff in error, vs.
Hugh T. Reid, and the judgment titles failed. About nine years before the
"judgment titles " were finally abrogated as above, another class of titles were
brought into competition with them, and in the conflict between the two, the
final decision was obtained. These were the titles based on the " decree of
partition " issued by the United States District Court for the Territory of Iowa,
on the 8th of May, 1841, and certified to by the Clerk on the 2d day of June of
that year. Edward Johnstone and Hugh T. Reid, then law partners at Fort
Madison, filed the petition for the decree in behalf of the St. Louis claimants of
half-breed lands. Francis S. Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner, who
was then attorney for the New York Land Company, which held heavy interests
in these lands, took a leading part in the measure, and drew up the document in
which it was presented to the court. Judge Charles Mason, of Burlington, pre-
sided. The plan of partition divided the tract into one hundred and one shares
and arranged that each claimant should draw his proportion by lot, and should
abide the result, whatever it might be. The arrangement was entered into, the
lots drawn, and the plat of the same filed in the Recorder's oflBce, October 6,
1841. Upon this basis the titles to land in the Half-Breed Tract are now held.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
The first permanent settlement by the whites within the limits of Iowa was
made by Julien Dubuque, in 1788, when, with a small party of miners, he set-
tled on the site of the ci^ that now bears his name, where he lived until his
death, in 1810. Louis Honori settled on the site of the present town of Mon-
trose, probably in 1799, and resided there until 1805, when his property passed
into other hands. Of the Giard settlement, opposite Prairie du Chien, little is
known, except that it was occupied by some parties prior to the commencement
of the present century, and contained three cabins in 1805. Indian traders,
although not strictly to be considered settlers, had established themselves at
various points at an early date. A Mr. Johnson, agent of the American Fur
Company, had a trading post below Burlington, where he carried on traffic with
the Indians some time before the United States possessed the country. In
1820, Le Moliese, a French trader, had a station at what is now Sandusky, six
miles above Keokuk, in Lee County. In 1829, Dr. Isaac Gallaud made a set-
tlement on the Lower Rapids, at what is now Nashville.
The first settlement in Lee County was made in 1820, by Dr. Samuel C.
Muir, a surgeon in the United States army, who had been stationed at Fort
Edwards, now Warsaw, 111., and who built a cabin where the city of Keokuk
now stands. Dr. Muir was a man of strict integrity and irreproachable char-
acter. While stationed at a military post on the Upper Mississippi, he had
married an Indian woman of the Fox nation. Of his marriage, the following
romantic account is given :
The post at which he was stationed was visited by a beautiful Indian maiden — whose natiTB
name, unfortunately, has not been preserved — who, in her dreams, had seen a white brave un-
moor his canoe, paddle it across the river and come directly to her lodge. She felt assured,
according to the superstitious belief of her race, that, in her dreams, she had seen her future
husband, and had come to the fort to find him. Meeting Dr. Muir, she instantly recognijed
him as the hero of her dream, which, with childlike innocence and simplicity, she related to
him. Her dream was, indeed, prophetic. Charmed with Sophia's beauty, innocence and devo-
tion, the doctor honorably married her ; but after a while, the sneers and gibes of his brother
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 167
officers — less honorable than he, perhaps — made him feel ashamed of his dark-skinned wife, and
when his regiment was ordered down the river, to Bellefontaine, it is said he embraced the
opportunity to rid himself of her, and left her, never expecting to see her again, and little
dreaming that she would have the courage to follow him. But, vrith her infant child, this in-
trepid wife and mother started alone in her canoe, and, after many days of weary labor and a
lonely journey of nine hundred miles, she, at last, reached him. She afterward remarked, when
speaking of this toilsome journey down the river in search of her husband, " When I got there
I was all perished away — so thin ! " The doctor, touched by such unexampled devotion, took her
to his heart, and ever after, until his death, treated her with marked respect. She always pre-
sided at his table with grace and dignity, but never abandoned her native style of dress. In
1819-20, he was stationed at Fort Edward, but the senseless ridicule of some of his brother
officers on account of his Indian wife induced him to resign his commission.
After building his cabin, as above stated, he leased his claim for a, term of years to Otis
Reynolds and John Culver, of St. Louis, and went to La Pointe, afterward Galena, where he
practiced his profession for ten years, when he returned to Keokuk. His Indian wife bore to
him four children — Louise (married at Keokuk, since dead), James, (drowned at Keokuk), Mary
and Sophia. Dr. Muir died suddenly of cholera, in 1832, but left his property in such condition
that it was soon wasted in vexatious litigation, and his brave and faithful wife, left friendless and
penniless, became discouraged, and, with her children, disappeared, and, it is said, returned to
her people on the Upper Missouri.
Messrs. Reynolds & Culver, who had leased Dr. Muir's claim at Keokuk,
subsequently employed as their agent Mr. Moses Stillwell, who arrived with
his family in ,1828, and took possession of Muir's cabin. His brothers-in-law,
Amos and Valencourt Van Ansdal, came with him and settled near.
His daughter, Margaret Stillwell (afterward Mrs. Ford) was born in 1831,
at the foot of the rapidsj called by the Indians Puch-a-she-tuck, where Keokuk
now stands. She was probably the first white American child born in Iowa.
In 1831, Mr. Johnson, Agent of the American Fur Company, who had a
station at the foot of the rapids, removed to another location, and. Dr. Muir
having returned from Galena, he and Isaac R. Campbell took the place and
buildings vacated by the Company and carried on trade with the Indians and
half-breeds. Campbell, who had first visited and traveled through the southern
part of Iowa, in 1821, was an enterprising settler, and besides trading with the
natives carried on a farm and kept a tavern.
Dr. Muir died of cholera in 1832.
; In 1830, James L. and Lucius H. Langworthy, brothers and natives of
Vermont, visited the Territory for the purpose of working the lead mines at Du-
buque. They had been engaged in lead mining at Galena, Illinois, the former
from as early as 1824. The lead mines in the Dubuque region were an object
of great interest to the miners about Galena, for they were known to be rich in
lead ore. To explore these mines aind to obtain permission to work them was
therefore eminently desirable.
In 1829, James L. Langworthy resolved to visit the Dubuque mines. Cross-
ing the Mississippi at a point now known as Dunleith, in a canoe, and swim-
ming his horse by his side, he landed on the spot now known as Jones Street
Levee. Before him spread out a beautiful prairie, on which the city of Du-
buque now stands. Two miles south, at the mouth of Catfish Creek, was" a vil-
lage of Sacs and Foxes. Thither Mr. Langworthy proceeded, and was well re-
ceived by the natives. He endeavored to obtain permission from them to mine
in their hills, but this they refused. He, however, succeeded in gaining the con-
fidence of the chief to such an extent as to be allowed to travel in the interior
for three weeks and explore the country. He employed two young Indians as
guides, and traversed in diiferent directions the whole region lying between the
Maquoketa and Turkey Rivers. He returned to the village, secured the good
will of the Indians, and, returning to Galena, formed plans for future opera-
tions, to be executed as soon as circumstances would permit.
168 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
In 1830, with his brother, Lucius H., and others, having obtained the con-
sent of the Indians, Mr. Langworthy crossed the Mississippi and commenced
mining in the vicinity around Dubuque.
At this time, the lands were not in the actual possession of the United States.
Although they had been purchased from France, the Indian title had not been
extinguished, and these adventurous persons were beyond the limits of any State
or Territorial government. The first settlers were therefore obliged to be their
own law-makers, and to agree to such regulations as the exigencies of the case
demanded. The first act resembling civil legislation within the limits of the
present State of Iowa was done by the miners at this point, in June, 1830. They
met on the bank of the river, by the side of an old cottonwood drift log, at
what is now the Jones Street Levee, Dubuque, and elected a Committee, con-
sisting of J. L. Langworthy, H. F. Lander, James McPhetres, Samuel Scales,
and E. M. Wren. This may be called the first Legislature in Iowa, the mem-
bers of which gathered around that old cottonwood log, and agreed to and re»
ported the following, written by Mr. Langworthy, on a half-sheet of coarse, un-
ruled paper, the old log being the writing desk :
We, a Committee having been chosen to draft certain rules and regulations (laws) by
which we as miners will be governed, and having duly considered the subject, do unanimously
agree that we will be governed by the regulations on the east side of the Mississippi River,* "wiUi
the following exceptions, to wit :
Artioib I. That each and every man shall hold 200 yards square of ground by working
said ground one day in six.
Article II. We further agree that there shall be chosen, by the majority of the minerg
present, a person who shall hold this article, and who shall grant letters of arbitration on appli-
cation having been made, and that said letters of arbitration shall be obligatory on the parties so
applying.
The report was accepted by the miners present, who elected Dr. Jarote, in
accordance with Article 2. Here, then, we have, in 1830, a primitive Legislar
ture elected by the people, the law drafted by it being submitted to the people
for approval, and under it Dr. Jarote was elected first Governor within the
limits of the present State of Iowa. And it is to be said that the laws thus
enacted were as promptly obeyed, and the acts of the executive officer thus
elected as duly respected, as any have been since.
The miners who had thus erected an independent government of their own
on the west side of the Mississippi River continued to work successfully for a
long time, and the new settlement attracted considerable attention. But the
west side of the Mississippi belonged to the Sac and Fox Indians, and the Gov-
ernment, in order to preserve peace on the frontier, as well as to protect the
Indians in their rights under the treaty, ordered the settlers not only to stop
mining, but to remove from the Indian territory. They were simply intruders.
The execution of this order was entrusted to Col. Zachary Taylor, then in com-
mand of the military post at Prairie du Chien, who, early in July, sent an officer
to the miners with orders to forbid settlement, and to command the miners to
remove within ten days to the east side of- the Mississippi, or they would be
driven off by armed force. The miners, however, were reluctant about leaving
the rich "leads" they had already discovered and opened, and were not dis-
posed to obej* the order to remove with any considerable degree of alacrity. In
due time, Col. Taylor dispatched a detachment of troops to enforce his order. The
miners, anticipating their arrival, had, excepting three, recrossed the river, and
from the east bank saw the troops land on the western shore. The three who
had lingered a little too long were, however, permitted' to make their escape
* Established by the Superinteiident of U. S. Lead Mines at Fever Biver.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA. 169
unmolested. From this time, a military force was stationed at Dubuque to
prevent the settlers from returning, until June, 1832. The Indians returned,
and were encouaged to operate the rich mines opened by the late white
occupants.
In June, 1832, the troops were ordered to the east side to assist in the
annihilation of the very Indians whose rights they had been protecting on the
west side. Immediately after the close of the Black Hawk war, and the negotia-
tions of the treaty in September, 1832, by which the Sacs and Foxes ceded to
the Umted States the tract known as the "Black Hawk Purchase," the set-
tlers, supposing that now they had a right to re-enter the territory, returned
and took possession of their claims, built cabins, erected furnaces and prepared
large quantities of lead for market. Dubuque was becoming a noted place on
the river, but the prospects of the hardy and enterprising settlers and miners
were again ruthlessly interfered with by the Government, on the ground that
the treaty with the Indians would not go into force until June 1, 1833, although
they had withdrawn from the vicinity of the settlement. Col. Taylor was again
ordered by the War Department to remove the miners, and in January, 1833,
troops were again sent from Prairie du Chien to Dubuque for that purpose.
This was a serious and perhaps unnecessary hardship imposed upon the settlers.
They were compelled to abandon their cabins and homes in mid-winter. It
must now be said, simply, that "red tape" should be respected. The purchase
had been made, the treaty ratified, or was sure to be; the Indians had retired,
and, after the lapse of nearly fifty years, no very satisfactory reason for this
rigorous action of the Government can be given.
But the orders had been given, and there was no alternative but to obey.
Many of the settlers recrossed the river, and did not return ; a few, however,
removed to an island near the east bank of the river, bflilt rude cabins of poles,
in which to store their lead until Spring, when they could float the fruits of
their labor to St. Louis for sale, and where they could remain until the treaty
went into force, when they could return. Among these were James L. Lang-
worthy, and his brother Lucius, who had on hand about three hundred thousand
pounds of lead.
Lieut. Covington, who had been placed in command at Dubuque by Col.
Taylor, ordered some of the cabins of the settlers to be torn down, and wagons
and other property to be destroyed. This wanton and inexcusable action on
the part of a subordinate clothed with a little brief authority was sternly
rebuked by Col. Taylor, and Covington was superseded by Lieut. George Wil-
son, who pursued a just and friendly course with the pioneers, who were only
waiting for the time when they could repossess their claims.
June 1, 1833, the treaty formally went into efiect, the troops were withdrawn,
and the Langworthy brothers and a few others at once returned and resumed
possession of their home claims and mineral prospects, and from this time the
first permanent settlement of this portion of Iowa must date. Mr. John P.
Sheldon was appointed Superintendent of the mines by the Government, and a
system of permits to miners and licenses to smelters was adopted, similar to that
which had been in operation at Galena, since 1825, under Lieut. Martin Thomas
and Capt. Thomas C. Legate. Substantially the primitive law enacted by the
miners assembled around that old cottonwood drift log in 1830 was adopted and
enforced by the United States Government, except that miners were required to
sell their mineral to licensed smelters and the smelter was required to give bonds
for the payment of six per cent, of all lead manufactured to the Government.
This was the same rule adopted in the United States mines on Fever River in
170 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
Illinois, except that, until 1830, the Illinois miners were compelled to pay 10
per cent. tax. This tax upon the miners created much dissatisfaction among
the miners on the west side as it had on the east side of the Mississippi. They
thought they had suffered hardships and privations enough in opening the way
for civilization, without being subjected to the imposition of an odious Govern-
ment tax upon their means of subsistence, when the Federal Government could
better afford to aid than to extort from them. The measure soon became unpop-
ular. It was difficult to collect the taxes, and the whole system was abolished
in about ten years.
During 1833, after the Indian title was fully extinguished, about five hun-
dred people arrived at the mining district, about one hundred and fifty of them
from Galena.
In the same year, Mr. Langworthy assisted in building the first school house
in Iowa, and thus was formed the nucleus of the now populous and thriving
City of Dubuque. Mr. Langworthy lived to see the naked prairie on which he
first landed become the site of a city of fifteen thousand inhabitants, the small
school house which he aided in constructing replaced by three substantial edifices,
wherein two thousand children were being trained, churches erected in every
part of the city, and railroads connecting the wilderness which he first explored
with all the eastern world. He died suddenly on the 13th of March, 1865,
while on a trip over the Dubuque & Southwestern Railroad, at Monticello,
and the evening train brought the news of his death and his remains.
Lucius H. Langworthy, his brother, was one of the most worthy, gifted and
influential of the old settlers of this section of Iowa. He died, greatly lamented
by many friends, in June, 1865.
The name Dubuque^was given to the settlement by the miners at a meeting
held in 1834.
In 1832, Captain James White made a claim on the present site of Montrose.
In 1834, a military post was established at this point, and a garrison of cavalry
was stationed here, under the command of CoL Stephen W. Kearney. The
soldiers were removed from this post to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1837.
During the same year, 1832, soon after the close of the Black Hawk War,
Zachariah Hawkins, Benjamin Jennings, Aaron White, Augustine Horton,
Samuel Gooch, Daniel Thompson and Peter Williams made claims at Fort
Madison. In 1833, these claims were purchased by John and Nathaniel
Knapp, upon which, in 1835, they laid out the town. The next Summer, lots
were sold. The town was subsequently re-surveyed and platted by the United
States Government.
At the close of the Black Hawk War, parties who had been impatiently
looking across upon "Flint Hills," now Burlington, came over from IlUnois
and made claims. The first was Samuel S. White, in the Fall of 1832, who
erected a cabin on the site of the city of Burlington. About the same time,
David Tothero made a claim on the prairie about three miles back from the
river, at a place since known as the farm of Judge Morgan. In the Winter of
that year, they were driven off by the military from Rock Island, as intruders
upon the rights of the Indians, and White's cabin was burnt by the soldiers.
He retired to Illinois, where he spent the Winter, and in the Summer, as soon
as the Indian title was extinguished, returned and rebuilt his cabin. White
was joined by his brother-in-law, Doolittle, and they laid out the original town
of Burlington in 1834.
All along the river borders ofthe Black Hawk Purchase settlers were flocking
into Iowa. Immediately after the treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, in Septem-
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 171
ber, 1832, Col. George Davenport made the first claim on the spot where the
thriving city of Davenport now stands. As early as 1827, Col. Davenport had
established a flatboat ferry, which ran between the island and the main shore of
Iowa, by which he carried on a trade with the Indians west of the Mississippi.
In 1833, Capt. Benjamin W. Clark moved across from Illinois, and laid the
foundation of the town of Buffalo, in Scott County, which was the first actual
settlement within the limits of that county. Among other early settlers in this
part of the Territory were Adrian H. Davenport, Col. John Sullivan, Mulli-
gan and Franklin Easly, Capt. John Coleman, J. M. Camp, William White,
H. W. Higgins, Cornelius Harrold, Richard Harrison, E. H. Shepherd and
Dr. E. S. Barrows.
The first settlers of Davenport were Antoine LeClaire, Col. George Daven-
port, Major Thomas Smith, Major William Gordon, Philip Hambough, Alexan-
der W. McGregor, Levi S. Colton, Capt. James May and others. Of Antoine
LeClaire, as the representative of the two races of men who at this time occu-
pied Iowa, Hon. C. C. Nourse, in his admirable Centennial Address, says :
" Antoine LeClaire was born at St. Joseph, Michigan, in 1797. His father
was. French, his mother a granddaughter of a Pottowatomie chief In 1818,
he acted as official interpreter to Col. Davenport, at Fort Armstrong (now Rock
Island). He was well acquainted with a dozen Indian dialects, and was a man
of strict integrity and great energy. In 1820, he married the granddaughter
of a Sac chief. The Sac and Fox Indians reserved for him and his wife two
sections of land in the treaty of 1883, one at the town of LeClaire and one at
Davenport. The Pottawatomies, in the treaty at Prairie du Chien, also
reserved for him two sections of land, at the present site of Moline, 111. He
received the appointment of Postmaster and Justice of the Peace in the Black
Hawk Purchase, at an early day. In 1833, he bought for $100 a claim on the
land upon which the original town of Davenport was surveyed and platted in
1836. In 1836, LeClaire built the hotel, known since, with its valuable addi-
tion, as the LeClaire House. He died September 25, 1861."
In Clayton County, the first settlement was made in the Spring of 1832,
on Turkey River, by Robert Hatfield and William W. Wayman. No further
settlement was made in this part of the State till the beginning of 1836.
In that portion now known as Muscatine County, settlements were made in
1834, by Benjamin Nye, John Vanater and G. W. Kasey, who were the first
settlers. E. E. Fay, William St. John, N. FuUington, H. Reece, Jona Petti-
bone, R. P. Lowe, Stephen Whicher, Abijah Whiting, J. E. Fletcher, W. D.
Abernethy and Alexis Smith were early settlers of Muscatine.
During the Summer of 1835, William Bennett and his family, from Galena,
built the first cabin within the present limits of Delaware County, in some
timber since known as Eads' Grove.
The first post office in Iowa was established at Dubuque in 1833. Milo H.
Prentice was appointed Postmaster.
The first Justice of the Peace was Antoine Le Claire, appointed in 1833, as
" a very suitable person to adjust the difficulties between the white settlers and
the Indians still remaining there."
The first Methodist Society in the Territory was formed at Dubuque on
the 18th of May, 1834, and the first class meeting was held June 1st of that
year. *
The first church bell brought into Iowa was in March, 1834.
The first mass of the Roman Catholic Church in the Territory was celebrated
at Dubuque, in the house of Patrick Quigley, in the Fall of 1833.
172 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
The first school house in the Territory was erected by the Dubuque miners
in 1833.
The first Sabbath school was organized at Dubuque early in the Summer*
of 1834.
The first woman who came to this part of the Territory with a view to per-
manent residence waa Mrs. Noble F. Dean, in the Fall of 1832.
The first family that lived in this part of Iowa was that of Hosea T. Camp,
in 1832.
The first meeting house was built by the Methodist Episcopal Church, at
Dubuque, in 1834. •
The first newspaper in Iowa was the Dubuque Visitor, issued May 11th, 1836,
John King, afterward Judge King, was editor, and William C. Jones, printer.
The pioneers of Iowa, as a class, were brave, hardy, intelligent and
enterprising people.
As early as 1824, a French trader named Hart had established a trading
post," and built a cabin on the blufis above the large spring now known as
"Mynster Spring," within the limits of the present city of Council Bluffs, and
had probably been there some time, as the post was known to the employes of
the American Fur Company as Lacote de Sart, or " Hart's Blufi"." In 182T,
an agent of the American Fur Company, Francis Guittar, with others, encamped
in the timber at the foot of the bluffs, about on the present location of Broad-
way, and afterward settled there. In 1839, a block house was built on the
bluff in the east part of the city. The Pottawatomie Indians occupied this part
of the State until 1846-7, when they relinquished the territory and removed to
Kansas. Billy Caldwell was then principal chief. There were no white settlers
in that part of the State except Indian traders, until the arrival of the Mormons
under the lead of Brigham Young. These people on their way westward halted
for the Winter of 1846-7 on the west bank of the Missouri River, about five
miles above Omaha, at a place now called Florence. Some of them had
reached the eastern bank of the river the Spring before, in season to plant a
crop. In the Spring of 1847, Young and a portion of the colony pursued their
journey to Salt Lake, but a large portion of them returned to the Iowa side and
settled mainly within the limits of Pottawattamie County. The principal settle-
ment of this strange community was at a place first called " Miller's Hollow,"
on Indian Creek, and afterward named Kanesville, in honor of Col. Kane, of
Pennsylvania, who visited them soon afterward. The Mormon settlement
extended over the county and into neighboring counties, wherever timber and
water furnished desirable locations. Orson Hyde, priest, lawyer and editor, was
installed as President of the Quorum of Twelve, and all that part of the State
remained under Mormon control for several years. In 1846, they raised a bat^
talion, numbering some five hundred men, for the Mexican war. In 1848, Hyde
started a paper called the Frontier Gruardian, at Kanesville. In 1849, after
many of the faithful had left to join Brigham Young at Salt Lake, the Mormons
in this section of Iowa numbered 6,552, and in 1850, 7,828, but they were not
all within the limits of Pottawattamie County. This county was organized in
1848, all the first officials being Mormons. In 1852, the order was promulgated
that all the true believers should gather together at Salt Lake. Gentiles flocked
in, and in a few years nearly all the first settlers were gone.
May 9, 1843, Captain James Allen, with a small detachment of troops on
board the steamer lone, arrived at the present site of the capital of the State,
Des Moines. The lone was the first steamer to ascend the Des Moines Biver
to this point. The troops and stores were landed at what is now the foot of
HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA. 173
Court avenue, Des Moines, and Capt5 Allen returned in the steamer to Fort
Sanford to arrange for bringing up more soldiers and supplies. In due time
they, too, arrived, and a fort was built near the mouth of Raccoon Fork, at its
confluence with the Des Moines, and named Fort Des Moines. Soon after the
arrival of the troops, a trading post was established on the east side of the river,
by two noted Indian traders named Ewing, from Ohio.
Among the first settlers in this part of Iowa were Benjamin Bryant, J. B.
Scott, James Drake (gunsmith), John Sturtevaht, Robert , Kinzie, Alexander
Turner, Peter Newcomer, and others.
The Western States have been settled by many of the best and most enter-
prising men of the older States, and a large immigration of the best blood of
the Old World, who, removing to an arena of larger opportunities, in a more
fertile soil and congenial climate, have developed a spirit and an energy
peculiarly Western. In.no country on the globe have enterprises of all kinds
been pushed forward with such rapidity, or has there been such independence
and freedom of competition. Among those who have pioneered the civiliza-
tion of the West, and been the founders of great States, none have ranked
higher in the scale of intelligence and moral worth than the pioneers of Iowa,
who came to the territory when it was an Indian country, and through hardship,
privation and suffering, laid the foundations of the populous and prosperous
commonwealth which to-day dispenses its blessings to a million and a quarter
of people. From her first settlement and from her first organization as a terri-
tory to the present day, Iowa has had able men to manage her affairs, wise
statesmen to shape her destiny and frame her laws, and intelligent and impartial
jurists to administer justice to her citizens ; her bar, pulpit and prefes have been
able and widely influential ; and in all the professions, arts, enterprises and
industries which go to make up a great and prosperous commonwealth, she has
taken and holds a front rank among her sister States of the West.
TERRITORIAL HISTORY.
By act of Congress, approved October 31, 1803, the President of the United
States was authorized to take possession of the territory included in the
Louisiana purchase, and provide for a temporary government. By another act
of the same session, approved March 26, 1804, the newly acquired country was
divided, October 1, 1804 into the Territory of Orleans, south of the thirty-third
parallel of north latitude, and the district of Louisiana, which latter was placed
under the authority of the ofiScers of Indiana Territory.
In 1805, the District of Louisiana was organized as a Territory with a gov-
ernment of its own. In 1807, Iowa was included in the Territory of Illinois,
and in 181 2 in the Territory of Missouri. When Missouri was admitted as a
State, March 2, 1821, "Iowa," says Hon. C. C. Nourse, "was left a political
orphan," until by act of Congress, approved June 28, 1834, the Black Hawk
purchase having been made, all the territory west of the Mississippi and north
of the northern boundary of Missouri, was made a part of Michigan Territory.
Up to this time there had been no county or other organization in what is now
the State of Iowa, although one or two Justices of the Peace had been appointed
and a post office was established at Dubuque in 1833. In September, 1834,
liowever, the Territorial Legislature of Michigan created two counties on the
west side of the Mississippi River, viz. : Dubuque and Des Moines, separated
by a line drawn westward from the foot of Rock Island. These counties were
174 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
partially organized. John King was appointed Chief Justice of Dubuque
County, and Isaac Leffler, of Burlington, of Des Moines County. Two
Associate Justices, in each county, were appointed by the Governor.
On the first Monday in October, 1835, Gen. George W. Jones, now a citi-
zen of Dubuque, was elected a Delegate to Congress from this part of Michigan
Territory. On the 20th of April, 1836, through the efiforts of Gen. Jones,
Congress passed a bill creating the Territory of Wisconsin, which went into
operation, July 4, 1836, and Iowa was then included in
THE TERBITORT OF WISCONSIN,
of which Gen. Henry Dodge was appointed Governor; John S. Horner, Secre-
tary of the Territory ; Charles Dunn, Chief Justice ; David Irwin and William
C. Frazer, Associate Justices.
Septembei: 9, 1836, Governor Dodge ordered the census of the new Territory
to be taken. This census resulted in showing a population of 10,531 in the
counties of Dubuque and Des Moines. Under the apportionment, these two
counties were entitled to six members of the Council and thirteen of the House
of Representatives. The Governor issued his proclamation for an election to be
held on the first Monday of October, 1836, on which day the following members
of the First Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin were elected from the two
counties in the Black Hawk purchase :
Dubuque County. — Council: John Fally, Thomas McKnight, Thomas Mc-
Craney. House : Loring Wheeler, Hardin Nowlan, Peter Hill Bngle, Patrick
Quigley, Hosea T. Camp.
Des Moines County.— Council : Jeremiah Smith, Jr., Joseph B. Teas,
Arthur B. Ingram. Souse : Isaac Lefiler, Thomas Blair, Warren L. Jenkins,
John Box, George W. Teas, Eli Reynolds, David R. Chance.
The first Legislature assembled at Belmont, in the present State of Wiscon-
sin, on the 25th day of October, 1836, and was organized by electing Henry T.
Baird President of the Council, and Peter Hill Engle, of Dubuque, Speaket of
the House. It adjourned December 9, 1836. ,
The second Legislature assembled at Burlington, November 10, 1837.
Adjourned January 20, 1838. The third session was at Burlington; com-
menced June 1st, and adjourned June 12, 1838.
During the first session of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, in 1836,
■the county of Des Moines was divided into Des Moines,..Lee, Van Buren, Henry,
Muscatine and Cook (the latter being subsequently changed to Scott) and defined
their boundaries. During the second session, out of the territory embraced in
Dubuque County, were created the counties of Dubuque, Clayton, Fayette,
Delaware, Buchanan, Jackson, Jones, Linn, Clinton and Cedar, and their boun-
daries defined, but the most of them were not organized until several years
afterward, under the authority of the Territorial Legislature of Iowa.
The question of a separate territorial organization for Iowa, which was then
a part of Wisconsin Territory, began to be agitated early in the Autumn of
1837. The wishes of the people found expression in a convention held at Bur-
lington on the 1st of November, which memorialized Congress to organize a
Territory west of the Mississippi, and to settle the boundary line between Wis-
consin Territory and Missouri. The Territorial Legislature of Wisconsin, then
in session at Burlington, joined in the petition. Gen. George W. Jones, of
Dubuque, then residing at Sinsinawa Mound, in what is now Wisconsin, was
Delegate to Congress from Wisconsin Territory, and labored so earnestly
successfully, that " An act to divide the Territory of Wisconsin, and to
HISTOKY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 175
lish the Territorial Government of Iowa," was approved June 12, 1838, to take
effect and be in force on and after July 3, 1838. The new Territory embraced
"all that part of the present Territory of Wisconsin which lies west of the Mis-
sissippi River, and west of a line drawn due north from the head water or
sources of the Mississippi to the territorial line." The organic act provided
for a Governor, whose term of office should be three years, and for a Secretary,
Chief Justice, two Associate Justices, and Attorney and Marshal, who should
serve four years, to be appointed by the President, by and with the^advice and
consent of the Senate. The act also provided for the election, by the white
male inhabitants, citizens of the United States, over twenty-one years of age,
of a House of Representatives, consisting of twenty-six members, and a Council,
to consist of thirteen members. It also appropriated $5,000 for a public library,
and $20,000 for the erection of public buildings.
President Van Buren appointed Ex-Governor Robert Lucas, of Ohio, to be
the first Governor of the new Territory. William B. Conway, of Pittsburgh,
was appointed Secretary of the Territory; Charles Mason, of Burlington,
Chief Justice, and Thomas S. Wilson, of Dubuque, and Joseph Williams, of
Pennsylvania, Associate Judges of the Supreme and District Courts ; Mr. Van.
Allen, of New York, Attorney ; Francis Gehon, of Dubuque, Marshal ; Au-
gustus 0. Dodge, Register of the Land Office at Burlington, and Thomas Mc-
Knight, Receiver of the Land Office at Dubuque. Mr. Van Allen, the District
Attorney, died at Rockingham, soon after his appointment, and Col. Charlea
Weston was appointed to fill his vacancy. Mr. Conway, the Secretary, alsi*
died at Burlington, during the second session of the Legislature, and Jame»
Clarke, editor of the Gazette, was appointed to succeed him.
Immediately after his arrival, Governor Lucas issued a proclamation for th(i
election of members of the first Territorial Legislature, to be held on the lOtlt
of September, dividing the Territory into election districts for that purpose, ani
appointing the 12th day of November for meeting of the Legislature to be-
elected, at Burlington.
The first Territorial Legislature was elected in September and assembled at
Burlington on the 12th of November, and consisted of the following members:
Council. — Jesse B. Brown, J. Keith, E. A. M. Swazey, Arthur Ingram,
Robert Ralston, George Hepner, Jesse J. Payne, D. B. Hughes, James M.
Clark, Charles Whittlesey, Jonathan W. Parker, Warner Lewis, Stephea
Hempstead.
ffouse. — William Patterson, Hawkins Taylor, Calvin J. Price, James
Brierly, James Hall, Gideon S. Bailey, Samuel Parker, James W. Grimes,
George Temple, Van B. Delashmutt, Thomas Blair, George H. Beeler,*
William G. Coop, William H. Wallace, Asbury B. Porter, John Frierson,
William L. Toole, Levi Thornton, S. C. Hastings, Robert G. Roberts, Laurel
Summers,! Jabez A. Burchard, Jr., Chauncey Swan, Andrew Bankson, Thomas
Oox and Hardin Nowlin.
Notwithstanding a large majority of the members of both branches of the
Legislature were Democrats, yet Gen. Jesse B. Browne (Whig), of Lee County,
was elected President of the Council, and Hon. William H. Wallace (Whig), of
Henry County, Speaker of the House of Representatives — the former unani-
mously and the latter with but little opposition. At that time, national politics
♦ Oyrm S. Jacobs, who was elected for Des Uoines County, was kiUed in an nnfortnnate encounter at Bnrlingtou
before the meeting of the Legislature, and Mr. Beeler was elected to fill the vacancy.
t Samuel B. Hurray was letumed at elected from Clinton CoDuty, but Us seat was sncceaafnlly contested by
Burcbard. *
176 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
■were little heeded by the people of the new Territory, but in 1840, during the
Presidential campaign, party lines were strongly drawn.
At the election in September, 1838, for members of the Legislature, a Con-
gressional Delegate was also elected. There were four candidates, viz. : William
W. Chapman and David* Rohrer, of Des Moines County ; B. F. Wallace, of
Henry County, and P. H. Engle, of Dubuque County. Chapman was elected,
receiving a majority of thirty-six over Engle.
The first session of the Iowa Territorial Legislature was a stormy and excit-
ing one. By the organic law, the Governor was clothed with almost unlimited
veto power. Governor Lucas seemed disposed to make free use of it, and the
independent Hawkeyes could not quietly submit to arbitrary and absolute rule,
and the result was an unpleasant controversy between the Executive and Legis-
lative departments. Congress, however, by act approved March 3,-. 1839,
amended the organic law by restricting the veto power of the Governor to the
two-thirds rule, and took from him the power to appoint Sheriffs and Magistrates.
Among the first important matters demanding attention was the location of
the seat of government and provision for the erection of public buildings, for
which Congress had appropriated $20,000. Governor Lucas, in his message,
had recommended the appointment of Commissioners, with a view to making a
central location. The extent of the future State of Iowa was not known or
thought of. Only on a strip of land fifty miles wide, bordering on the Missis-
sippi River, was the Indian title extinguished, and a central location meant some
central point in the Black Hawk Purchase. The friends of a central location
supported the Governor's suggestion. The southern members were divided
between Burlington and Mount Pleasant, but finally united on the latter as the
proper location for the seat of government. The central and southern parties
were very nearly equal, and, in consequence, much excitement prevailed. The
central party at last triumphed, and on the 21st day of January, 1839, an act
was passed, appointing Chauncey Swan, of Dubuque County ; John Ronalds,
of Louisa County, and Robert Ralston, of Des Moines County, Commissioners,
to select a site for a permanent seat of Government within the limits of John-
son County.
Johnson County had been created by act of the Territorial Legislature of
Wisconsin, approved December 21, 1837, and organized by act passed at the
special session at Burlington in June, 1838, the organization to date from July
4th, following. Napoleon, on the Iowa River, a few miles below the future
Iowa City, was designated as the county seat, temporarily.
Then there existed good reason for locating the capital in the county. The
Territory of Iowa was bounded on the north by the British Possessions ; east, by
the Mississippi River to its source; -thence by a line drawn due north to the
northern boundary of the United States ; south, by the State of Missouri, and west,
by the Missouri and White Earth Rivers. But this immense territory was in un-
disputed possession of the Indians, except a strip on the Mississippi, known M
the Black Hawk Purchase. Johnson County was, from north to south, in the
geographical center of this purchase, and as near the east and west geograpbical
center of the future State of Iowa as could then be made, as the boundary line
between the lands of the United States and the Indians, established by the
treaty of October 21, 1837, was immediately west of the county limits.
The Commissioners, after selecting tho' site, were directed to lay out 640
acres into a town, to be called Iowa City, and to proceed to sell lots and erect
public buildings thereon, Congress having granted a section of land to be
selected by the Territory for this purpose. The Commissioners met at Napo-
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 177
leon, Johnson County, May 1, 1839, selected for a site Section 10, in Town-
ship 79 North of Range 6 West of the Fifth Principal Meridian, and immedi-
ately surveyed it and laid off the town. The first sale of lots took place August
16, 1839. The site selected for .the public buildings was a little west of the
geographical center of the section, where a square of ten acres on the elevated
grounds overlooking the river was reserved for the purpose. The capitol is
located in the center of this square. The second Territorial Legislature, which
assembled in November, 1839, passed an act requiring the Commissioners to
adopt such plan for the building that the aggregate cost when complete should
not exceed $51,000, and if they had already adopted a plan involving a greater
expenditure they were directed to abandon it. Plans for the building were designed
and drawn by Mr. John F. Rague, of Springfield, 111., and on the 4th day of July,
1840, «the corner stone of the edifice was laid with appropriate ceremonies.
Samuel C. Trowbridge was Marshal of the day, and Gov. Lucas delivered the
address on that occasion.
When the Legislature assembled at Burlington in special session, July 13,
1840, Gov. Lucas announced that on the 4th of that month he had visited Iowa
City, and found the basement of the capitol nearly completed. A bill author-
izing a loan of $20,000 for the building was passed, January 15, 1841, the
unsold lots of Iowa City being the security offered, but only $5,500 was
obtained under the act.
THE BOUNDARY QUESTION.
The boundary line between the Territory of Iowa and the State of Missouri
was adifBcult question to settle in 1838, in consequence of claims arising from
taxes and titles, and at one time civil war was imminent. In defining the
boundaries of the counties bordering on Missouri, the Iowa authorities had fixed
a line that has since been established as the boundary between Iowa and Mis-
souri. The Constitution of Missouri defined her northern boundary to be the
parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the Des Moines River.
The lower rapids of the Mississippi immediately above the mouth of the Des
Moines River had always been known as the Des Moines Rapids, or "the
rapids of the Des Moines River." The Missourians (evidently not well versed
in history or geography) insisted on running the northern boundary line from
the rapids in the Des Moines River, just below Keosauqua, thus taking from
Iowa a strip of territory eight or ten miles wide. Assuming, this as her
northern boundary line, Missouri attempted to exercise jurisdiction over the
disputed territory by assessing taxes, and sending her Sheriffs to collect them by
distraining the personal property of the settlers. The lowans, how.ever, were
not disposed to submit, and the Missouri officials were arrested by the Sheriffs
of Davis and Van Buren Counties and confined in jail. Gov. Boggs, of
Missouri, called out his militia to enforce the claim and sustain the officers of
Missouri, Gov. Lucas called out the militia of Iowa, and both parties made
active preparations for war. In Iowa, about 1,200 men were enlisted, and
600 were actually armed and encamped in "Van Buren County, ready to defend
the integrity of the Territory. Subsequently, Gen. A. C. Dodge, of Burlington,
Gen. Churchman, of Dubuque, and Dr. Clark, of Fort Madison, were sent to
Missouri as envoys plenipotentiary, to effect, if possible, a peaceable adjustment
of the difficulty. Upon their arrival, they found that the County Commissioners
of Clarke County , Missouri, had rescinded their order for the collection of the taxes,
and that Gov. Boggs had despatched messengers to the Governor of Iowa proposing
178 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
to submit an agreed case to the Supreme Court of the United States for the
final settlement of the boundary question. This proposition was declined, but
afterward Congress authorized a suit to settle the controversy, which was insti-
tuted, and which resulted in a judgment for Iowa. Under this decision,
"William G.Miner, of Missouri, and Henry' B. Hendershott were appointed
Commissioners to survey and establish the boundary. Mr. Nourse remarks
that " the expenses of the war on the part of Iowa were never paid, either by
the United States or the Territorial Government. The patriots who furnished
supplies to the troops had to bear the cost and charges of the struggle."
The first legislative assembly laid the broad foundation of civil equality, on
which has been constructed one of the most liberal governments in the Union.
Its first act was to recognize the equality of woman with man before the law by
providing that " no action commenced by a single woman, who intermarries
difring the pendency thereof, shall abate on account of such marriage. " This prin-
ciple has been adopted by all subsequent legislation in Iowa, and to-day woman
has full and equal civil rights with man, except only the right of the ballot.
Religious toleration was also secured to ail, personal liberty strictly guarded,
the rights and privileges of citizenship extended to all white persons, and the
purity of elections secured by heavy penalties against bribery and corruption..
The judiciary power was vested in a Supreme Court, District Court, Probate
Court, and Justices of the Peace. Real estate was made divisible by will, and
intestate property divided equitably among heirs. Murder was made punishable
by death, and proportionate penalties fixed for lesser crimes. A system of free
schools, open for every class of white citizens, was established. Provision was
made for a system of roads and highways. Thus under the territorial organi-
zation, the country began to emerge from a savage wilderness, and take on the
forms of civil government.
By act of Congress of June 12, 1838, the lands which had been purchased
of the Indians were brought into market, and land offices opened in Dubuque^
and Burlington. Congress provided for military roads and bridges, which
greatly aided the settlers, who were now coming in by thousands, to make their
homes on the fertile prairies of Iowa — "the Beautiful Land." The fame of the
country had spread far and wide ; even before the Indian title was extinguished,
many were crowding the borders, impatient to cross over and stake out their
claims on the choicest spots they could find in the new Territory. As
soon as the country was open for settlement, the borders, the Black Hawk
Purchase, all along the Mississipi, and up the principal rivers and streams, and
out over the broad and rolling prairies, began to be thronged with eager land
hunters and immigrants, seeking homes in Iowa. It was a sight to delight the
eyes of all comers from every land — its noble streams, beautiful and picturesque
hills and 'valleys, broad and fertile prairies extending as far as the eye could
reach, with a soil surpassing in richness anything which they had ever seen. It
is not to be wondered at that immigration into Iowa was rapid, and that within
less than a decade from the organization of the Territory, it contained a hundred
and fifty thousand people.
As rapidly as the Indian titles were extinguished and the original owners
removed, the resistless tide of emigration flowed westward. The following extract
from Judge Nourse's Centennial Address shows how the immigrants gathered
on the Indian boundary, ready for the removal of the barrier :
In obedience to our progressive and aggressive spirit, the Government of the United 1
made another treaty with the Sac and Fox Indians, on the 11th day of August, 1842, for the
remaining portion of their land in Iowa. The treaty provided that the Ind&ns should retail
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 179
possession of all the lands thus ceded until May 1, 1843, and should occupy that portion of the
ceded territory west of a line running north and south through Bedrock, until October 11, 1845.
These tribes, at this tim% had their principal village at Otrtum-wa-no, now called Ottumwa. As
soon as it became known that the treaty had been concluded, there was a rush of immigration to
Iowa, and a great number of temporary settlements were made near the Indian boundary, wait-
ing for the 1st day of ,May. As the day approached, hundreds of families encamped along the
line, and their tents and wagons gave the scene the appearance of a military expedition. The
country beyond had been thoroughly explored, but the United States military authorities had
prevented any settlement or even the making out of claims by any monuments whatever.
To aid them in making out their claims when the hour should arrive, the settlers had placed
piles of dry wood on the rising ground, at convenient distances, and a short time before twelve
o'clock of the night of the 30th of April, these were lighted, and when the midnight hour arrived,
it was announced by the discharge of firearms. The night was dark, but this army of occupa-
tion pressed forward, torch in hand, with axe and hatchet, blazing lines with all manner of
curves and angles. When daylight came and revealed the confusion of these wonderful surveys,
numerous disputes arose, settled generally by compromise, but sometimes by violence. Between
midnight of the 30th of April and sundown of the 1st of May, over one thousand families had
settled on their new purchase.
While this scene was transpiring, the retreating Indians were enacting one more impressive
and melancholy. The Winter of 1842-43 was one of unusual severity, and the Indian prophet,
who had disapproved of the treaty, attributed the severity of the Winter to the anger of the Great
Spirit, because they had sold their country. Many religious rites were performed to atone for
the crime. When the time for leaving Ot-tum-wa-no arrived, a solemn silence pervaded the Indian
camp, and the faces of their stoutest men were bathed in tears ; and when their cavalcade was
put in motion, toward the setting sun, thei-e was a spontaneous outburst of frantic grief from the
entire procession. ''
The Indians remained the appointed time beyond the line running north and south through
Bedrock. The government established a trading post and military encampment at the Kaccoon
Fork of the Des Moinea River, then and for many years known as Fort Des Moines. Here the
red man lingered until the 11th of October, 1845, when the same scene that we have before
described was re-enacted, and the wave of immigration swept over the remainder of the " New
Purchase." The lands thus occupied and claimed by the settlers still belonged in fee to the Gen-
eral Government. The surveys were not completed until some time after the Indian title was
extinguished. After their survey, the lands were publicly proclaimed or advertised for sale at
public auction. Under the laws of the United States, a pre-emption or exclusive right to purchase
public lands could net be acquired until after the lands had thus been publicly offered and not
sold for want of bidders. Then, and not until then, an occupant making improvements in good
faith might acquire a right over others to enter the land at the minimum price of $1.25 per
acre. The " claim laws " were unknown to the United States statutes. They originated in the
"eternal fitness of things," and were enforced, probably, as belonging to that class of natural
rights not enumerated in the constitution, and not impaired or disparaged by its enumeration.
The settlers organized in every settlement prior to the public land sales, appointed officers,
and adopted their own rules and regulations. Each man's claim was duly ascertained and
recorded by the Secretary. It was the duty of all to attend the sales. The Secretary bid off the
lands of each settler at $1.25 per acre. The others were there, to see, first, that he did his duty
and bid in the land, and, secondly, to see that no one else bid. This, of course, sometimes led to
trouble, but it saved the excitement of competition, and gave a formality and degree of order
and regularity to the proceedings they would not otherwise have attained. As far as practicable,
the Territorial Legislature recognized the validity of these " claims " upon the public lands, and
in 1839 passed an act legalizing their sale and making their transfer a valid consideration to sup-
port a promise to pay for the same. (Acts of 1843, p. 456). The Supreme Territorial Court
held this law to be valid. (See Hill v. Smith, 1st Morris Rep. 70). The opinion not only con-
tains a decision of the question involved, but also contains much valuable erudition upon that
" spirit of Anglo-Saxon liberty " which the Iowa settlers unquestionably inherited in a direct
line of descent from the said " Anglo-Saxons." But the early settler was not always able to pay
even this dollar and twenty-five cents per acre for his land.
Many of the settlers had nothing to begin with, save their hands, health and
courage and their family jewels, "the pledges of love," and the "consumers of
bread." It was not so easy to accumulate money in the early days of the State,
and the "beautiful prairies," the "noble streams," and all that sort of poetic
imagery, did not prevent the early settlers from becoming discouraged.
An old settler, in speaking of the privations and trials of those early days,
says:
Well do the "old settlers ' of Iowa remember the days from the first settlement to 1840.
Those were days of sadness and distress. The endearments of home in another land had been
180 HISTOKY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
broken up ; and all that was hallowed on earth, the home of childhood and the scenes of youth
we severed ; and we sat down by the gentle waters of our noble river, and often " hung our harpa
on the wiUows."
Another, from another part of the State, testifies :
There was no such thing as getting money for any kind of labor. I laid brick at $3.00
per thousand, and took my pay in anything I could eat or wear. I built the first Methodist
Church at Keokuk, 42x60 feet, of brick, for |600, and took my pay in a subscription paper, part
of which I never collected, and upon which I only received $50 00 in money. Wheat was hauled
100 miles from the interior, and sold for 37J cents per bushel.
Another old settler, speaking of a later period, 1843, says :
Land and everything had gone down in value to almost nominal prices. Corn and oate
could be bought for six or ten cents a bushel ; pork, $1 .00 per hundred ; and the best horse a
man could raise sold for $60.00. Nearly all were in debt, and the Sheriff and Constable, with
legal processes, were common visitors at almost every man's door. These were indeed ■' the times
that tried men's souls."
"A few," says Mr. Nourse, "who were not equal to the trial, returned to
their old homes, but such as had the courage and faith to be the worthy founders
of a great State remained, to more than realize the fruition of their hopes, and
ihe reward of their self-denial."
On Monday, December 6, 1841, the fourth Legislative Assembly met, at
the new capital, Iowa City, but the capitol building could not be used, and the
Legislature occupied a temporary frame house, that had been erected for that
purpose, during the session of 1841-2. At this session, the Superintendent of
Public Buildings (who, with the Territorial Agent, had^superseded the Commis-
sioners first appointed), estimated the expense of completing the building at
$33,330, and that rooms for the use of the Legislature could be completed for
$15,600.
During 1842, the Superintendent commenced obtaining stone from a new
quarry, about ten miles northeast of the city. This is now known as the '' Old
Capitol Quarry," and contains, it is thought, an immense quantity of excellent
building stone. Here all the stone for completing the building was obtained,
and it was so far completed, that on the 5th day of December, 1842, the Legis-
lature assembled in the new capitol. At this session, the Superintendent esti-
mated that it would cost • $39,143 to finish >the building. This was nearly
$6,000 higher than the estimate of the previous year, notwithstanding a large
sum had been expended in the meantime. This rather discouraging discrep-
ancy was accounted for by the fact that the oflScers in charge of the work were
constantly short of funds. Except the congressional appropriation of $20,000
and the loan of $5,500, obtained from the Miners' Bank, of Dubuque, all the
funds for the prosecution of the work were derived from the sale of the city
lots (which did not sell very rapidly), from certificates of indebtedness, and from
scrip, based upon unsold lots, which was to be received in payment for such lote
when they were sold. At one time, the Superintendent made a requisition for
bills of iron and glass, which could not be obtained nearer than St. Louis. To
meet this, the Agent sold some lots for a draft, payable at Pittsburgh, Pa., for
which he was compelled to pay twenty-five per cent, exchange. This drafl;,
amounting to $507, that officer reported to be more than one-half the cash
actually handled by him during the entire season, when the disbursements
amounted to very nearly $24,000.
With such uncertainty, it could not be expected that estimates could be very
accurate. With all these disadvantages, however, the work appears to have
been prudently prosecuted, and as rapidly as circumstances would permit.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 181
Iowa remained a Territory from 1838 to 1846, during which the office of
Governor was held by Robert Lucas, John Chambers and James Clarke.
STATE ORGANIZATION.
By an act of the Territorial Legislature of Iowa, approved February 12,
1844, the question of the formation of a State Constitution and providing for
the election of Delegates to a convention to be convened for that purpose was
submitted to the people, to be voted upon at their township elections in April
following. The vote was largely in favor of the measure, and the Delegates
elected assembled in convention at Iowa City, on the 7th of October, 1844.
On the first day of November following, the convention completed its work and
adopted the first State Constitution.
The President of the convention, Hon. Shepherd Leffler, was instructed to
transmit a certified copy of this Constitution to the Delegate in Congress, to be
by him submitted to that body at the earliest practicable day. It was also pro-
vided that it should be submitted, together with any conditions or changes that
might be made by Congress, to the people of the Territory, for their approval
or rejection, at the township election in April, 1845.
The boundaries of the State, as defined by this Constitution, were as fol-
lows:
Beginning in the middle of the channel of the Mississippi River, opposite mouth of the
Des Moines River, thence up the said river Des Moines, in the middle of the main channel
thereof, to a point where it is intersected by the Old Indian Boundary line, or line run by John
</. Sullivan, in the year 1816 ; thence westwardly along said line to the " old " northwest corner
of Missouri ; thence due west to the middle of the main channel of the Missouri River ; thence
up in the middle of the main channel of the river last mentioned to the mouth of the Sioux or
Calumet River ; thence in a direct line to the middle of the main channel of the St. Peters River,
where the Watonwan River — according to Nicollet's map — enters the same-; thence down the
middle of the main channel of said river to the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi
River ; thence down the middle of the main channel of said river to the place of beginning.
These boundaries were rejected by Congress, but by act approved March 3,
1845, a State called Iowa was admitted into the Union, provided the people
accepted the act, bounded as follows :
Beginning at the mouth of the Des Moines River, at the middle of the Mississippi, thence
by the middle of the channel of that river to a parallel of latitude passing through the mouth of
the Mankato or Blue Earth River ; thence west, along Said parallel of latitude, to a point where
it is intersected by a meridian line seventeen degrees and thirty minutes west of the meridian
•of Washington City ; thence due south, to the northern boundary line of the State of Missouri ;
thence eastwardly, following that boundary to the point at which the same intersects the Des
Moines River ; tlienee by the middle of the channel of that river to the place of beginning.
These boundaries, had they been accepted, would have placed the northern
boundary of the State about thirty miles north of its present location, and would
have deprived it of the Missouri slope and the boundary of that river. The
western boundary would have been near the west line of what is now Kossuth
County. But it was not so to be. In consequence of this radical and unwel-
come change in the boundaries, the people refused to accept the act of Congress
and rejected the Constitution at the election, held August 4, 1845, by a vote of
7,656,to 7,2.35.
A second Constitutional Convention assembled at Iowa City on the 4th day
of May, 1846, and on the 18th of the same month another Constitution for the
new State with the present boundaries, was adopted and submitted to the people
for ratification on the 3d day of August following, when it was accepted ; 9,492
votes were cast "for the Constitution," and 9,036 "against the Constitution."
182 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
The Constitution was approved by Congress, and by act of Congress approved
December 28, 1846, Iowa was admitted as a sovereign State in the American
Union.
Prior to this action of Congress, however, the people of the new State held
an election under the new Constitution on the 26th day of October, and elected
Oresel Briggs, Governor ; Elisha Cutler, Jr., Secretary of State ; Joseph T.
Fales, Auditor ; Morgan Reno, Treasurer ; and members of the Senate and
House of Representatives.
At this time there were twenty-seven organized counties in the State, with
a population of nearly 100,000, and the frontier settlements were rapidly push-
ing toward the Missouri River. The Mormons had already reached there.
The first General Assembly of the State of Iowa was composed of nineteen
Senators and forty Representatives. It assembled at Iowa City, November 30,
1846, about a month before, the State was admitted into the Union.
At the first session of the State Legislature, the Treasurer of State reported
that the capitol building was in a very exposed condition, liable to injury from
storms, and expressed the hope that some provision would be made to complete
it, at least sufiiciently to protect it from the weather. The General Assembly
responded by appropriating $2,500 for the completion of the public buildings.
At the first session also arose the question of the re-location of the capital. The
western boundary of the State, as now determined, left Iowa City too far toward
the eastern and southern boundary of the State ; this was conceded. Congress
had appropriated five sections of land for the erection of public buildings, and
toward the close of the session a bill was introduced providing for the re-location
of the seat of government, involving to some extent the location of the State
University, which had already been discussed. This bill gave rise to a deal of
discussion and parliamentary maneuvering, almost purely sectional in its character.
It provided for the appointment of three Commissioners, who were authorized to
make a location- as near the geographical center of the State as a healthy and
eligible site could be obtained ; to select the five sections of land donated by
Congress ; to survey and plat into town lots not exceeding one section of the
land so selected ; to sell lots at public sale, not to exceed two in each block.
Having done this, they were then required to suspend further operations, and
make a report of their proceedings to the Governor. The bill passed both
Houses by decisive votes, received the signature of the Governor, and became a
law. Soon after, by "An act to locate and establish a State University,"
approved February 25, 1847, the unfinished public buildings at Iowa City,
together with the ten acres of land on which they were situated, were granted
for the use of the University, reserving their use, however, by the General
Assembly and the State officers, until other provisions were made by law.
The Commissioners forthwith entered upon their duties, and selected four
sections and two half sections in Jasper County. Two of these sections are m
what is now Des Moines Township, and the others in Fairview Township, in the
southern part of that county. These lands are situated between Prairie City
and Monroe, on the Keokuk & Des Moines Railroad, which runs diagonally
through them. Here a town was platted, called Monroe City, and a sale of
lots took place. Four hundred and fifteen lots were sold, at prices that were
not considered remarkably remunerative. The cash payments (one-fourth)
amounted to |1, 797.43, while the expenses of the sale and the claims of the
Commissioners for services amounted to $2,206.57. The Commissioners made
a report of their proceedings to the Governor, as required by law, but the locar
tion was generally condemned.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA. 183
When the report of the Commissioners, showing this brilliant financial ope-
ration, had been read in the House of Representatives, at the next session, and
•while it was under consideration, an indignant member, afterward known as
the eccentric Judge McFarland, moved to refer the report to a select Committee
of Five, with instructions to report " how much of said city of Monroe was under
water and how much was burned." The report was referred, without the
instructions, however, but Monroe City never became the seat of government.
By an act approved January 15, 1849, the law by which the location had been
made was repealed and the new town was vacated, the money paid by purchas-
ers of lots being refunded to them. This, of course, retained the seat of govern-
ment at Iowa City, and precluded, for the time, the occupation of the building
and grounds by the University.
At the same session, $3,000 more were appropriated for completing the
State building at Iowa City. In 1852, the further sum of $6,000, and in 1854
$4,000 more were apppropriated for the same purpose, making the whole cost
$123,000, paid partly by the General Government and partly by the State, but
principally from the proceeds of the sale of lots in Iowa City.
But the question of the permanent location of the seat of government was
not settled, and in 1851 bills were introduced for the removal of the capital to
Pella and to Fort Des Moines. The latter appeared to have the support of the
majority, but was finally lost in the House on the question of ordering it to its
third reading.
At the next session, in 1853, a bill was introduced in the Senate for the
removal of the seat of government to Fort Des Moines, and, on final vote,
was just barely defeated. At the next session, however, the effort was more
successful, and on the 15th day of January, 1855, a bill re-locating the capital
within two miles of the Raccoon Fork of the Des Moines, and for the appoint-
ment of Commissioners, was approved by Gov. Grimes. The site was selected
in 1856, in accordance with the provisions of this act, the land being donated
to the State by citizens and property-holders of Des Moines. An association of
citizens erected a building for a temporary capitol, and leased it to the State at
a nominal rent.
The third Constitutional Convention to revise the Constitution of the State
assembled at Iowa City, January 19, 1857. The new Constitution framed by
this convention was submitted to the people at an election held August 8, 1857,
when it was approved and adopted by a vote of 40,311 " for " to 38,681
" against," and on the 3d day of September following was declared by a procla-
mation of the Governor to be the supreme law of the State of Iowa.
Advised of the completion of the temporary State House at Des Moines, on
the 19th of October following. Governor Grimes issued another proclamation,
declaring the City of Des Moines to be the capital of the State of Iowa.
The removal of the archives and offices was commenced at once and con-
tinued through the Fall. It was an undertaking of no small magnitude ; there
was not a mile of railroad to facilitate the work, and the season was unusually
disagreeable. Rain, snow and other accompaniments increased the difficulties ;
and it was not until December, that the last of the effects — the safe of the State
Treasurer, loaded on two large " bob-sleds " — drawn by ten yoke of oxen was de-
posited in the new capital. It is not imprudent now to remark that, during this
passage over hills and prairies, across rivers, through bottom lands and timber,
the safes belonging to the several departments contained large sums of nioney,
mostly individual funds, however. Thus, Iowa City ceased to be the capital of
the State, after four Territorial Legislatures, six State Legislatures and three
184 t HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
Constitutional Conventions had held theii; sessions there. By the exchange,
the old capitol at Iowa City became the seat of the University, and, except the
rooms occupied by the United States District Court, passed under the immedi-
ate and direct control of the Trustees of that institution.
Des Moines was now the permanent seat of government, made so by the
fundamental law of the State, and on the 11th day of January, 1858, the
seventh General Assembly convened at the new capital. The building used
for governmental purposes was purchased in 1864. It soon became inadequate
for the purposes for which it was designed, and it became apparent that a new,
large and permanent State House must be erected. In 1870, the General
Assembly made an appropriation and provided for the appointment of a Board
of Commissioners to commence the work. The board consisted of Gov. Samuel
Merrill, ex officio. President ; Grenville M. Dodge, Council Bluffs ; James F.
Wilson, Fairfield; James Dawson, Washington; Simon G. Stein, Muscatine;
James 0. Crosby, Gainsville ; Charles Dudley, Agency City ; John N. Dewey,
Des Moines; William L. Joy, Sioux City ; Alexander R. Fulton, Des Moines,
Secretary.
The act of 1870 provided that the building should be constructed of the
best material and should be fire proof; to be heated and ventilated in the most
approved manner; should contain suitable legislative halls, rooms for State
officers, the judiciary, library, committees, archives and the collections of the
State Agricultural Society, and for all purpoees of State Government, and
should be erected on grounds held by the State for that purpose. The sum first
appropriated was $150,000 ; and the law provided that no contract should be
made, either for constructing or furnishing the building, which should bind the
State for larger sums than those at the time appropriated. A design was drawn
and plans and specifications furnished by Cochrane & Piquenard, architectsj
which were accepted by the board, and on the 23d of November, 1871, the cor-
ner stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies. The estimated cost and present
value of the capitol is fixed at $2,000,000.
From 1858 to 1860, the Sioux became troublesome in the northwestern
part of the State. These warlike Indians made frequent plundering raids upon
the settlers, and murdered several families. In 1861, several companies of
militia were ordered to that portion of the State to hunt down and punish the
murderous thieves. No battles were fought, however, for the Indians fled
when they ascertained that systematic and adequate measures had been adopted
to protect the settlers.
" The year 1856 marked a new era in the history of Iowa. In 1854, the
Chicago & Rock Island Railroad had been completed to the east bank of the
Mississippi River, opposite Davenport. In 1854, the corner stone of a railroad
bridge, that was to be the first to span the " Father of Waters," was laid with
appropriate ceremonies at this point. St. Louis had resolved that the enter-
prise was unconstitutional, and by writs of injunction made an unsuccessful
effort to prevent its completion. Twenty years later in her history, St. Louis
repented her folly, and made atonement for her sin by imitating our example.
On the 1st day of January, 1856, this railroad was completed to Iowa City.
In the meantime, two other railroads had reached the east bank of the Missis-
sippi— one opposite Burlington, and one opposite Dubuque — and these were
being extended into the interior of the State. Indeed, four lines of railroad
had been projected across the State from the Mississippi to the Missouri, hav-
ing eastern connections. On the 15th of May, 1856, the Congress of the
United States passed an act granting to the State, to aid in the construction of
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 185
railroads, the public lands in alternate sections, six miles on either side of the
proposed lines. An extra session of the General Assembly was called in July
of this year, that disposed of the grant to the several companies that proposed
to complete these enterprises. The population of our State at this time had
increased to 500,000. Public attention had been called to the necessity of a
railroad across the continent. The position of Iowa, in the very heart and
center of the Republic, on the route of this great highway across the continent,
began to attract attention. Cities and towns sprang up through the State as
if by magic. Capital begaa to pour into the State, and had it been employed
in developing our vast coal measures and establishing manufactories among us,
or if it had been expended in improving our lands, and building houses and
barns, it would have been well. But all were in haste to get rich, and the
spirit of speculation ruled the hour.
" In the meantime, every effort was made to help the speedy completion of
the railroads. Nearly every county and city on the Mississippi, and many in
the interior, voted large corporate subscriptions to the stock of the railroad
CQjnpanies, and issued their negotiable bonds for the amount." Thus enormous
county and city debts were incurred, the payment of which these municipalities
tried to avoid upon the plea that they had exceeded the constitutional limit-
ation of their powers. The Supreme Court of the United States held these
bonds to be valid ; and the courts by mandamus compelled the city and county
authorities to levy taxes to pay the judgments. These debts are not all paid
even yet, but the worst is over and ultimately the burden will be entirely
removed.
The first railroad across the State was completed to Council Bluffs in Jan-
uary, 1871. The others were completed soon after. In 1854, there was not
a mile of railroad in the State. In 1874, twenty years after, there were 3,765
miles in successful operation.
GROWTH AND PROGRESS.
When Wisconsin Territory was organized, in 1836, the entire population of
that portion of the Territory now embraced in the State of Iowa was 10,531.
The Territory then embraced two counties, Dubuque and Des Moines, erected
by the Territory of Michigan, in 1834. From 1836 to 1838, the Territorial
Legislature of Wisconsin increased the number of counties to sixteen, and the
population had increased to 22,859. Since then, the counties have increased
to ninety-nine, and the population, in 1875, was 1,366,000. The following
table will show the population at different periods since the erection of Iowa
Territory :
Tear. Population.
1852 230,713
1854 326,013
1856 519,055
1859 638,775
1860 674,913
1863 701,732
1865 754,699
1867 902,040
The most populous county in the State is Dubuque. Not only in popula,-
tion, but in everything contributing to the growth and greatness of a State has
Iowa made rapid progress. In a little more than thirty years, its wild but
beautiful prairies have advanced from the home of the savage to a highly civ-
ilized commonwealth, embracing all the elements of progress which characterize
the older States.
Year. Population.
1838 22,589
1840.. 43,116
1844 75,152
1846 97,588
1847 116,651
1849 152,988
1850 191,982
1851 204,774
Year. Population.
1869 1,040,819
1870 1,191,727
1873 1,251,333
1875 1,366,000
1876
1877
186 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
Thriving cities and towns dot its fair surface ; an iron net-work of thou-
sands of miles of railroads is woven over its broad acres ; ten thousand school
houses, in which more than five hundred thousand children are being taught
the rudiments of education, testify to the culture and liberality of the people;
high schools, colleges and universities are generously endowed by the State ;
manufactories spring up on all her water courses, and in most of her cities
and towns.
Whether measured from the date of her first settlement, her organization as
a Territory or admission as a State, Iowa has thus'far shown a growth unsur-
passed, in a similar period, by any commonwealth on the face of the earth ;
and, with her vast extent of fertile soil, with her inexhaustible treasures of
mineral wealth, with a healthful, invigorating climate ; an intelligent, liberty-
loving people ; with equal, just and liberal laws, and her free schools, the
future of Iowa may be expected to surpass the most hopeful anticipations of her
present citizens.
Looking upon Iowa as she is to-day — populous, prosperous and happy — ^it
is hard to realize the wonderful changes that have occurred since the first white
settlements were made within her borders. When the number of States was
only twenty-six, and their total population about twenty millions, our repub-
lican form of government was hardly more than an experiment, just fairly put
upon trial. The development of our agricultural resources and inexhaustible
mineral wealth had hardly commenced. Westward the " Star of Empire"
had scarcely started on its way. West of the great Mississippi was a mighty
empire, but almost unknown, and marked on the maps of the period as " The
Great American Desert."
Now, thirty-eight stars glitter on our national escutcheon, and forty-five
millions of people, who know their rights and dare maintain them, tread
American soil, and the grand sisterhood of States extends from the Gulf of
Mexico to the Canadian border, and from the rocky coast of the Atlantic to
the golden shores of the Pacific.
THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND FARM.
Ames, Story County.
The Iowa State Agricultural College and Farm were established by an act
of the~" General Assembly, approved March 22, 1858. A Board of Trustees was
appointed, consisting of Governor R. P. Lowe, John D. Wright, William Duane
Wilson, M. W. Robinson, Timothy Day, Richard Gaines, John Pattee, G. W.
F. Sherwin, Suel Foster, S. W. Henderson, Clement Coffin and E. G. Day ;
the Governors of the State and President of the College being ex officio mem-
bers. Subsequently the number of Trustees was reduced to five. The Board
met in June, 1859, and received propositions for the location of the College and
Farm from Hardin, Polk, Story and Boone, Marshall, Jefferson and Tama
Counties. In July, the proposition of Story County and some of its citizens
and by the citizens of Boone County was accepted, and the farm and the site
for the buildings were located. In 1860-61, the farm-house and barn were
erected. In 1862, Congress granted to the State 240,000 acres of land for the
endowment of schools of agriculture and the mechanical arts, and 195,000 acres
were located by Peter Melendy, Commissioner, in 1862-3. George W. Bassett
was appointed Land Agent for the institution. In 1864, the General Assem-
bly appropriated $20,000 for the erection of the college building.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 187
In June of that year, the Building Committee, consisting of Suel Foster,
Peter Melendy and A. J. Bronson, proceeded to let the contract. John Browne,
of Des Moines, was employed as architect, and furnished the plans of the build-
ing, but was superseded in its construction by C. A. Dunham. The $20,000
appropriated by the General Assembly were expended in putting in the foun-
dations and making the brick for the structure. An additional appropriation
of $91,000 was made in 1866, and the building was completed in 1868.
Tuition in this college is made by law forever free to pupils from the State
over sixteen years of age, who have been resident of the State six months pre-
vious to their admission. Bach county in the State has a prior right of tuition
for three scholars from each county ; the remainder, equal to the capacity of the
college, are by the Trustees distributed among the counties in proportion to the
population, and subject to the above rule. All sale of ardent spirits, wine or
heer are prohibited by law within a distance of three miles from the college,
«xcept for sacramental, mechanical or medical purposes.
The course of instruction in the Agricultural College embraces the following
branches : Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Botany, Horticulture, Fruit Growing,
Forestry, Animal and Vegetable Anatomy, Geology, Mineralogy, Meteorology,
Entomology, Zoology, the Veterinary Art, Plane Mensuration, Leveling, Sur-
veying, Bookkeeping, and such Mechanical Arts as are directly connected
with agriculture ; also such other studies as the Trustees may from time to time
prescribe, not inconsistent with the purposes of the institution.
The funds arising from the lease and sale of lands and interest on invest-
ments are sufficient for the support of the institution. Several College Societies
are maintained among the students, who publish a monthly paper. There is
a,lso an " out-law " called the '^ATA, Chapter Omega."
The Board of Trustees in 1877 was composed of C. W. Warden, Ottumwa,
Chairman; Hon. Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa City; William B. Treadway,
Sioux City ; Buel Sherman, Fredericksburg, and Laurel Summers, Le Claire.
E. W. Starten, Secretary ; William D. Lucas, Treasurer.
Board of Instruction. — A. S. Welch, LL. D., President and Professor of
Psychology and Philosophy of Science ; Gen. J. L. Geddes, Professor of Mili-
tary Tactics and Engineering; W. H. Wynn, A. M., Ph. D., Professor of
English Literature; C. B. Bessey, M. S., Professor of Botany, Zoology, Ento-
mology ; A. Thompson, C. B., Mechanical Engineering and Superintendent of
Workshops; F. E. L. Beal, B. S., Civil Engineering; T. B. Pope, A. M.,
Chemistry; M. Stalker, Agricultural and Veterinary Science; J. L. Budd,
Horticulture; J. K. Macomber, Physics; E. W. Stanton, Mathematics and
Political Economy; Mrs. Margaret P. Stanton, Preceptress, Instructor in
French and Mathematics.
THE STATE UNIVERSITY.
Iowa (My, Johnson County.
In the famous Ordinance of 1787, enacted by Congress before the Territory
of the United States extended beyond the Mississippi River, it was declared
that in all the territory northwest of the Ohio River, " Schools and the means
of education shall forever be encouraged." By act of Congress, approved July
20 1840 the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized " to set apart and re-
serve from sale, out of any of the public lands within the Territory of Iowa, to
which the Indian title has been or may be extinguished, and not otherwise ap-
propriated, a quantity of land, not exceeding the entire townships, for the use
188 HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA.
and support of a university within said Territorry when it becomes a State, and
for no other use or purpose whatever ; to be located in tracts of not less than an
entire section, corresponding with any of the large divisions into which the pub-
lic land are authorized to be' surveyed."
William W. Dodge, of Scott County, was appointed by the Secretary of the
Treasury to make the selections. He selected Section 6 in Township 78, north
of Range 3, east of the Fifth Principal Meridian, and then removed from the
Territory. No more lands were selected until 1846, when, at the request of the
Assembly, John M. Whitaker of Van Buren County, was appointed, who selected
the remainder of the grant except about 122 acres.
In the first Constitution, under which Iowa was admitted to the Union, the
people directed the disposition of the proceeds of this munificent grant in ac-
cordance with its terms, and instructed the General Assembly to provide, as soon
as may be, efiiectual means for the improvement and permanent security of the
funds of the university derived from the lands.
The first General Assembly, by act approved February 25, 1847, established
the " State University of Iowa " at Iowa City, then the capital of the State,
"with such other branches as public convenience may hereafter require."
The " public buildings at Iowa City, together with the ten acres of land in which
they are situated," were granted for the use of said university, provided, how-
ever, that the sessions of the Legislature and State offices should be held in the
capitol until otherwise provided by law. The control and management of the
University were committed to a board of fifteen Trustees, to be appointed by the
Legislature, five of whom were to be chosen bienially. The Superintendent
of Public Instruction was made President of this Board. Provisions were made
for the disposal of the two townships of land, and for the investment of the funds
arising therefrom. The act further provides that the University shall never be
under the exclusive control of any religious denomination whatever," and as
soon as the revenue for the grant and donations amounts to $2,000 a year, the
University should commence and continue the instruction, free of charge, of fifty
students annually. The General Assembly retained full supervision over the
University, its officers and the grants and donations made and to be made to it
by the State.
Section 5 of the act appointed James P. Carleton, H. D. Downey, Thomas
Snyder, Samuel McCrory, Curtis Bates, Silas Foster, E. C. Lyon, James H.
Gower, George G. Vincent, Wm. G. Woodward, Theodore S. Parvin, George
Atchinson, S. G. Matson, H. W. Starr and Ansel Briggs, the first Board of
Trustees.
The organization of the University at Iowa City was impracticable, how-
ever, so long as the seat of government was retained there.
In January, 1849, two branches of the University and three Normal
Schools were established. The branches were located — one at Fairfield, and
the other at Dubuque, and were placed upon an equal footing, in respect to
funds and all other matters, with the University established at Iowa City.
"This act," says Col. Benton, "created three State Universities, with equal
rights and powers, instead of a 'University with such branches as public conven-
ience mai/ hereafter demand,' as provided by the Constitution."
The Board of Directors of the Fairfield Branch consisted of Barnet Kis-
tine, Christian W. Slagle, Daniel Rider, Horace Gaylord, Bernhart Henn and
Samuel S. Bayard. At the first meeting of the Board, Mr. Henn was elected
President, Mr. Slagle Secretary, and Mr. Gaylord Treasurer. Twenty acres
of land were purchased, and a building erected thereon, costing |2,500.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 18&
This building was nearly destroyed by a hurricane, in 1850, but was rebuilt
more substantially, all by contributions of the citizens of Fairfield. This
branch never received any aid from the State or from the University Fund,
and by act approved January 24, 1853, at the request of the Board, the Gen-
eral Assembly terminated its relation to the State.
The branch at Dubuque was placed under the control of the Superintendent
of Public Instruction, and John King, Caleb H. Booth, James M. Emerson,
Michael J. Sullivan, Richard Benson and the Governor of the State as
Trustees. The Trustees never organized, and its existence was only nominal.
The Normal Schools were located at Andrew, Oskaloosa and Mount
Pleasant, respectively. Each was to be governed by a board of seven Trustees, to
be appointed by the Trustees of the University. Bach was to receive $500 annu-
ally from the income of the University Fund, upon condition that they should ed-
ucate eight common school teachers, free of charge for tuition, and that the citizens
should contribute an equal sum for the erection of the requisite buildings.
The several Boards of Trustees were appointed. At Andrew, the school was
organized Nov. 21, 1849; Samuel Ray, Principal; Miss J. S. Dorr, Assist-
ant. A building was commenced and over $1,000 expended on it, but it was
never completed. At Oskaloosa, the Trustees organized in April, 1852. This
school was opened in the Court House, September 13, 1852, under the charge
of Prof. G. M. Drake and wife. A two-story brick building was completed in
1853, costing $2,473. The school at Mount Pleasant was never organized.
Neither of these schools received any aid from the University Fund, but in
1857 the Legislature appropriated $1,000 each for those at Oskaloosa and
Andrew, and repealed the law authorizing the payment of money to them from
the University Fund. From that time they made no further effort to
continue in operation.
At a special meeting of the Board of Trustees, held February 21, 1850,
the " College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Upper Mississippi," established
at Davenport, was recognized as the " College of Physicians and Surgeons of
the State University of Iowa," expressly stipulating, however, that such recog-
nition should not render the University liable for any pecuniary aid, nor was
the Board to have any control over the property or management of the Medical
Association. Soon after, this College was removed to Keokuk, its second ses-
sion being opened there in November, 1850. In 1851, the General Assembly
confirmed the action of the Board, and by act approved January 22, 1855,
placed the Medical College under the supervision of the Board of Trustees of
the University, and it continued in operation until this arrangement was termi-
nated by the new Constitution, September 3, 1857.
From 1847 to 1855, the Board of Trustees was kept full by regular elec-
tions by the Legislature, and the Trustees held frequent meetings, but there was
no effectual organization of the University. In March, 1855, it was partially
opened for a term of sixteen weeks. July 16, 1855, Amos Dean, of Albany,
N. Y., was elected President, but he never entered fully upon its duties. The
University was again opened in September, 1855, and continued in operation
until June, 1856, under Professors Johnson, Welton, Van Valkenburg and
Guffin. ^ ,^ .
In the Spring of 1856, the capital of the State was located at Des Moines;
but there were no buildings there, and the capitol at Iowa City was not vacated
by the State until December, 1857.
In June, 1856, the faculty was re-organized, with some changes, and the
University was again opened on the third Wednesday of September, 1856.
190 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
There were one hundred and twenty-four students — eighty-three males and
forty-one females — in attendance during the year 1856-7, and the first regular
catalogue was published.
At a special meeting of the Board, September 22, 1857, the honorary de-
gree of Bachelor of Arts was conferreJ on D. Franklin Wells. This was the
first degree conferred by the Board.
Article IX, Section 41, of the new State Constitution, which went into force
September 3, 1857, provided as follows :
The State TJniversity shall be established at one place, without branches at any other place ;
and the University fund shall be applied to that institution, and no other.
Article XI, Section 8, provided that
The seat of Government is hereby permanently established, as novr fixed by law, at the city
•of Des Moines, in the county of Polk ; and the State University at Iowa City, in the county of
Johnson.
The new Constitution created the Board of Education, consisting of the
Lieutenant Governor, who was ex officio President, and one member to be elected
from each judicial district in the State. This Board was endowed with
" full power and authority to legislate and make all needful rules and regula-
tions in relation to common schools and other educational institutions," subject
to alteration, amendment or repeal by the General Assembly, which was vested
with authority to abolish or re-organize the Board at any time after 1863.
In December, 1857, the old capitol building, now known as Central Hall of
the University, except the rooms occupied by the United States District Court,
and the property, with that exception, passed under the control of the Trustees,
and became the seat of the University. The old building had had hard usage,
and its arrangement was illy adapted for University purposes. Extensive repairs
and changes were necessary, but the Board was without funds for these pur-
poses.
The last meeting of the Board, under the old law, was held in January,
1858. At this meeting, a resolution was introduced, and seriously considered,
to exclude females from the University ; but it finally failed.
March 12, 1858, the first Legislature under the new Constitution enacted
a new law in relation to the University, but it was not materially diiferent from
the former. March 11, 1858, the Legislature appropriated $3,000 for the re-
pair and modification of the old capitol building, and $10,000 for the erection
of a boarding house, now known as South Hall.
The Board of Trustees created by the new law met and duly organized
April 27, 1858, and determined to close the University until the income from its
fund should be adequate to meet the current expenses, and the buildings should
be ready for occupation. Until this term, the building known as the " Mechan-
ics' Academy" had been used for the school. The Faculty, except the Chan-
cellor (Dean), was dismissed, and all further instruction suspended, from the close
■of the term then in progress until September, 1859. At this meeting, a reso-
lution was adopted excluding females from the University after the close of the
existing term ; but this was afterward, in August, modified, so as to admit them
to the Normal Department.
At the meeting of the Board, August 4, 1858, the degree of Bachelor of
Science was conferred upon Dexter Edson Smith, being the first degree con-
erred upon a student of the University. Diplomas were awarded to the mem-
\ers, of the first graduating class of the Normal Department as follows : Levi
./- Aylworth, Cellina II. Aylworth, Elizabeth L. Humphrey, Annie A. Pinney
■and Sylvia M. Thompson.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 191
An "Act for the Government and Regulation of the State University of
Iowa," approved December 25, 1858, was mainly a re-enactment of the law of
March 12, 1858, except that changes were made in the Board of Trustees, and
manner of their appointment. This law provided that both sexes were to be
admitted on equal terms to all departments of the institution, leaving the Board
no discretion in the matter.
The new Board met and organized, February 2, 1859, and decided to con-
tinue the Normal Department'only to the end of the current term, and that it
was unwise to re-open the University at that time ; but at the annual meeting
of the Board, in June of the same year, it was resolved to continue the Normal
Department in operation ; and at a special meeting, October 25, 1859, it was
decided to re-open the University in September, 1860. Mr. Dean had resigned
as Chancellor prior to this meeting, and Silas Totten, D. D., LL. D., was elected
President, at a salary of $2,000, and his term commenced June, 1860.
At the annual meeting, June 28, 1860, a full Faculty was appointed, and
the University re-opened, under this new organization, September 19, 1860
(third Wednesday) ; and at this date the actual existence of the University may
be said to commence.
August 19, 1862, Dr. Totten having resigned. Prof. Oliver M. Spencer
was elected President and the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred
upon Judge Samuel F. Miller, of Keokuk.
At the commencement, in June, 1863, was the first class of graduates in
the Collegiate Department.
The Board of Education was abolished March 19, 1864, and the oflSce of
Superintendent of Public Instruction was restored ; the General Assembly
resumed control of the subject of education, and on March 21, an act was ap-
proved for the government of the University. It was substantially the same as
the former law, but provided that the Governor should be ex oflBcio President of
the Board of Trustees. Until 1858, the Superintendent of Public Instruction
had been ex officio President. During the period of the Board of Education,
the University Trustees were elected by it, and elected their own President.
President Spencer was granted leave of absence from April 10, 1866, for
fifteen months, to visit Europe; and Prof. Nathan R. Leonard was elected
President pro tern.
The North Hall was completed late in 1866.
At the annual meeting in June, 1867, the resignation of President Spencer
(absent in Europe) was accepted, and Prof Leonard continued as President juro-
tem., until March 4, 1868, when James Black, D. D., Vice President of Wash-
ington and Jefierson College, Penn., was elected President. Dr. Black entered
upon his duties in September, 1868.
The Law Department was established in June, 1868, and, in September fol-
lowing, an arrangement was perfected with the Iowa Law School, at Des Moines,
which had been in successful operation for three years, under the management
of Messrs. George G. Wright, Chester C. Cole and William G. Hammond, by
which that institution was transferred to Iowa City and merged in the Law De-
partment of the University. The Faculty of this department consisted of the-
President of the University, Hon. Wm. G. Hammond, Resident Professor and
Principal of the Department, and Professors G. G. Wright and C. C. Cole.
Nine students entered at the commencement of the first term, and during
the year ending June, 1877, there were 103 students in this department.
At a special meeting of the Board, on the 17th of September, 1868, a Com-
mittee was appointed to consider the expediency of establishing a Medical De-
192 • HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
partment. This Committee reported at once in favor of the proposition, the
Faculty to consist of the President of the University and seven Professors, and
recommended that, if practicable, the new department should be opened at the
commencement of the University year, in 1869-70. At this meeting, Hon.
Ezekiel Clark was elected Treasurer of the University.
By an act of the General Assembly, approved April 11, 1870, the " Board
of Regents " was instituted as the governing power of the University, and since
that time it has been the fundamental law of the institution. The Board of
Regents held its first meeting June 28, 1870. Wm. J. Haddock was elected
Secretary, and Mr. Clark, Treasurer.
Dr. Black tendered his resignation as President, at a special meeting of the
Board, held August 18, 1870, to take effect on the 1st of December following.
His resignation was accepted.
The South Hall having been fitted up for the purpose, the first term of the
Medical Department was opened October 24, 1870, and continued until March,
1871, at which time there were three graduates and thirty-nine students.
March 1, 1871, Rev. George Thacher was elected President of the Univer-
sity. Mr. Thacher accepted, entered upon his duties April 1st, and was form-
ally inaugurated at the annual meeting in June, 1861.
In June, 1874, the " Chair of Military Instruction " was established, and
the President of the United States was requested to detail an officer to perform
its duties. In compliance with this request, Lieut. A. D. Schenck, Second Artil-
lery, U. S. A., was detailed as "Professor of Military Science and Tactics,"
at Iowa State University, by order of the War Department, August 26, 1874,
who reported for duty on the 10th of September following. Lieut. Schenck
was relieved by Lieut. James Chester, Third Artillery, January 1, 1877.
Treasurer Clark resigned November 3, 1875, and John N. Coldren elected
in his stead.
At the annual meeting, in 1876, a Department of Homoeopathy was
established.
In March, 1877, a resolution was adopted affiliating the High Schools of
the State with the University.
In June, 1877, Dr. Thacher's connection with the University was termi-
nated, and C. W. Slagle, a member of the Board of Regents, was elected Pres-
ident.
In 1872, the ex officio membership of the Superintendent of Public Instruc-
tion was abolished ; but it was restored in 1876. Following is a catalogue of
the officers of this important institution, from 1847 to 1878 :
TRUSTEES OR REGENTS.
PKESIDENTS.
FROM TO
James Harlan, Superintendent PuMio Instruction, ex officio 1847 1848
Thomas H. Benton, Jr,, Superintendent Public Instruction, ex officio 1848 1854
James D. Eads, Superintendent Public Instruction, ex officio 1854 1857
Maturin L. Fisher, Superintendent Public Instruction, ex officio 1857 1858
Amos Dean, Chancellor, ex officio 1858 1859
Thomas H. Benton, Jr , 1869 1863
Francis Springer 1863 1864
William M. Stone, Governor, ex officio 1864 1868
Samuel Merrill, Governor, ex officio 1868 1872
Cyrus C. Carpenter, Governor, ex officio 1872 1876
Samuel J. Kirkwood, Governor, ex officio 1S76 1877
Joshua G. Newbold, Governor, ex officio 1877 1878
John H. Gear 1878
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA. 193
VICE PRESIDENTS. FROM TO
Silas Foster 1847 1S51
Robert Lucas 1851 1853
Edward Connelly 1854 1855
Moses J. Morsmau 1855 1858
SECRETARIES. '
Hugh D. Downey 1847 1851
Anson Hart 1851 1857
Elijah Sells , 1857 • 1858
Anson Hart 1858 1864
William J. Haddock 1864
TREASURERS.
Morgan Reno, State Treasurer, ex officio 1847 1850
Israel Kister, State Treasurer, ex officio 1850 1852
Martin L. Morris, State Treasurer, ex officio 1852 1855
Henry W. Lathrop 1855 1862
William Crum 1862 1868
Ezekiel Clark 1868 1876
John N. Coldren 1876
PRESIDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITT. «
Amos Dean, LL. D 1855 1858
Silas Totten, D. D., LL. D 1860 1862
Oliver M. Spencer, D. D.* 1862 1867
James Black, D. D 1868 1870
George Thacher, D. D 1871 1877
C. W. Slagle , 1877
The present educational corps of the University consists of the President,
nine Professors in the Collegiate Department, one Professor and six Instructors
in Military Science ; Chancellor, three Professors and four Lecturers in the
Law Department ; eight Professor Demonstrators of Anatomy ; Prosector of
Surgery and two Lecturers in the Medical Department, and two Professors in
the Homoeopathic Medical Department.
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
By act of the General Assembly, approved January 28, 1857, a State His-
torical Society was provided for in connection with the University. At the
commencement, an appropriation of $250 was made, to be expended in collecting,
embodying, and preserving in an authentic form a library of books, pamphlets,
charts, maps, manuscripts, papers, paintings, statuary, and other materials illus-
trative of the history of Iowa; and with the further object to rescue from
oblivion the memory of the early pioneers; to obtain and preserve various
accounts of their exploits, perils and hardy adventures ; to secure fa,cts and
statements relative to the history and genius, and progress and decay of the
Indian tribes of Iowa; to exhibit faithfully the antiquities and past and present
resources of the State ; to aid in the publication of such collections of the Society
as shall from time to time be deemed of value and interest ; to aid in binding
its books, pamphlets, manuscripts and papers, and in defraying other necessary
incidental expenses of the Society.
There was appropriated by law to this institution, till the General Assembly
shall otherwise direct, the sum of $500 per annum. The Society is under the
management of a Board of Curators, consisting of eighteen persons, nine of
whom are appointed by the Governor, and nine elected by the members of the.
Society, The Curators receive no compensation for their services. The annual
194 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
meeting is provided for by law, to be held at Iowa City on Monday preceding
the last Wednesday in June of each year.
The State Historical Society has published a series of very valuable collec-
tions, including history, biography, sketches, reminiscences, etc., with quite a
large number of finely engraved portraits of prominent and early settlers, under
the title of " Annals of Iowa."
THE PENITENTIARY.
Located at Fort Madison, Lee County.
The first act of the Territorial Legislature, relating to a Penitentiary in
Iowa, was approved January 25, 1839, the fifth section of which authorized the
Governor to draw the sum of $20,000 appropriated by an act of Congress ap-
proved July 7, 1838, for public buildings in the Territory of Iowa. It provided'
for a Board of Directors of three persons elected by the Legislature, who should
direct the building of the Penitentiary, which should be located within one mile
of the public square, in the town of Fort Madison, Lee County, provided Port
Madison should deed»to the directors a tract of land suitable for a site, and assign
them, by contract, a spring or stream of water for the use of the Penitentiary.
To the Directors was also given the power of appointing the Warden ; the latter
to appoint his own assistants.
The first Directors appointed were John S. David and John Claypole. They
made their first report to the Legislative Council November 9, 1839. The citi-
zens of the town of Fort Madison had executed a deed conveying ten acres of
land for the building site. Amos Ladd was appointed Superintendent of the
building June 5, 1839. The building was designed of sufficient capacity to con-
tain one hundred and thirty-eight convicts, and estimated to cost $55,933.90.
It was begun on the 9th of July, 1839 ; the main building and Warden's house
were completed in the Fall of 1841. Other additions were made from time to
time till the building and arrangements were all complete according to the plan
of the Directors. It has answered the purpose of the State as a Penitentiary
for more than thirty years, and during that period many items of practical ex-
perience in prison management have been gained.
It has long been a problem how to conduct prisons, and deal with what are
called the criminal classes generally, so as to secure their best good and best
subserve the interests of the State. Both objects must be taken into considerar
tion in any humaritarian view of the subject. This problem is not yet solved,
but Iowa has adopted the progressive and enlightened policy of humane treat-
ment of prisoners and the utilization of their labor for their own support. The
labor of the convicts in the Iowa Penitentiary, as in most others in the United
States, is let out to contractors, who pay the State a certain stipulated amount
therefor, the State furnishing the shops, tools and machinery, as well as the
supervision necessary to preserve order and discipline in the prison.
While this is an improvement upon the old solitary confinement system, it
still falls short of an enlightened reformatory system that in the future will
treat the criminal for mental disease and endeavor to restore him to usefulness
in the community. The objections urged against the contract system of dis-
posing of the labor of prisoners, that it brings the labor of honest citizens into
competition with convict labor at reduced prices, and is disEidvantageous to the
State, are not without force, and the system will have no place in the prisons of
the future.
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA. 195
It is right that the convict siiould labor. He should not be allowed to live
in idleness at public expense. Honest men labor ; why should not they? Hon-
est men are entitled to the fruits of their toil ; why should not the convict as
well ? The convict is sent to the Penitentiary to secure public safety. The
State deprives him of his liberty to accomplish this purpose and to punish him
for violations of law, but, having done this, the State wrongs both itself and the
criminal by confiscating his earnings ; because it deprives his family of what
justly belongs to them, and an enlightened civilization will ere long demand
that the prisoner in the penitentiary, after paying a fair price for his board, is
as justly entitled to his net earnings as the good citizen outside its walls, and
his family, if he has one, should be entitled to draw his earnings or stated portion
of them at stated periods. If he has no family, then if his net earnings should
be set aside to his credit and paid over to him at the expiration of his term of
imprisonment, he would not be turned out upon the cold charities of a somewhat
Pharisaical world, penniless, with the brand of the convict upon his brow, with
no resource save to sink still deeper in crime. Let Iowa, " The Beautiful Land,"
be first to recognize the rights of its convicts to the fruits of their labor ; keep
their children from the alms-house, and place a powerful incentive before them
to become good citizens when they return to the busy world again.
ADDITIONAL PENITENTIARY.
Located at Anamosa, Jones County.
By an act of the Fourteenth General Assembly, approved April 23, 1872,
William Ure, Foster L. Downing and Martin Heisey were constituted Commis-
sioners to locate and provide for the erection and control of an additional
Penitentiary for the State of Iowa. These Commissioners met on the 4th of
the following June, at Anamosa, Jones County, and selected a site donated by
the citizens, within the limits of the city. L. W. Foster & Co., architects, of
Des Moines, furnished the plan, drawings and specifications, and work was
commenced on the building on the 28th day of September, 1872. May 13,
1873, twenty convicts were transferred to Anamosa from the Fort Madison
Penitentiary. The entire enclosure includes fifteen acres, with a frontage of
668 feet.
IOWA HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE.
Mount Pleasant, Henry County.
By an act of the General Assembly of Iowa, approved January 24, 1855,
?4,425 were appropriated for the purchase of a site, and $50,000 for building
an Insane Hospital, and the Governor (Grimes), Edward Johnston, of Lee
County, and Charles S. Blake, of Henry County, were appointed to locate the
institution and superintend the erection of the building. These Commission-
ers located the institution at Mt. Pleasant, Henry County. A plan for a
building designed to accommodate 300 patients, drawn by Dr. Bell, of Massa-
chusetts, was accepted, and in October work was commenced under the superin-
tendence of Mr. Henry Winslow. Up to February 25, 1858, and including an
appropriation made on that date, the Legislature had appropriated $258,555.67
to this institution, but the building was not finished ready for occupancy by
patients until March 1, 1861. The Trustees were Maturin L. Fisher, Presi-
dent, Farmersburg; Samuel McFarland, Secretary, Mt. Pleasant; D. L.
N
196 HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA.
McGugin, Keokuk; G. W. Kincaid, Muscatine; J. D. Elbert, Keosauqua;
John B. Lash and Harpin Riggs, Mt. Pleasant. Richard J. Patterson, M. D.,
of Ohio, was elected Superintendent; Dwight 0. Dewey, M. D., Assistant
Physician; Henry Winslow, Steward; Mrs. Catharine Winslow, Matron.
The Hospital was formally opened March 6, 1861, and one hundred patients
were admitted within three months. About 1865, Dr. Mark Ranney became
Superintendent. April 18, 1876, a portion of the hospital building was
destroyed by fire. From the opening of the Hospital to the close of October,
1877, 3,584 patients had been admitted. Of these, 1,141 were discharged'
recovered, 505 discharged improved, 589 discharged unimproved, and 1 died;
total discharged, 2,976, leaving 608 inmates. During this period, there were
1,384 females admitted, whose occupation was registered "domestic duties;"
122, no occupation; 25, female teachers; 11, seamstresses; and 25, servants.
Among the males were 916 farmers, 394 laborers, 205 without occupation, 39
cabinet makers, 23 brewers, 31 clerks, 26 merchants, 12 preachers, 18 shoe-
makers, 13 students, 14 tailors, 13 teachers, 14 agents, 17 masons^ 7 lawyers,
7 physicians, 4 saloon keepers, 3 salesmen, 2 artists, and 1 editor. The pro-
ducts of the farm and garden, in 1876, amounted to $13,721.26.
Trustees, 1877 :—'l. Whiting, President, Mt. Pleasant; Mrs. E. M. Elliott,
Secretary, Mt. Pleasant; William C. Evans, West Liberty;' L. E. Fellows,
Lansing ; and Samuel Klein, Keokuk ; Treasurer, M. Edwards, Mt. Pleasant.
Resident Officers: — Mark Ranney, M. D., Medical Superintendent; H. M.
Bassett, M. D., First Assistant Physician; M- Riordan, M. D., Second Assistant
Physician; Jennie McCowen, M. D., Third Assistant Physician ; J. W. Hender-
son, Steward ; Mrs. Martha W. Ranney, Matron ; Rev. Milton Sutton,
Chaplain.
HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE.
Independence, Buchanan County.
In the Winter of 1867-8, a bill providing for an additional Hospital for the
Insane was passed by the Legislature, and an appropriation of $125,000 was
made for that purpose. Maturin L. Fisher, of Clayton County ; E. G. Morgan,
of Webster County, and Albert Clark, of Buchanan County, were appointed
Commissioners to locate and supervise the erection of the Building. Mr. Clark
died about a year after his appointment, and Hon. G. W. Bemis, of Indepen-
dence, was appointed to fill the vacancy.
The Commissioners met and commenced their labors on the 8th day of
June, 1868, at Independence. The act under which they were appointed
required them to select the most eligible and desirable location, of not less than
320 acres, within two miles of the city of Independence, that might be offered
by the citizens free of charge to the State. Several such tracts were offered,
but the Commissioners finally selected the south half of southwest quarter of
Section 5 ; the north half of northeast quarter of Section 7 ; the north half of
northwest quarter of Section 8, and the north half of northeast quarter of Sec-
tion 8, all in Township 88 north, Range 9 west of the Fifth Principal Meridia,n.
This location is on the west side of the Wapsipinicon River, and about a mile
from its banks, and about the same distance from Independence.
Col. S. V. Shipman, of Madison, Wis., was employed to prepare plans,,
specifications and drawings of the building, which, when completed, were sub-
mitted to Dr. M. Ranney, Superintendent of the Hospital at Mount Pleasant,
who suggested several improvements. The contract for erecting the building
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA. 197
was awarded to Mr. David Armstrong, of Dubuque, for $88,114. The con-
tract was signed November 7, 1868, and Mr. Armstrong at once commenced
work. Mr. George Josselyn was appointed to superintend the work. The
main buildings were constructed of dressed limestone, from the quarries at
Anamosa and Farley. The basements are of the local granite worked from the
immense boulders found in large quantities in this portion of the State.
In 1872, the building was so far completed that the Commissioners called
the first meeting of the Trustees, on the 10th day of July of that year. These
Trustees were Maturin L. Fisher, Mrs. P. A. Appleman, T. W. Fawcett, C.
C. Parker, E. G. Morgan, George W. Bemis and John M. Boggs. This board
was organized, on the day above mentioned, by the election of Hon. M. L.
Fisher, President ; Rev. J. G. Boggs, Secretary, and George W. Bemis, Treas-
urer, and, after adopting preliminary measures for organizing the local govern-
ment of the hospital, adjourned to the first Wednesday of the following Septem-
ber. A few days before this meeting, Mr. Boggs died of malignant fever,
and Dr. John G. House was appointed to fill the vacancy. Dr. House was
elected Secretary. At this meeting, Albert Reynolds, M. D., was elected
Superintendent; George Josselyn, Steward, and Mrs. Anna B. Josselyn,
Matron. September 4, 1873, Dr. Willis Butterfield was elected Assistant
Physician. The building was ready for occupancy April 21, 1873.
In the Spring of 1876, a contract was made with Messrs. Mackay & Lundy,
of Independence, for furnishing materials for building the outside walls of the
two first sections of the south wing, next to the center building, for $6,250.
The carpenter work on the fourth and fifth stories of the center building was
completed during the same year, and the wards were furnished and occupied by
patients in the Fall.
In 1877, the south wing was built, but it will not be completed ready for
occupancy until next Spring or Summer (1878).
October 1, 1877, the Superintendent reported 322 patients in this hospital,
and it is now overcrowded.
The Board of Trustees at present (1878) are as follows: Maturin L.
Fisher, President, Farmersburg ; John G. House, M. D., Secretary, Indepen-
dence ; Wm. G. Donnan, Treasurer, Independence ; Erastus G. Morgan, Fort
Dodge ; Mrs. Prudence A. Appleman, Clermont ; and Stephen E. Robinson,
M. D., West Union.
RESIDENT OFFICERS.
Albert Reynolds, M. D., Superintendent ; G. H. Hill, M. D., Assistant
Physician; Noyes Appleman, Steward; Mrs. Lucy M. Gray, Matron.
^i IOWA COLLEGE FOR THE BLIND.
Vinton, Benton County.
In August, 1852, Prof. Samuel Bacon, himself blind, established an Insti-
tution for the Instruction of the Blind of Iowa, at Keokuk.
By act of the General Assembly, entitled " An act to establish an Asylum
for the Blind," approved January 18, 1853, the institution was adopted by the
State, removed to Iowa City, February 3d, and opened for the reception of pupils
April 4, 1853, free to all the blind in the State.
The first Board of Trustees were James D. Eads, President ; George W.
McClary, Secretary ; James H. Gower, Treasurer ; Martin L. Morris, Stephen
Hempstead, Morgan Reno and John McCaddon. The Board appointed Prof.
198 HISTOBT OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
Samuel Bacon, Principal ; T. J. McGittigen, Teacher of Music, and Mrs. Sarah
K. Bacon, Matron. Twenty-three pupils were admitted during the first term.
In his first report, made in 1854, Prof. Bacon suggested that the name
should be changed from "Asylum for the Blind," to that of " Institution for
the Instruction of the Blind." This was done in 1855, when the General As-
sembly made an annual appropriation for the College of $55 per quarter for
each pupil. This was subsequently changed to $3,000 per annum, and a charge
of $25 as an admission fee for each pupil, which sum, with the amounts realized
from the sale of articles manufactured by the blind pupils, proved sufficient for
the expenses of the institution during Mr. Bacon's administration. Although
Mr. Bacon was blind, he was a fine scholar and an economical manager, and
had founded the Blind Asylum at Jacksonville, Illinois. As a mathematician
he had few superiors.
On the 8th of May, 1858, the Trustees met at Vinton, and made arrange-
ments for securing the donation of $5,000 made by the citizens of that town.
In June of that year, a quarter section of land was donated for the College,
by John W. 0. Webb and others, and the Trustees adopted a plan for the
erection of a suitable building. In 1860, the plan was modified, and the con-
tract for enclosing let to Messrs. Finkbine & Lovelace, for $10,420.
In August, 1862, the building was so far completed that the goods and fur-
niture of the institution were removed from Iowa City to Vinton, and early in
October, the school was opened there with twenty-four pupils. At this time,
Rev. Orlando Clark was Principal.
In August, 1864, a new Board of Trustees were appointed by the Legislar
ture, consisting of James McQuin, President; Reed Wilkinson, Secretary; Jas,
Chapin, Treasurer ; Robert Gilchrist, Elijah Sells and Joseph Dysart, organized
and made important changes. Rev; Reed Wilkinson succeeded Mr. Clark as
Principal. Mrs. L. S. B. Wilkinson and Miss Amelia Butler were appointed
Assistant Teachers ; Mrs. N. A. Morton, Matron.
Mr. Wilkinson resigned in June, 1867, and Gen. James L. Geddes was
appointed in his place. In September, 1869, Mr. Geddes retired, and wm
succeeded by Prof S. A.Knapp. Mrs. S. C. Lawton was appointed Matron,
and was succeeded by Mrs. M. A. Knapp. Prof. Knapp resigned July 1,
1875, and Prof. Orlando Clark was elected Principal, who died April 2,
1876, and was succeeded by John B. Parmalee, who retired in July, 18T7,
when the present incumbent, Rev. Robert Carothers, was elected.
Trustees, 1877-8. — Jeremiah L. Gay, President ; S. H. Watson, Treasurer;
H. C. Piatt, Jacob Springer, C. L. Flint and P. F. Sturgis.
J?(2CM%.— Principal, Rev. Robert Carothers, A. M. ; Matron, Mrs.Emeline
E. Carothers; Teachers, Thomas F. McCune, A. B., Miss Grace A. Hill,
Mrs. C. A. Spencer, Miss Mary Baker, Miss C. R. Miller, Miss Lorana Mat-
tice. Miss A. M. McCutcheon ; Musical Director, S. 0. Spencer.
The Legislative Committee who visited this institution in 1878 expressed
their astonishment at the vast expenditure of money in proportion to the needs
of the State. The structure is well built, and the money properly expended;
yet it was enormously beyond the necessities of the State, and shows an utter
disregard of the fitness of things. The Committee could not understand why
$282,000 should have been expended for a massive building covering about two
and a half acres for the accommodation of 130 people, costing over eight thou-
sand dollars a year to heat it, and costing the State about five hundred dolto
a year for each pupil.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 199
INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB.
Council Bluffs, Pottawattomie County.
The Iowa Institution for the Deaf and Dumb was established at Iowa City
by an act of the Greneral Assembly, approved January 24, 1855. The number
of deaf mutes then in the State was 301 ; the number attending the Institution,
50. The first Board of Trustees were: Hon. Samuel J. Kirkwood, Hon. E.
Sells, W. Penn Clarke, J. P. Wood, H. D. Downey, William Crura, W. E.
Ijams, Principal. On the resignation of Mr. Ijams, in 1862, the Board
appointed in his stead Mr. Benjamin Talbot, for nine years a teacher in the
Ohio Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. Mr. Talbot was ardently devoted to
the interests of the institiftion and a faithful worker for the unfortunate class
under his charge.
A strong effort was made, in 1866, to remove this important institution to
Des Moines, but it was located permanently at Council Bluffs, and a building
rented for its use. In 1868, Commissioners were appointed to locate a site for,
and to superintend the erection of, a new building, for which the Legislature
appropriated $125,000 to commence the work of construction. The Commis-
sioners selected ninety acres of land about two miles south of the city of Coun-
cil Bluffs. The main building and one wing were completed October 1, 1870,
and immediately occupied by the Institution. February 25, 1877, the main
building and east wing were destroyed by fire ; and August 6 following, the
roof of the new west wing was blown off and the walls partially demolished by
a tornado. At the time of the fire, about one hundred and fifty pupils were in
attendance. After the fire, half the classes were dismissed and the number of
scholars reduced to about seventy, and in a week or two the school was in run-
ning order. '
The Legislative Committee which visited this Institution in the Winter of
1857-8 was not well pleased with the condition of affairs, and reported that the
building (west wing) was a disgrace to the State and a monument of unskillful
workmanship, and intimated rather strongly that some reforms in management
were very essential.
Trustees, 1877-8. — Thomas Officer, President ; N. P. Dodge, Treasurer ;
Paul Lange, William Orr, J. W. Cattell.
Superintendent, Benjamin Talbot, M. A. Teachers, Edwin Southwiek,
Conrad S. Zorbaugh, John A. Gillespie, John A. Kennedy, Ellen J. Israel,
Ella J. Brown, Mrs. H. R. Gillespie ; Physician, H. W. Hart, M. D. ; Steward,
N. A. Taylor; Matron, Mary B. Swan.
SOLDIERS' ORPHANS' HOMES.
Davenport, Cedar Falls, Glenwood.
The movement which culminated in the establishment of this beneficent in-
stitution was originated by Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer, during the civil war of
1861-65. This noble and patriotic lady called a' convention at Muscatine, on
the 7th of October 1863, for the purpose of devising measures for the support
and eiiucation of the orphan children of the brave sons of Iowa, who had fallen
in defense of national honor and integrity. So great was the public interest in
the movement that there was a large representation from all parts of the State
on the day named, and an association was organized called the Iowa State Or-
phan Asylum.
200 HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA.
The first officers were : President, William M. Stone ; Vice Presidents, Mrs,
G-. G-. Wright, Mrs. R. L. Cadle, Mrs. J. T. Hancock, John R. Needham, J. W,
Cattell, Mrs. Mary M. Bagg ; Recording Secretary, Miss Mary Kibben ; Cor-
responding Secretary, Miss M. B. Shelton; Treasurer, N. H. Brainerd; Board
of Trustees, Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer, Mrs. C. B. Darwin, Mrs. D. T. Newcomb,
Mrs. L. B. Stephens, 0. Fayville, E. H. Williams, T. S. Parvin, Mrs. Shields,
Caleb Baldwin, C. 0. Cole, Isaac Pendleton, H. C. Henderson.
The first meeting of the Trustees was held February 14, 1864, in the Repre-
sentative Hall, at Des Moines. Committees from both branches of the General
Assembly were present and were invited to participate in their deliberations.
Gov. Kirkwood suggested that a home for disabled soldiers should be connected
with the Asylum. Arrangements were made for raising funds.
At the next meeting, in Davenport, in March, 1864, the Trustees decided to
commence operations at once, and a committee, of which Mr. Howell, of Keo-
kuk, was Chairman, was appointed to lease a suitable building, solicit donations,
and procure suitable furniture. This committee secured a large brick building
in Lawrence, Van Buren County, and engaged Mr. Fuller, of Mt. Pleasant, as
Steward.
At the.annual meeting, in Des Moines, in June, 1864, Mrs. C. B. Baldwin,
Mrs. G. G. Wright, Mrs. Dr. Horton, Miss Mary E. Shelton and Mr. George
Sherman were appointed a committee to furnish the building and talce all neces-
sary steps for opening the "Home," and notice was given that at the next
meeting of the Association, a motion would be made to change the name of the
Institution to Iowa Orphans' Home.
The work of preparation was conducted so vigorously that on the 13th day
of July following, the Executive Committee announced that they were ready to
receive the children. In three weeks twenty-one were admitted, and the num-
ber constantly increased, so that, in a little more than six months from the time
of opening, there were seventy children admitted, and twenty more applica-
tions, which the Committee had not acted upon — all orphans of soldiers.
Miss M. Elliott, of Washington, was appointed Matron. She resigned,
in February, 1865, and was succeeded by Mrs. E. G. Piatt, of Fremont
County.
The " Home " was sustained by the voluntary contributions of the people,
until 1866, when it was assumed by the State. In that year, the General
Assem bly provided for the location of several such "Homes" in the different
counties, and which were established at Davenport, Scott County; Cedar Falls,
Black Hawk County, and at Glenwood, Mills County.
The Board of Trustees elected by the General Assembly had the oversight
and management of the Soldiers' Orphans' Homes of the State, and consisted
of one person from each county in which such Home was located, and one for
the State at large, who held their office two years, or until their successors were
elected and qualified. An appropriation of $10 per month for each orphan
actually supported was made by the General Assembly.
The Home in Cedar Falls was organized in 1865, and an old hotel building
was fitted up for it. Rufus C, Mary L. and Emma L. Bauer were the first
children received, in October, and by January, 1866, there were ninety-six in-
mates.
October 12, 1869, the Home was removed to a large brick building, ahout
two miles west of Cedar Falls, and was very prosperous for several years, but
in 1876, the General Assembly established a State Normal School at Cedar
Falls and appropriated the buildings and grounds for that purpose.
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA. 201
By " An act to provide for the organization and support of an asylum at
Glen wood, in Mills County, for feeble minded children," approved March 17,
1876, the buildings and grounds used by the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at that
place were appropriated for this purpose. By another act, approved March 15,
1876, the soldiers' orphans, then at the Homes at Glenwood and Cedar Falls,
were to be removed to the Home at Davenport within ninety days thereafter,
and the Board of Trustees of the Home were authorized to receive other indigent
children into that institution, and provide for their education in industrial
pursuits.
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
Cedar Falls, Black Hawh County.
Chapter 129 of the laws of the Sixteenth General Assembly, in 1876, estab-
lished a State Normal School at Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, and required
the Trustees of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home to turn over the property in their
charge to the Directors of the new institution.
The Board of Directors met at Cedar Falls June 7, 1876, and duly organ-
ized by the election of H. C. Hemenway, President ; J. J. Toleston, Secretary,
and E. Townsend, Treasurer. The Board of Trustees of the Soldiers' Orphans'
Home met at the same time for the purpose of turning over to the Directors the
property, of that institution, which was satisfactorily done and properly receipted
for as required by law. At this meeting, Prof. J. C. Gilchrist was elected
Principal of the School.
On the 12th of July, 1876, the Board again met, when executive and
teachers' committees were appointed and their duties assigned. A Steward
and a Matron were elected, and their respective duties defined.
The buildings and grounds were repaired and fitted up as well as the appro-
priation would admit, and the first term of the school opened September 6, 1876,
commencing with twenty-seven and closing with eighty-seven students. The
second term closed with eighty-six, and one hundred and six attended during
the third term.
The following are the Board of Directors, Board of Officers and Faculty :
Board of Directors. — H. C. Hemenway, Cedar Falls, President, term
expires 1882 ; L. D. Lewelling, Salem, Henry County, 1878 ; W. A. Stow,
Hamburg, Fremont County, 1878 ; S. G. Smith, Newton, Jasper County,
1880 ; E. H. Thayer, Clinton, Clinton County, 1880 ; G. S. Robinson, Storm
Lake, Buena Vista County, 1882.
Board of Officers. — J. J. Toleston, Secretary; E. Townsend, Treasurer;
William Pattes, Steward ; Mrs. P. A. Schermerhorn, Matron — all of Cedar
Falls.
Faculty. — J. C. Gilchrist, A. M., Principal, Professor of Mental and
Moral Philosophy and Didactics ; M. W. Bartlett, A. M., Professor of Lan-
guages and Natural Science ; D. S. Wright, A. M., Professor of Mathematics ;
Miss Frances L. Webster, Teacher of Geography and History ; E. W. Burnham,
Professor of Music.
ASYLUM FOR FEEBLE MINDED CHILDREN.
Crlenwood, Mills County.
Chapter 152 of the laws of. the Sixteenth General Assembly, approved
March 17, 1876, provided for the establishment of an asylum for feeble minded
children at Glenwood, Mills County, and the buildings and grounds of the
202 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
Soldiers' Orphans' Home at that place were to be used for that purpose. The
asylum was placed under the management of three Trustees, one at least of
whom should be a resident of Mills County. Children between the ages of 7
and 18 years are admitted. Ten dollars per month for each child actually sup-
ported by the State was appropriated by the act, and ^2,000 for salaries of
officers and teachers for two years.
Hon. J. W. Cattell, of Polk County ; A. J. Russell, of Mills County, and
W. S. Robertson, were appointed Trustees, who held their first meeting at
Glen wood, April 26, 1876. Mr. Robertson was elected President; Mr. Russell,
Treasurer, and Mr. Cattell, Secretary. The Trustees found the house and farm
which had been turned over to them in a shamefully dilapidated condition. The
fences were broken down and the lumber destroyed or carried away ; the win-
dows broken, doors off their hinges, floors broken and filthy in the extreme,
cellars reeking with offensive odors from decayed vegetables, and every conceiv-
able variety of filth and garbage ; drains obstructed, cisterns broken, pump
demoralized, wind-mill broken, roof leaky, and the whole property in the worst
possible condition. It was the first work of the Trustees to make the house
tenable. This was done under the direction of Mr. Russell. At the request
of the Trustees, Dr. Charles T. Wilbur, Superintendent of the Illinois Asylum,
visited Glenwood, and made many valuable suggestions, and gave them much
assistance.
0. W. Archibald, M. D., of Glenwood, was appointed Superintendent,
and soon after was appointed Secretary of the Board, vice Cattell, resigned,
Mrs. S. A. Archibald was appointed Matron, and Miss Maud M. Archibald,
Teacher.
The Institution was opened September 1, 1876 ; the first pupil admitted
September 4, and the school was organized September 10, with only five pupils,
which number had, in November, 1877, increased to eighty-seven. December
1, 1876, Miss Jennie Van Dorin, of Fairfield, was employed as a teacher and
in the Spring of 1877, Miss Sabina J. Archibald was also employed.
THE REFORM SCHOOL.
Uldora, Hardin County.
By "An act to establish and organize a State Reform School for Juvenile
Offenders," approved March 31, 1868, the General Assembly established a
State Reform School at Salem, Lee (Henry) County ; provided for a Board of
Trustees, to consist of one person from each Congressional District. For the
purpose of immediately opening the school, the Trustees were directed to accept
the proposition of the Trustees of White's Iowa Manual Labor Institute, at
Salem, and lease, for not more than ten years, the lands, buildings, etc., of the
Institute, and at once proceed to prepare for and open a reform school as a
temporary establishment.
The contract for fitting up the buildings was let to Clark & Haddock, Sep-
tember 21, 1868, and on the 7th of October following, the first inmate wm
received from Jasper County. The law provided for the admission of children
of both sexes under 18 years of age. In 1876, this was amended, so that they
are now received at ages over 7 and under 16 years.
April 19, 1872, the Trustees were directed to make a permanent location
for the school, and $45,000 was appropriated for the erection of the necessary
buildings. The Trustees were further directed, as soon as practicable, to
organize a school for girls in the buildings where the boys were then kept.
HISTORY OP THE STATE OP IOWA. 203
The Trustees located the school at Eldora, Hardin County, and in the Code
o;f 1873, it is permanently located there by law.
The institution is managed by five Trustees, who are paid mileage, but no
compensation for their services.
The object is the reformation of the children of both sexes, under the age
of 16 years and over 7 years of age, and the law requires that the Trustees
shall require the boys and girls under their charge to be instructed in piety and
morality, and in such branches of useful knowledge as are adapted to their age
and capacity, and in some regular course of labor, either mechanical, manufac-
turing or agricultural, as is best suited to their age, strength, disposition and
capacity, and as may seem best adapted to secure the reformation and future
benefit of the boys and girls.
A boy or girl committed to the State Reform School is there kept, disci-
plined, instructed, employed and governed, under the direction of the Trustees,
until he or she arrives at the age of majority, or is bound out, reformed or
legally discharged. The binding out or discharge of a boy or girl as reformed,
or having arrived at the age of majority, is a complete release from all penalties
incurred by conviction of the off"ense for which he or she was committed.
This is one step in the right direction. In the future, however, scill further
advances will be made, and the right of every individual to the fruits of their
labor, even while restrained for the public good, will be recognized.
FISH HATCHING ESTABLISHMENT.
Near Anamosa, Jones County.
The Fifteenth General Assembly, in 1874, passed " An act to provide for
the appointment of a Board of Fish Commissioners for the construction of
Fish ways for the protection and propagation of Fish," also "An act to provide
for furnishing the rivers and lakes with fish and fish spawn." This act appro-
priated $3,000 for the purpose. In accordance with the provisions of the first
act above mentioned, on the 9th of April, 1874, S. B. Evans of Ottumwa,
Wapello County ; B. F. Shaw of Jones County, and Charles A. Haines, of
Black Hawk County, were appointed to be Fish Commissioners by the'Governor.
These Commissioners met at Des Moines, May 10, 1874, and organized by the
election of Mr. Evans, President ; Mr. Shaw, Secretary and Superintendent,
and Mr. Haines, Treasurer.
The State was partitioned into three districts or divisions to enable the
Commissioners to better superintend the construction of fishways as required by
law. That part of the State lying south of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific
Railroad was placed under the especial supervision of Mr. Evans ; that part be-
tween that railroad and the Iowa Division of the Illinois Central Railroad, Mr.
Shaw, and all north of the Illinois Central Railroad, JVlr. Haines. At this
meeting, the Superintendent was authorized to build a State Hatching House ;
to procure the spawn of valuable fish adapted to the waters of Iowa ; hatch and
prepare the young fish for distribution, and assist in putting them into the waters
of the State.
In compliance with these instructions, Mr. Shaw at once commenced work,
and in the Summer of 1874, erected a " State Hatching House" near Anamosa,
20x40 feet, two stories ;, the second story being designed for a tenement ; the
first story being the "hatching room." The hatching troughs are supplied
with water from a magnificent spring four feet deep and about ten feet in diam-
eter, aflfording an abundant and unfailing supply of pure running water. During
204 HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA.
the first year, from May 10, 1874, to May 10, 1875, the Commissioners distributed
within the State 100,000 Shad, 300,000 California Salmon, 10,000 Bass,
80,000 Penobscot (Maine). Salmon, 5,000 land-locked Salmon, 20,000 of
other species.
By act approved March 10, 1876, the lawwas amended so that there should
be but one instead of three Fish Commissioners, and B. F. Shaw was appointed,
and the Commissioner was authorized to purchase twenty acres of land, on
which the State Hatching House was located near Anamosa.
In the Fall of 1876, Commissioner Shaw gathered from the sloughs of the
Mississippi, where they would have been destroyed, over a million and a half of
small fish, which were distributed in the various rivers of the State and turned
into the Mississippi.
In 1875-6, 533,000 California Salmon, and in 1877, 303,500 Lake Trout
were distributed in various rivers and lakes in the State. The experiment of
stocking the small streams with brook trout is being tried, and 81,000 of the
speckled beauties were distributed in 1877. In 1876, 100,000 young eels were
distributed. These came from New York and they are increasing rapidly.
At the close of 1877, there were at least a dozen private fish farms in suc-
cessful operation in various parts of. the State. Commissioner Shaw is en-
thusiastically devoted to the duties of his office and has performed an important
service for the people of the State by his intelligent and successful operations.
The Sixteenth General Assembly passed an act in 1878, prohibiting the
catching of any kind of fish except Brook Trout from March until June of each
year. Some varieties are fit for food only during this period.
THE PUBLIC LANDS.
The grants of public lands made in the State of Iowa, for various purposes^
are as follows :
1. The 500,000 Acre Grant.
2. The 16th Section Grant.
3. The Mortgage School Landi.
4. The University Grant.
6. The Saline Grant.
6. The Dea Moines Eiver Grant.
7. The Des Moines River School Lands.
8. The Swamp Land Grant.
9. The Railroad Grant.
10. The Agricultural College Grant.
I. THE FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRE GRANT.
When the State was admitted into the Union, she became entitled tO'
500,000 acres of land by virtue of an act of Congress, approved September 4,
1841, which granted to each State therein specified 500,000 acres of pubhc land
for internal improvements ; to each State admitted subsequently to the passage-
of the act, an amount of land which, with the amount that might have been
granted to her as a Territory, would amount to 500,000 acres. All these lands-
were required to be selected within the limits of the State to which they were
granted.
The Constitution cf Iowa declares that the proceeds of this grant, together
with all lands then granted or to be granted by Congress for the benefit of
schools, shall constitute a perpetual fund for the support of schools throughout
the State. By an act approved January 15, 1849, the Legislature established
HISTORY OP THE STATE OP IOWA. 205
a board of School Fund Commissioners, and to that board wag confided the
selection, care and sale of these lands for the benefit of the School Fund. Until
1855, these Commissioners were subordinate to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, but on the 15th of January of that year, they were clothed with
exclusive authority in the management and sale of school lands. The office of
School Fund Commissioner was abolished March 23, 1858, and that officer in
each county was required to transfer all papers to and make full settlement with
the County Judge. By this act, County Judges and Township Trustees were
made the agents of the State to control and sell the sixteenth sections ; but no
further provision was made for the sale of the 500,000 acre grant until April
3d, 1860, when the entire management of the school lands was committed to
the Boards of Supervisors of the several counties.
II. THE SIXTEENTH SECTIONS.
By the provisions of the act of Congress admitting Iowa to the Union, there
was granted to the new State the sixteenth section in every township, or where
that section had been sold, other lands of like amount for the use of schools.
The Constitution of the State provides that the proceeds arising from the sale
of these sections shall constitute a part of the permanent School Fund. The
control and sale of these lands were vested in the School Fund Commissioners
of the several counties until March 23, 1858, when they were transferred to the
County Judges and Township Trustees, and were finally placed under the
supervision of the County Boards of Supervisors in January, 1861.
III. THE MORTGAGE SCHOOL LANDS.
These do not belong to any of the grants of land proper. They are lands
that have been mortgaged to the school fund, and became school lands when bid
off by the State by virtue of a law passed in 1862. Under the provisions of the
law regulating the management and investment of the permanent school fund,
persons desiring loans from that fund are required to secure the payment thereof
with interest at ten per cent, per annum, by promissory notes endorsed by two
good sureties and by mortgage on unincumbered real estate, which must be
situated in the county where the loan is made, and which must be valued by
three appraisers. Making these loans and taking the required securities was
made the duty of the County Auditor, who was required to report to the Board
of Supervisors at each meeting thereof, all notes, mortgages and abstracts of
title connected with the school fund, for examination.
When default was made of payment of money so secured by mortgage, and
no arrangement made for extension of time as the law provides, the Board of
Supervisors were authorized to bring suit and prosecute it with diligence to
secure said fund ; and in action in favor of the county for the use of the school
fund, an injunction may issue without bonds, and in any such action, when
service is made by publication, default and judgment may be entered and
enforced without bonds. In case of sale of land on execution founded on any
such mortgage, the attorney of the board, or other person duly authorized, shall,
on behalf of the State or county for the use of said fund, bid such sum as the
interests of said fund may require, and if struck off to the State the land shall
be held and disposed of as the other lands belonging to the fnnd. These lands
are known as the Mortgage School Lands, and reports of them, including
description and amount, are required to be made to the State Land Office.
206 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
IV. UNIVERSITY LANDS.
By act of Congress, July 20, 1840, a quantity of land not exceeding two
•fmtire townships was reserved in the Territory of Iowa for the use and support
of a university within said Territory when it should become a State. This land
was to be located in tracts of not less than an entire section, and could be used
for no other purpose than that designated in the grant. In an act supplemental
to that for the admission of Iowa, March 3, 1845, the grant was renewed, and it
was provided that the lands should be used " solely for the purpose of such
Tiniversity, in such manner as the Legislature may prescribe."
Under this grant there were set apart and approved by the Secretary of the
'Treasury, for the use of the State, the following lands :
ACRES.
In the Iowa City Land District, Feb. 26, 1849 20,150.49
In the Fairfield Land District, Oct. 17, 1849 9,685.20
In the Iowa City Land District, Jan. 28, 1850 2,571.81
In the Fairfield Land District, Sept. aO, 1850 3,198.20
In the Dubuque Land District, May 19, 1852 10,552.24 '
Total 45,957.94
These lands were certified to the State November 19, 1859. The University
lands are placed by law under the control and management of the Board of
Trustees of the Iowa State University. Prior to 1865, there had been selected
and located under 282 patents, 22,892 acres in sixteen counties, and 23,036
acres unpatented, making a total of 45,928 acres.
V. — SALINE LANDS.
By -act of Congress, approved March 3, 1845, the State of Iowa was
granted the use of the salt springs within her limits, not exceeding twelve.
By a subsequent act, approved May 27, 1852, Congress granted the springs
to the State in fee simple, together with six sections of land contiguous to each,
to be disposed of as the Legislature might direct. In 1861, the proceeds of
these lands then to be sold were constituted a fund for founding and support-
ing a lunatic asylum, but no sales were made. In 1856, the proceeds of the
saline lands were appropriated to the Insane Asylum, repealed in 1858. In
1860, the saline lands and funds were made a part of the permanent fund of
the State University. These lands were located in Appanoose, Davis, Decatur,
Lucas, Monroe, Van Buren and Wayne Counties.
VI. — THE DES MOINES KIVBK GRANT.
By act of Congress, approved August 8, 1846, a grant of land was made
for the improvement of the navigation of Des Moines River, as follows :
Be it enacted by the Senate and Souse of Bepresentativea of the United States of America in
Congress assembled, That there be, and hereby is, granted to said Territory of Iowa, for the
purpose of aiding said Territory to improve the navigation of the Des Moines River from Us
mouth to the Raccoon Fork (so called) in said Territory, one equal moiety, in alternate sections,
•of the public lands (remaining unsold and not otherwise disposed of, incumbered or appropri-
ated), in a strip five miles in width on each side of said river, to be selected within said Terri-
tory by an agent or agents to be appointed by the Governor thereof, subject to the approval of
the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.
Sko. 2. And be it further enacted, That the lands hereby granted shall not be conveyed
or disposed of by said Territory, nor by any State to be formed out of the same, except as said
improvement shall progress ; that is, the said Territory or State may sell so much of said lands
as shall produce the sum of thirty thousand dollars, and then the sales shall cease until the Gov-
ernor of said Territory or State shall certify the fact to the President of the United States that
one-half of said sum has been expended upon said improvements, when the said Territory or
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 20T
State may sell and conTey a quantity of the residue of said lands sufficient to replace the amount
expended, and thus the sales shall progress as the proceeds thereof shall be expended, and the
fact of such expenditure shall be certified as aforesaid.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said River Des Moines shall be and forever
remain a public highvray for the use of the Government of the United States, free from any toll
or other charge whatever, for any property of the United States or persons in their service
passing through or along the same : Provided always, That it shall not be competent for the said
Territory or future State of Iowa to dispose of said lands, or any of them, at a price lower than,
for the time being, shall be the minimum price of other public lands.
Seo. 4. And be it further enacted. That whenever the Territory of Iowa shall be admitted
into the Union as a State, the lands hereby granted for the above purpose shall be and become
the property of said State for the purpose contemplated in this act, and for no other : Frevided
the Legislature of the State of Iowa shall accept the said grant for the said purpose." Approved
Aug. 8, 1846.
By joint resolution of the General Assembly of Iowa, approved January 9,
1847, .the grant was accepted for the purpose specified. By another act, ap-
proved February 24, 1847, entited "An act creating the Board of Public-
Works, and providing for the improvement of the Des Moines River," the
Legislature provided for a Board consisting of a President, Secretary and
Treasurer, to be elected by the people. This Board was elected August 2,
1847, and was organized on the 22d of September following. The same act
defined the nature of the improvement to be made, and provided that the work
should be paid for from the funds to be derived from the sale of lands to be
sold by the Board.
Agents appointed by the Governor selected the sections designated by "odd
numbers" throughout the whole extent of the grant, and this selection was ap-
proved by the Secretary of the Treasury. But there was a conflict of opinion
as to the extent of the grant. It was held by some that it extended from the-
mouth of the Des Moines only to the Raccoon Forks ; others held, as the
agents to make selection evidently did, that it extended from the mouth to the
head waters of the river. Richard M. Young, Commissioner of the General
Land OflBce, on the 23d of February, 1848, construed the grant to mean that
" the State is entitled to the alternate sections within five miles of the Des
Moines River, throughout the whole extent of that river within the limits of
Iowa." Under this construction, the alternate sections above the Raccooa
Forks would, of course, belong to the State; but on the 19th of June, 1848,
some of these lands were, by proclamation, thrown into market. On the 18tli
of September, the Board of Public Works filed a remonstrance with the Com-
missioner of the General Land Office. The Board also sent in a protest to the
State Land OflSce, at which the sale was ordered to take place. On the 8th of
January, 1849, the Senators and Representatives in Congress from Iowa also
protested against the sale, in a communication to Hon. Robert J. Walker, Sec-
retary of the Treasury, to which the Secretary replied, concurring in the
opinion that the grant extended the whole length of the Des Moines River in
Iowa.
On the 1st of June, 1849, the Commissioner of the General Land Office
directed the Register and Receiver of the Land Office at Iowa City " to with-
hold from sale all lands situated in the odd numbered sections within five miles
on each side of the Des Moines River above the Raccoon Forks." March 13,
1850, the Commissioner of the General Land Office submitted to the Secretary
of the Interior a list "showing the tracts falling within the limits of the Des
Moines River grant, above the Raccoon Forks, etc., under the decision of the
Secretary of the Treasury, of March 2, 1849," and on the 6th of April
following, Mr. Ewing, then Secretary of the Interior, reversed the decision of
Secretary Walker, but ordered the lands to be withheld from sale until Con-
208 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
gress could have an opportunity to pass an explanatory act. The Iowa author-
ities appealed from this decision to the President (Taylor), who referred the
matter to the Attorney General (Mr. Johnson); On the 19th of July, Mr.
Johnson submitted as his opinion, that by the terms of the grant itself, it ex-
tended to the very source of the Des Moinea, but before his opinion was pub-
lished President Taylor died. When Mr. Tyler's cabinet was formed, the
question was submitted to the new Attorney General (Mr. Crittenden), who, on
the 30th of June, 1851, reported that in his opinion the grant did not extend
above the Raccoon Forks. Mr. Stewart, Secretary of the Interior, concurred
with Mr. Crittenden at first, but subsequently consented to lay the whole sub-
ject before the President and Cabinet, who decided in favor of the State.
October 29, 1851, Mr. Stewart directed the Commissioner of the General
Land Office to " submit for his approval such lists as had been prepared, and to
j)roceed to report for like approval lists of the alternate sections claimed by the
State of Iowa above the Raccoon Forks, as far as the surveys have progressed,
or may hereafter be completed and returned." And on the following day, three
lists of these lands were prepared in the General Land Office.
The lands approved and certified to the State of Iqwa under this grant, and
all lying above the Raccoon Forks, are as follows :
By Secretary Stewart, Oct. 30, 1851 81,707.93 acres.
March 10, 1852 143.908.37 "
By Secretary McLellan, Dec. 17, 1853 33,142.43 "
Dec. 30, 1853 12,813.51 "
Total 271,572.24 acres.
The Commissioners and Register of the Des Moines River Improvement, in
their report to the Governor, November 30, -1852, estimates the total amount of
lands then available for the work, including those in possession of the State and
those to be surveyed and approved, at nearly a million acres. The indebtedness
then standing against the fund was about $108,000, and the Commissioners
estimated the work to be done would cost about $1,200,000.
January 19, 1853, the Legislature authorized the Commissioners to sell
" any or all the lands which have or may hereafter be granted, for not less than
^1,300,000."
On the 24th of January, 1853, the General Assembly provided for the elec-
tion of a Commissioner by the people, and appointed two Assistant Commission-
ers, with authority to make a contract, selling the lands of the Improvement
for $1,300,000. This new Board made a contract, June 9, 1855, with the Des
Moines Navigation & Railroad Company, agreeing to sell all the lands donated
to the State by Act of Congress of August 8, 1846, which the State had not
sold prior to December 23, 1853, for |1,300,000, to be expended on the im-
provement of the river, and in paying the indebtedness then due. This con-
tract was duly reported to the Governor and General Assembly.
By an act approved January 25, 1855, the Commissioner and Register of
■the Des Moines River Improvement were authorized to negotiate with the Des
Moines Navigation & Railroad Company for the purchase of lands in Webster
County which had been sold by the School Fund Commissioner as school lands,
but which had been certified to the State as Des Moines River lands, and had,
therefore, become the property of the Company, under the provisions of its
contract with the State.
March 21, 1856, the old question of the extent of the grant was again raised
and the Commissioner of the General Land Office decided tha ' it was limited to
HISTOKY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 209
the Raccoon Fork. Appeal was made to the Secretary of the Interior, and hy
him the matter was referred to the Attorney General, who decided that the grant
extended to the northern boundary of the State ; the State relinquished its
claim to lands lying along the river in Minnesota, and the vexed question was
supposed to be finally settled.
The land which had been certified, as well as those extending to the north-
ern boundary within the limits of the grant, were reserved from pre-emption
and sale by the General Land Commissioner, to satisfy the grant of August 8,
1846, and they were treated as having passed to the State, which from time to
time sold portions of them prior to their final transfer to the Des Moines Navi-
igation & Railroad Company, applying the proceeds thereof to the improve-
ment of the river in compliance with the terms of the grant. Prior to the final
sale to the Company, June 9, 1854, the State had sold about 327,000 acres, of
which amount 58,830 acres were located above the Raccoon Fork. The last
certificate of the General Land Ofiice bears date December 30, 1853.
'After June 9th, 1854, the Des Moines Navigation & Railroad Company
carried on the work under its contract with the State. As the improvement
progressed, the State, from time to time, by its authorized officers, issued to the
Company, in payment for said work, certificates for lands. But the General
Land OflBce ceased to certify lands under the grant of 1846. The State
had made no other provision for paying for the improvements, and disagree-
ments and misunderstanding arose between the State authorities and the
Company.
March 22, 1858, a joint resolution was passed by the Legislature submitting
a proposition for final settlement to the Company, which was accepted. The Com-
pany paid to the State $20,000 in cash, and released and conveyed the dredge boat
and materials named in the resolution ; and the State, on the 3d of May, 1858,
executed to the Des Moines Navigation & Railroad Company fourteen deeds
or patents to the lands, amounting to 256,703.64 acres. These deeds were
intended to convey all the lands of this grant certified to the State by the Gen-
eral Government not previously sold ; but, as if for the purpose of covering any
tract or parcel that might have been omitted, the State made another deed of
conveyance on the 18th day of May, 1858. These fifteen deeds, it is claimed,
by the Company, convey 266,108 acres, of which about 53,367 are below the
Raccoon Fork, and the balance, 212,741 acres, are above that point.
Besides the lands deeded to the Company, the State had deeded to individual
purchasers 58,830 acres above the Raccoon Fork, making an aggregate of 271,-
571 acres, deeded above the Fork, all of which had been certified to the State
by the Federal Government.
By act approved March 28, 1858, the Legislature donated the remainder of
the grant to the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad Company,
upon condition that said Company assumed all liabilities resulting from the Des
Moines River improvement operations, reserving 50,000 acres of the land in
security for the payment thereof, and for the completion of the locks and dams
at Bentonsport, Croton, Keosauqua and Plymouth. For every three thousand
dollars' worth of work done on the locks and dams, and for every three thousand
dollars paid by the Company of the liabilities above mentioned, the Register of
the State Land Office was instructed to certify to the Company 1,000 acres of
the 50,000 acres reserved for these purposes. Up to 1865, there had been pre-
sented by the Company, under the provisions of the act of 1858, and allowed,
claims amounting to $109,579.37, about seventy-five per cent, of which had
been settled.
210 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
After the passage of the Act above noticed, the question of the extent of the
original grant was again mooted, and at the December Term of the Supreme Court
of the United States, in 1859-60, a decision was rendered declaring that the
grant did not extend above Raccoon Fork, and that all certificates of land abovi
the Fork had been issued without authority of law and were, therefore, void
(see 23 How., 66).
The State of Iowa had disposed of a large amount of land without authority';
according to this decision, and appeal was made to Congress for relief, which
was granted on the 3d day of March, 1861, in a joint resolution relinquishing
to the State all the title which the United States then still retained in the tracts
of land along the Des Moines River above Raccoon Fork, that had been im-
properly certified to the State by the Department of the Interior, and which is
now held by hona fide purchasers under the State of Iowa.
In confirmation of this relinquishment, by act approved July 12, 1862,
Congress enacted :
That the grant of lands to the then Territory of Iowa for the improvement of the Des Moines
Biver, made by the act of August 8, 1846, is hereby extended so as to include the alternate sec-
tions (designated by odd numbers) lying within five miles of said river, between the Raccoon
Fork and the northern boundary of said State ; such lands are to ibe held and applied in accord-
ance with the provisions of the original grant, except that the consent of Congress is hereby given
to the application of a portion thereof to aid in the construction of the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines
& Minnesota Railroad, in accordance with the provisions of the act of the General Assembly of
the State of Iowa, approved March 22, 1858. And if any of the said lands shall have been sold
or otherwise disposed of by the United States before the passage of this act, except those released
by the United States to the grantees of the State of Iowa, under joint resolmion of March 3,
1861, the Secretary of the Interior is hereby directed to set apart an equal amount of lands within
said State to be certified in lieu thereof; Provided, that if the State shall have sold and conveyed
any portion of the lands lying within the limits of the grant the title of which has proved invalid,
any lands which shall be certified to said State in lieu thereof by virtue of the provisions of this
act, shall inure to and be held as a trust fund for the benefit of the person or persons, respect-
ively, whose titles shall have failed as aforesaid. ;
The grant of lands by the above act of Congress was accepted by a joint
resolution of the General Assembly, September 11, 1862, in extra session. On
the same day, the Governor was authorized to appoint one or more Commis-
sioners to select the lands in accordance with the grant. These Commissioners
were instructed to report their selections to the Registrar of the State Land
OflRce. The lands so selected were to be held for the purposes of the grant, and
were not to be disposed of until further legislation should be had. D. W. Kil-
burne, of Lee County, was appointed Commissioner, and, on the 25th day of
April, 1864, the General Land OiBcer authorized the selection of 300,000 acres
from the vacant public lands as a part of the grant of July 12, 1862, and the
selections were made in the Fort Dodge and Sioux City Land Districts.
Many difiiculties, controversies and conflicts, in relation to claims and titles,
grew out of this grant, and these difficulties were enhanced by the uncertainty
of its limits until the act of Congress of July, 1862. But the General Assem-
bly sought, by wise and appropriate legislation, to protect the integrity of titles
derived from the State. Especially was the determination to protect the actual
settlers, who had paid their money and made improvements prior to the final
settlement of the limits of the grant by Congress.
VII. — THE DBS MOINES RIVER SCHOOL LANDS.
These lands constituted a part of the 500,000 acre grant made by Congress
in 1841; including 28,378.46 acres in "Webster County, selected by the Agentof
the State under that grant, and approved by the Commissioner of the Generd
Land Office February 20, 1851. They were ordered into the market June 6,
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 211
1853, by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who authorized John ToL
man, School Fund Commissioner for Webster County, to sell them as school
lands. Subsequently, when the act of 1846 was construed to extend the Des
Moines River grant above Raccoon Fork, it was held that the odd numbered
sections of these lands within five miles of the river were appropriated by that
act, and on the 30th day of December, 1853, 12,813.51 acres were set apart
and approved to' the State by the Secretary of the Interior, as a part of the
Des Moines River grant. January 6, 1854, the Commissioner of the General
Land Office transmitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction a certified
copy of the lists of these lands, indorsed by the Secretary of the Interior.
Prior to this action of the Department, however, Mr. Tolman had sold to indi-
vidual purchasers 3,194.28 acres as school lands, and their titles were, of course,
killed. For their relief, an act, approved April 2, 1860, provided that, upon
application and proper showing, these purchasers should be entitled to draw
from the State Treasury the amount they had paid, with 10 per cent, interest,
on the contract to purchase made with Mr. Tolman. Under this act, five appli-
cations were made prior to 1864, and the applicants received, in the aggregate,
$949.53.
By an act approved April 7, 1862, the Governor was forbidden to issue to
the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad Company any certificate of the completion
of any part of said road, or any conveyance of lands, until the company should
execute and file, in the State Land Office, a release of its claim — first, to cer-
tain swamp lands ; second, to the Des Moines River Lands sold by Tolman ;
third, to certain other river lands. That act provided that " the said company
shall transfer their interest in those tracts of land in Webster and Hamilton
Counties heretofore sold by John Tolman, School Fund Commissioner, to the
Register of the State Land Office in trust, to enable said Register to carry out
and perform said contracts in all cases when he is called upon by the parties
interested to do so, before the 1st day of January, A. D. 1864.
The company filed its release to the Tolman lands, in the Land Office, Feb-
ruary 27, 1864, at the same time entered its protest that it had no claim upon
them, never had pretended to have, and had never sought to claim them. The
Register of the State Land Office, under the advice of the Attorney General,
decided that patents would be issued to the Tolman purchasers in all cases
where contracts had been made prior to December 23, 1853, and remaining
uncanceled under the act of 1860. But before any were issued, on the 27th of
August, 1864, .the Des Moines Navigation & Railroad Company commenced a
suit in chancery, in the District Court of Polk County, to enjoin the issue of
such patents. On the 30th of August, an ex "parte injunction was issued. In
January, 1868, Mr. J. A. Harvey, Register of the Land Office, filed in the
court an elaborate answer to plaintiffs' petition, denying that the company had
any right to or title in the lands. Mr. Harvey's successor, Mr. C. C. Carpen-
ter, filed a still more exhaustive answer February 10, 1868. August 8, 1868,
i the District Court dissolved the injunction. The company appealed to the
! Supreme Court, where the decision of the lower court was affirmed in December,
1869,
VIII. — SWAMP LAND GRANT.
By an act of Congress, approved March 28, 1850, to enable Arkansas and
other States to reclaim swampy lands within their limits, granted all the swamp
and overflowed lands remaining unsold within their respective limits to the
several States. Although the total amount claimed by Iowa under this act
212 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
does not exceed 4,000,000 acres, it has, like the Des Moines River and some
of the land grants, cost the State considerable trouble and expense, and required
a deal of legislation. The State expended large sums of money in making the
selections, securing proofs, etc., but the General Government appeared to be
laboring under the impression that Iowa was not acting in good faith ; that she
had selected a large amount of lands under the swamp land grant, transferred
her interest to counties, and counties to private speculators," and the General
Land Office permitted contests as to the character of the lands already selected
by the Agents of the State as "swamp lands." Congress, by joint resolution
Dec. 18, 1856, and by act March 3, 1857, saved the State from the fatal result
of this ruinous policy. Many of these lands were selected in 1854 and 1855,
immediately after several remarkably wet seasons, and it was but natural that
some portions of the selections would not appear swampy after a few dry seasons.
Some time after these first selections were made, persons desired to enter
parcels of the so-called swamp lands and offering to prove them to be dry. In
such cases th« General Land OflBce ordered hearing before the local land officers,
and if they decided the land to be dry, it was permitted to be entered and the
claim of the State rejected. Speculators took advantage of this. Affidavits
were bought of irresponsible and reckless men, who, for a few dollars, would
confidently testify to the character of lands they never saw. These applica-
tions multiplied until they covered 3,000,000 acres. It was necessary that
Congress should confirm all these selections to the State, that this gigantic
scheme of fraud and plunder might be stopped. The act of Congress of
March 3, 1857, was designed to accomplish this purpose. But the Commis-
sioner of the General Land OfiSce held that it was only a qualified confirmar
tion, and under this construction sought to sustain the action of the Department
in rejecting the claim of the State, and certifying them under act of May 16,
1856, under which the railroad companies claimed all swamp land in odd num-
bered seciions within the limits of their respective roads. This action led to
serious complications. When the railroad^ grant was made, it was not intended
nor was it understood that it included any of the swamp lands. These were
already disposed of by previous grant. Nor did the companies expect to
receive any of them, but under the decisions of the Department adverse to the
State the way was opened, and they were not slow to enter their claims. March
4, 1862, the Attorney General of the State submitted to the General Assembly
an opinion that the railroad companies were not entitled even to contest the
right of the State to thesg lands, under the swamp land grant. A letter from
the Acting Commissioner of the General Land Office expressed the same
opinion, and the General Assembly by joint resolution, approved April 7, 1862,
expressly repudiated the acts of the railroad companies, and disclaimed any
intention to claim these lands under any other than the act of Congress of
Sept. 28, 1850. A great deal of legislation has been found necessary in reiar
tion to these swamp lands.
IX. — THE RAILROAD GRANT.
One of the most important grants of public lands to lowa for purposes of
internal improvement was that known as the "Railroad Grant," by act of
Congress approved May 15, 1856. This act granted to the State of Iowa, for
the purpose of aiding in the construction of railroads from Burlington, on the
Mississippi River, to a point on the Missouri River, near the mouth of Platte
River ; from the city of Davenport, via Iowa City and Fort Des Moines to
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA. 213
Council Bluffs ; from Lyons City northwesterly to a point of intersection with
the main line cff the Iowa Central Air Line Railroad, near Maquoketa ; thence
on said main line, running as near as practicable to the Forty-second Parallel ;
across the said State of Iowa to the Missouri River ; from the city of Dubuque
to a point on the Missouri River, near Sioux City, with a branch from the
mouth of the Tete des Morts, to the nearest point on said road, to be com-
pleted as soon as the main road is completed to that point, every alternate section
of land, designated by odd numbers, for six sections in width on each side of
said roads. It was also provided that if it should appear, when the lines of those
roads were definitely fixed, that the United States had sold, or right of pre-
emption had attached to any portion of said land, the State was authorized to
select a quantity equal thereto, in alternate sections, or parts of sections, within
fifteen miles of the lines so located. The lands remaining to the United States
within six miles on each side of said roads were not to be sold for less than the
double minimum price of the public lands when sold, nor were any of said lands
to become subject to private entry until they had been first offered at public
sale at the increased price.
Section 4 of the act provided that the lands granted to said State shall be
disposed of by said State only in the manner following, that is to say : that a
quantity of land not exceeding one hundred and twenty sections for each of said
roads, and included within a continuous length of twenty miles of each of said
roads, may be sold ; and when the Governor of said State shall certify to the
Secretary of the Interior that any twenty continuous miles of any of said roads
is completed, then another quantity of land hereby granted, not to exceed one
hundred and twenty sections for each of said roads having twenty continuous
miles completed as aforesaid, and included within a continuous length of twenty
miles of each of such roads,. may be sold; and so from time to time until said
roads are completed, and if any of said roads are not completed within ten
years, no further sale shall be made, and the lands unsold shall revert to the
United States."
At a special session of the General Assembly of Iowa, by act approved July
14, 1856, the grant was accepted and the lands were granted by the State to
the several railroad companies named, provided that the lines of their respective
roads should be definitely fixed and located before April 1, 1857 ; and pro-
vided further, that if either of said companies should fail to have seventy-five
miles of road completed and equipped by the 1st day of December, 1859, and
its entire road completed by December 1, 1865, it should be competent for the
State of Iowa to resume all rights to lands remaining undisposed of by the
company so failing.
The railroad companies, with the single exception of the Iowa Central Air
Line, accepted the several grants in accordance with the provisions of the above
act, located their respective roads and selected their lands. The grant to the
Iowa Central was again granted to the Cedar Rapids & Missouri River Railroad
Company, which accepted them.
By act, approved April 7, 1862, the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad Com-
pany was required to execute a release td the State of certain swamp and school
lands, included within the limits of its grant, in compensation for an extension
of the time fixed for the completion of its road.
A careM examination of the act of Congress does not reveal any special
reference to railroad companies. The lands were granted to the State, and the
act evidently contemplate the sale of them' by the State, and the appropriation
of the proceeds to aid in the construction of certain lines of railroad within its
214 HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA.
limits. Section 4 of the act clearly defines the authority of the State in dis-
posing of the lands.
Lists of all the lands embraced by the grant were made, and certified to the
State by the proper authorities. Under an act of Congress approved August 3
1854, entitled "ilw act to vest in the several States and Territories the title in
fee of the lands which have been or may he certified to them" these certified hsts
the originals of which are filed in the General Land Office, conveyed to the State
"the fee simple title to all the lands embraced in such lists that are' of the char-
acter contemplated " by the terms of the act making the grant, and "intended
to be granted thereby ; but where lands embraced in such lists are not of the
character embraced by such act of Congress, and were not intended to be granted
thereby, said lists, so far as these lands are concerned, shall be perfectly null
and void; and no right, title, claim or interest shall be conveyed thereby."
Those certified lists made under the act of May 15, 1856, were forty-three in
number, viz.: For the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, nine; for the
Mississippi & Missouri Railroad, 11 ; for the Iowa Central Air Line, thirteen ;
and for the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad, ten. The lands thus approved to
the State were as follows :
Burlington & Missouri River R. R 287,095.34 acres.
Mississippi & Missouri River R. R 774,674.36 "
Cedar Rapids & Missouri River E. R 775,454.19 "
Dubuque & Sioux City R. E 1,226,558.32 "
A portion of these had been selected as swamp lands by the State, under
the act of September 28, 1850, and these, by the terms of the act of August 3,
1854, could not be turned over to the railroads unless the claim of the State to
them as swamp was first rejected. It was not possible to determine from the
records of the State Land Office the extent of the conflicting claims arising under
the two grants, as copies of the swamp land selections in some of the counties
were not filed of record. The Commissioner of the General Land Office, however,
prepared lists of the lands claimed by the State as swamp under act of September
28, 1850, and also claimed by the railroad companies under act of May 15,
1856, amounting to 553,293.33 acres, the claim to which as swamp had been
rejected by the Department. These were consequently certified to the State as
railroad lands. There was no mode other than the act of July, 1856, prescribed
for transferring the title to these lands from the State to the companies. The
courts had decided that, for the purposes of the grant, the lands belonged to the
State, and to her the companies should look for their titles. It was generally
accepted that the act of the Legislature of July, 1856, was all that was neces-
sary to complete the transfer of title. It was assumed that all the rights and
powers conferred upon the State by the act of Congress of May 14, 1856, were
by the act of the General Assembly transferred to the companies ; in other
words, that it was designed to put the companies in the place of the State as the
grantees from Congress — and, therefore, that which perfected the title thereto
to the State perfected the title to the companies by virtue of the act of July,
1856. One of the companies, however, the Burlington & Missouri River Bail-
road Company, was not entirely satisiSed with this construction. Its managers
thought that some fjirther and specific action of the State authorities in addition
to the act of the Legislature was necessary to complete their title. This induced
Gov. Lowe to attach to the certified lists his official certificate, under the broad
seal of the State. On the 9th of IJovember, 1859, the Governor thus certified
to them (coipmencing at the Missouri River) 187,207.44 acres, and December
27th, 43,775.70 acres, an aggregate of 231,078.14 acres. These were the only
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 215
lands under the grant that were certified by the State authorities with any
design of perfecting the title already vested in the company by the act of July,
1856. The lists which were afterward furnished to the company were simply
certified by the Governor as being correct copies of the lists received by the
State from the United States General Land Office. These subsequent lists
embraced lands that had been claimed by the State under the Swamp Land
Grant.
It was urged against the claim of the Companies that the efiect of the act
of the Legislature was simply to substitute them for the State as parties to the
grant. 1st. That the lands were granted to the State to be held in trust for the
accomplishment of a specific purpose, and therefore the State could not part
with the title until that purpose should have been accomplished. 2d. That it
was not the intention of the act of July 14, 1856, to deprive the State of the con-
trol of the lands, but on the contrary that she should retain supervision of them
and the right to withdraw all rights and powers and resume the title condition-
ally conferred by that act upon the companies in the event of their failure to
complete their part of the contract. 3d. That the certified lists from the Gen-
eral Land Office vested the title in the State only by virtue of the act of Con-
gress approved August 3, 1854. The State Land Office held that the proper
construction of the act of July 14, 1856, when accepted by the companies, was
that it became a conditional contract that might ripen into a positive sale of the
lands as from time to time the work should progress, and as the State thereby
became authorized by the express terms of the grant to sell them.
This appears to have been the correct construction of the act, but by a sub-
sequent act of Congress, approved June 2, 1864, amending the act of 1856, the
terms of the grant were changed, and numerous controversies arose between the
companies and the State.
The ostensible purpose of this additional act was to allow the Davenport &
Council Blufis Railroad "to modify or change the location of the uncompleted
portion of its line," to run through the town of Newton, Jasper County, or as
nearly as practicable to that point. The original grant had been made to the
State to aid in the construction of railroads within its limits and not to the com-
panies, but Congress, in 1864, appears to have been utterly ignorant of what
had been done under the act of 1856, or, if not, to have utterly disregarded it.
The State had accepted the original grant. The Secretary of the Interior had
already certified to the State all the lands intended to be included in the grant
within fifteen miles of the lines of the several railroads. It will be remembered
that Section 4, of the act of May 15, 1856, specifies the manner of sale of
these lands from time to time as work on the railroads should progress, and also
provided that " if any of said roads are not completed within ten years, no fur-
ther sale shall be made, and the lands unsold shall revert to the United States."
Having vested the title to these lands in trust, in the State of Iowa, it is plain
that until the expiration of the ten years there could be no reversion, and the
State, not the United States, must control them until the grant should expire
by limitation. The United States authorities could not rightfully require the
Secretary of the Interior to certify directly to the companies any portion of
the lands already certified to the State. And yet Congress, by its act of June
2, 1864, provided that whenever the Davenport & Council Bluffs Railroad Com-
pany should file in the General Land Office at Washington a map definitely
showinc such new location, the Secretary of the Interior should cause to be cer-
tified and conveyed to said Company, from time to time, as the road progressed,
out of anv of the lands belonging to the United States, not sold, reserved, or
216 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
otherwise disposed of, or to which a pre-emption claim or right of homestead had
not attached, and on which a hona fide settlement and improvement had not
been made under color of title derived from the United States or from the State
of Iowa, within six miles of such newly located line, an amount of land per
mile equal to that originally authorized to be granted to aid in the construction
of said road by the act to which this was an amendment.
The term " out of any lands belonging to the United States, not sold, re-
served or otherwise disposed of, etc.," would seem to indicate that Congress did
intend to grant lands already granted, but when it declared that the Company
should have an amount per mile equal to that originally authorized to he granted,
it is plain that the framers of the bill were ignorant of the real terms of the
original grant, or that they designed that the United States should resume the
title it had already parted with two years before the lands could revert to the
United States under the original act, which was not repealed.
A similar change was made in relation to the Cedar Rapids & Missouri
Railroad, and dictated the conveyance of lands in a similar manner.
Like provision was made for the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad, and the
Coia,pany was permitted to change the location of its line between Fort Dodge
and Sioux City, so as to secure the best route between those points ; but this
change of location was not to impair the right to the land granted in the orig-
inal act, nor did it change the location of those lands.
By the same act, the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad Company was author-
ized to transfer and assign all or any part of the grant to any other company or
person, " if, in the opinion of said Company, the construction of said railroad
across the State of Iowa would be thereby sooner and more satisfactorily com-
pleted ; but such assignee should not in any case be released from the liabilities
and conditions accompanying this grant, nor acquire perfect title in any other
manner than the same would have been acquired by the original grantee."
Still further, the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad was not forgotten,
and was, by the same act, empowered to receive an amount of land per mile
equal to that mentioned in the original act, and if that could not be found within
the limits of six miles from the line of said road, then such selection might
be made along such line within twenty miles thereof out of any public lands
belonging to the United States, not sold, reserved or otherwise disposed of, or
to which a pre-emption claim o'r right of homestead had not attached.
Those acts of Congress, which evidently originated in the "lobby," oocar
sioned much controversy and trouble. The Department of the Interior, how-
ever, recognizing the fact that when the Secretary had certified the lands to the
State, under the act of 1856, that act divested the United States of title, under
the vesting act of August, 1854, refused to review its action, and also refused
to order any and all investigations for establishing adverse claims (except in
pre-emption cases), on the ground that the United States had parted with the
title, and, therefore, could exercise no control over the land.
May 12, 1864, before the passage of the amendatory act above described,
Congress granted to the State of Iowa, to aid in the construction of a railroad
from McGregor to Sioux City, and for the benefit of the McGregor Western
Railroad Company, every alternate section of land, designated by odd numbers,
for ten sections in width on each side of the proposed road, reserving the right
to substitute other lands whenever it was found that the grant infringed upon
pre-empted lands, or on lands that had been reserved or disposed of for any other
purpose. In such cases, the Secretary of the Interior was instructed to select, in
lieu, lands belonging to the United States lying nearest to the limits specified.
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF IOWA. 217
X. — AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AND FARM LANDS.
An Agricultural College and Model Farm was established by act of the
General Assembly, approved March 22, 1858. By the eleventh section of the
act, the proceeds of the five-section grant made for the purpose of aiding in the
erection of public buildings was appropriated, subject to the approval of Con-
gress, together with all lands that Congress might thereafter grant to the State
for the purpose, for the benefit of the institution. On the 23d of March, by
joint resolution, the Legislature asked the consent of Congress to the proposed
transfer. By act approved July 11, 1862, Congress removed the restrictions
imposed in the "five-section grant," and authorized the General Assembly to
make such disposition of the lands as should be deemed best for the interests of
the State. By these several acts, the five sections of land in Jasper County
certified to the State to aid in the erection of public buildings under the act of
March 3, 1845, entitled " An act supplemental to the act for the admission of
the States of Iowa and Florida into the Union," were fully appropriated for
the benefit of the Iowa Agricultural College and Farm. The institution is
located in Story County. Seven hundred and twenty-one acres in that and
two hundred in Boone County were donated to it by individuals interested in
the success of the enterprise.
By act of Congress approved July 2, 1862, an appropriation was made to
each State and Territory of 30,000 acres for each Senator and Representative
in Congress, to which, by the apportionment under the census of 1860, they
were respectively entitled. This grant was made for the purpose of endowing
colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts. '
Iowa accepted this grant by an act passed at an extra session of its Legis-
lature, approved September 11, 1862, entitled "An act to accept of the grant,
and carry into execution the trust conferred upon the State of Iowa by an act
of Congress entitled ' An act granting public lands to the several States and
Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the
mechanic arts,' approved July 2, 1862." This act made it the |duty of the
Governor to appoint an agent to select and locate the lands, and provided
that none should be selected that were claimed by any county as swamp
lands. The agent was required to make report of his doings to the Governor,
who was instructed to submit the list of selections to the Board of Trustees of
the Agricultural College for their approval. One thousand dollars were appro-
priated to carry the law into efi"ect. The State, having two Senators and six
Representatives in Congress, was entitled to 240,000 acres of land under this
grant, for the purpose of establishing and maintaining an Agricultural College.
Peter Melendy, Esq.,| of Black Hawk County, was appointed to make the selec-
tions, and during August, September and December, 1863, located them in the
Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Sioux City Land Districts. December 8, 1864,
these selections were certified by the Commissioner of the General Land Ofiice,
and were approved to the State by the Secretary of the Interior December 13,
1864. The title to these lands was vested in the State in fee simple, and con-
flicted with no other claims under other grants.
The agricultural lands were approved to the State as 240,000.96 acres ; but
as 35,691.66 acres were located within railroad limits, which were computed at
the rate of two acres for one, the actual amount of land approved to the State
under this grant was only 204,309.30 acres, located as follows :
In Des Moines Land District 6,804.96 acres.
In Sioux City Land District 59,025.37 "
In Fort Dodge Land District 138,478.97 "
218 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
By act of the General Assembly, approved March 29, 1864, entitled, " An
act authorizing the Trustees of the Iowa State Agricultural College and Farm
to sell all lands acquired, granted, donated or appropriated for the benefit of
said college, and to make an investment of the proceeds thereof," all these lands
were granted to the Agricultural College and Farm, and the Trustees were au-
thorized to take possession, and sell or lease them. They were then, under the
control of the Trustees, lands as follows :
Under the act of July 2, 1852 204,309.30 acres.
Of the five-section grant 3,200.00 "
Lands donated in Story County 721.00 "
Lands donated in Boone County 200.00 "
Total 208,430.30 acres.
The Trustees opened an office at Fort Dodge, and appointed Hon. G. W-
Bassett their agent for the sale of these lands.
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The germ of the free public school system of Iowa, which now ranks sec-
ond to none in the United States, was planted by the first settlers. They had
migrated to the " The Beautiful Land " from other and older States, where the
common school system had been tested by many years' experience, bringing
with them some knowledge of its advantages, which they determined should be
enjoyed by the children of the land of their adoption. The system thus planted
was expanded and improved in the broad fields of the West, until now it is
justly considered one of the most complete, comprehensive and liberal in the
country.
Nor is this to be wondered at when it is remembered humble log school
houses were built almost as soon as the log cabin of the earliest settlers were
occupied by their brave builders. In the lead mining regions of the State, the
first to be occupied by the white race, the hardy pioneers provided the means
for the education of their children even before they had comfortable dwellings
for their families. School teachers were among the first immigrants to Iowa.
Wherever a little settlement was made, the school house was the first united
public act of the settlers; and the rude, primitive structures of the early time
only disappeared when the communities had increased in population and wealth,
and were able to replace them with more commodious and comfortable buildings.
Perhaps in no single instance has the magnificent progress of the State of Iowa
been more marked and rapid than in her common school sa^tem and in her school
houses, which, long since, superseded the log cabins of the first settlers. To-
day, the school houses which everywhere dot the broad and fertile prairies of
Iowa are unsurpassed by those of any other State in the great Union. More
especially is this true in all her cities and villages, where liberal and lavish
appropriations have been voted, by a generous people, for the erection of large,
commodious and elegant buildings, furnished with all the modern improvements,
and costing from $10,000 to |60,000 each. The people of the State have ex-
pended more than $10,000,000 for the erection of public school buildings.
The first house erected in Iowa was a log cabin at Dubuque, built by James
L. Langworthy and a few other miners, in the Autumn of 1833. When it was
completed, George Cabbage was employed as teacher during the Winter of
1833-4, and thirty-five pupils attended his school. Barrett Whittemore taught
the second term with twenty-five pupils in attendance. Mrs. Caroline Dexter
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 219
commenced teaching in Dubuque in March, 1836. She was the first female
teacher there, and probably the first in Iowa. In 1839, Thomas H. Benton,
Jr., afterward for ten years Superintendent of Public Instruction j opened an
English and classical school in Dubuque. The first tax for the support of
schools at Dubuque was levied in 1840.
Among the first buildings erected at Burlington was a commodious log school
house in 1834, in which Mr. Johnson Pierson taught the first school in the
Winter of 1834-5.
The first school in Muscatine County was taught by George Bumgardner,
in the Spring of 1837, and in 1839, a log school house was erected in Musca-
tine, which served for a long time for school house, church and public hall.
The first school in Davenport was taught in 1838. In Fairfield, Miss Clarissa
Sawyer, James F. Chambers and Mrs. Reed taught school in 1839.
When the site of Iowa City was selected as the capital of the Territory of
Iowa, in May, 1839, it was a perfect wilderness. The first sale of lots took
place August 18, 1839, and before January 1, 1840, about twenty families had
settled within the limits of the town ; and during the same year, Mr. Jesse
Berry opened a school in a small frame building he had erected, on what is now
College street.
The first settlement in Monroe County was made in 1843, by Mr. John R.
Gray, about two miles from the present site of Eddy ville ; and in the Summer
of 1844, a log school house was built by Gray, William V. Beedle, C. Renfro,
Joseph McMuUen and Willoughby Randolph, and the first school was opened
by Miss Urania Adams. The building was occupied for school purposes for
nearly ten years. About a year after the first cabin was built at Oskaloosa, a
log school 'house was built, in which school was opened l?y Samuel W. Caldwell
in 1844.
At Fort Des Moines, now the capital of the State, the first school was
taught by Lewis Whitten, Clerk of the District Court in the Winter of 1846-T,
in one of the rooms on " Coon Row," built for barracks.
The first school in Pottawattomie County was opened by George Green, a
Mormon, at Council Point, prior to 1849 ; and until about 1854, nearly, if not
quite, all the teachers in that vicinity were Mormons.
The first school in Decorah was taught in 1853, by T. W. Burdick, then a
young man of seventeen. In Osceola, the ^rst school was opened by Mr. D.
W. Scoville. The first school at Fort Dodge was taught in 1855, by Cyrus C.
Carpenter, since Governor of the State. In Crawford County, the first school
house was built in Mason's Grove, in 1856, and Morris McHenry first occupied
it as teacher.
During the first twenty years of the history of Iowa, the log school house pre-
vailed, and in 1861, there were 893 of these primitive structures in use for
school purposes in the State. Since that time they have been gradually dis-
appearing. In 1865, there were 796 ; in 1870, 336, and in 1875, 121.
Iowa Territory was created July 3, 1838. January 1, 1839, the Territorial
Legislature passed an act providing that " there shall be established a common
school, or schools in each of the counties in this Territory, which shall be
open and free for every class of white citizens between the ages of five and
twenty-one years." The second section of the act provided that "the County
Board shall, from time to time, form such districts in their respective counties
whenever a petition may be presented for the purpose by a majority of the
voters resident within such contemplated district." These districts were gov-
erned by boards of trustees, usually of three persons ,; each district was required
220 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
to maintain school at least three months in every year ; and later, laws were
enacted providing for county school taxes for the payment of teachers, and that
whatever additional sum might be required should be assessed upon the parents
sending, in proportion to the length of time sent.
When Iowa Territory beeame a State, in 1846, with a population of 100,-
000, and with 20,000 scholars within its limits, about four hundred school dis-
tricts had been organized. In 1850, there were 1,200, and in 1857, the
number had increased to 3,265.
In March, 1858, upon the recommendation of Hon. M. L. Fisher, then Su-
perintendent of Public Instruction, the Seventh General Assembly enacted that
" each civil township is declared a school district," and provided that these should
be divided into sub-districts. This law went into force March 20, 1858, and
reduced the number of school districts from about 3,500 to less than 900.
This change of school organization resulted in a very material reduction of
the expenditures for the compensation of District Secretaries and Treasurers.
An effort was made for several years, from 1867 to 1872, to abolish the sub-
district system. Mr. Kiss'sll, Superintendent, recommended, in his report of
January 1, 1872, and Governor Merrill forcibly endorsed his views in his annual
message. But the Legislature of that year provided for the formation of inde-
pendent districts from the sub-districts of district townships.
The system of graded schools was inaugurated in 1849 ; and new schools, in
which more than one teacher is employed, are universally graded.
The first official mention of Teachers' Institutes in the educational records
of Iowa occurs in the annual report of Hon. Thomas H. Benton, Jr., made
December 2, 1850, who said, "An institution of this character was organized a
few years ago, composed of the teachers of the mineral regions of Illinois,
Wisconsin and Iowa. An association of teachers has, also, been formed in the
county of Henry, and an effort was made in October last to organize a regular
institute in the county of Jones." At that time — although the beneficial
influence of these institutes was admitted, it was urged that the expenses of
attending them was greater than teachers with limited compensation were able
to bear. To obviate this objection, Mr. Benton recommended that " the sum of
$150 should be appropriated annually for three years, to be drawn in install-
ments of $50 each by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and expended
for these institutions." He propqged that three institutes should be held annu-
ally at points to be designated by the Superintendent.
No legislation in this direction, however, was had until March, 1858, when
an act was passed authorizing the holding of teachers' institutes for periods not
less than six working days, whenever not less than thirty teachers should desire.
The Superintendent was authorized to expend not exceeding $100 for any one
institute, to be paid out by the County Superintendent as the institute might
direct for teachers and lecturers, and one thousand dollars was appropriated to
defray the expenses of these institutes.
December 6, 1858, Mr. Fisher reported to the Board of Education that
institutes had been appointed in twenty counties within the preceding six months,
and more would have been, but the appropriation had been exhausted.
The Board of Education at its first session, commencing December 6, 1858,
enacted a code of school laws which retained the existing provisions for teachers
institutes.
In March, 1860, the General Assembly amended the act of the Board by
appropriating " a sum not exceeding fifty dollars annually for one such institute,
held as provided by law in each county."
HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA. 221
In 1865, Mr. Faville reported that "the provision made by the State for the
benefit of teachers' institutes has never been so fully appreciated, both by the
people and the teachers, as during the last two years."
By act approved March 19, 1874, Normal Institutes were established in
each county, to be held annually by the County Superintendent. This was
regarded as a very decided step in advance by Mr. Abernethy, and in 1876 the
Sixteenth General Assembly established the first permanent State Normal
School at Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, appropriating the building and
property of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at that place for that purpose. This
school is now " in tlie full tide of successful experiment."
The public school system of Iowa is admirably organized, and if the various
oflBcers who are entrusted with the educational interests of the commonwealth
are faithful and competent, should and will constantly improve.
" The public schools are supported by funds arising from several sources.
The sixteenth section of every Congressional Township was set apart by the
General Government for school purposes, being one-thirty-sixth part of all the
lands of the State. The minimum price of these lands was fixed at one dollar
and twenty-five cents per acre. Congress also made an additional donation to
the State of five hundred thousand acres, and an appropriation of five per cent,
on all the sales of public lands to the school fund. The State gives to this
fund the proceeds of the sales of all lands which escheat to it ; the proceeds of
all fines for the violation of the liquor and criminal laws. The money derived
from these sources constitutes the permanent school fund of the State, which
cannot be diverted to any other purpose. The penalties collected by the courts
for fines and forfeitures go to the school fund in the counties where collected.
The proceeds of the sale of lands and the five per cent, fund go into the State
Treasury, and the State distributes these proceeds to the several counties accord-
ing to their request, and the counties loan the money to individuals for long
terms at eight per cent, interest, on security of land valued at three times the
amount of the loan, Exclusive of all buildings and improvements thereon. The
interest on these loans is paid into the State Treasury, and becomes the avail-
able school fund of the State. The counties are responsible to the State for all
money so loaned, and the State is likewise responsible to the school fund for all
moneys transferred to the counties. The interest on these loans is apportioned
by the State Auditor semi-annually to the several counties of the State, in pro-
portion to the number of persons between the ages of five and twenty-one years.
The counties also levy an annual tax for school purposes, which is apportioned
to the several district townships in the same way. A district tax is also
levied for the same purpose. The money arising from these several sources
constitutes the support of the public schools, and is sufficient to enable
every sub-district in the State to afibrd from six to nine months' school
each year."
The taxes levied for the support of schools are self-imposed. Under the
admirable school laws of the State, no taxes can be legally assessed or collected
for the erection of school houses until they have been ordered by the election of
the district at a school meeting legally called. The school houses of Iowa are
the pride of the State and an honor to the people. If they have been some-
times built at a prodigal expense, the tax payers have no one to blame but
themselves. The teachers' and contingent funds are determined by the Board of
Directors under certain legal restrictions. These boards are elected annually,
except in the independent districts, in which the board may be entirely changed
every three years. The only exception to this mode of levying taxes for support
223 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
of schools is the county school tax, vrhich is determined by the County Board
of Supervisors. The tax is from one to three mills on the dollar ; usually,
however, but one. Mr. Abernethy, who was Superintendent of Public Instruc-
tion from 1872 to 1877, said in one of his reports :
There is but little opposition to the levy of taxes for the support of schools, and there
-would be still less if the funds were always properly guarded and judiciously expended. How-
■ever much our people disagree upon other subiects, they are practically united upon this.
The opposition of wealth has long since ceased to exist, and our wealthy men are usually the
most liberal in their views and the most active friends of popular education. They are often
found upon our school boards, and usually make the best of school officers. It is not uncommon
-tor Boards of Directors, especially in the larger towns and cities, to be composed wholly of men
•who represent the enterprise, wealth and business of their cities.
At the close of 1877, there were 1,086 township districts, 3,138 indepen-
dent districts and 7,015 sub-districts. There were 9,948 ungraded and 476
^aded schools, with an average annual session of seven months and five days.
There were 7,348 male teachers employed, whose average compensation was
$34.88 per month, and 12,518 female teachers, with an average compensation
■of $28.69 per month.
The number of persons between the ages 5 and 21 years, in 1877, was
•567,859; number enrolled in public schools, 421,163; total average attendance,
251,372 ; average cost of tuition per month, $1.62. There are 9,279 frame,
671 brick, 257 stone and 89 log school houses, making a grand total of 10,296,
Talued at $9,044,973. The public school libraries number 17,329 volumes.
Ninety-nine teachers' institutes were held during 1877. Teachers' salaries
amounted to $2,953,645. There was expended for school houses, grounds,
libraries and apparatus, $1,106,788, and for fuel and other contingencies,
$1,136,995, making the grand total of $5,197,428 expended by the generous
people of Iowa for the support of their magnificent public schools in a single
year. The amount of the permanent school fund, at the close of 1877, was
13,462,000. Annual interest, $276,960.
In 1857, there were 3,265 independent districts, 2,708 ungraded schools,
and 1,572 male and 1,424 female teachers. Teachers' salaries amounted to
^198,142, and the total expenditures for schools was only $364,515. Six hun-
dred and twenty-three volumes were the extent of the public school libraries
"twenty years ago, and there were only 1,686 school houses, valued at $571,064.
In twenty years, teachers' salaries have increased from $198,142, in 1857,
to $2,953,645 in 1877. Total school expenditures, from $364,515 to
.$5,197,428.
The significance of such facts as these is unmistakable. Such lavish expen-
•ditures can only be accounted for by the liberality and public spirit of the
people, all of whom manifest their love of popular education and their faith in
the public schools by the annual dedication to their support of more than one
per cent, of their entire taxable property ; this, too, uninterruptedly through a
■series of years, commencing in the midst of a war which taxed their energies and
resources to the extreme, and continuing through years of general depression in
business — years of moderate yield of produce, of discouragingly low prices, and
■even amid the scanty surroundings and privations of pioneer life. Few human
enterprises have a grander significance or give evidence of a more noble purpose
than the generous contributions from the scanty resources of the pioneer for the
purposes of public education.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA. 22S
POLITICAL RECORD.
TERRITORIAL OFFICERS.
G-overnors — Robert Lucas, 1838-41; John Chambers, 1841-45; James;
Clarke, 1845.
Secretaries — "William B. Conway, 1838, died 1839 ; James Clarke, 1839 ;
0. H. W. StuU, 1841 ; Samuel J. Burr, 1843 ; Jesse Williams, 1845.
Auditors— Jeaee Williams, 1840 ; Wm. L. Gilbert, 1843 • Robert M.
Secrest, 1845.
Treasurers — Thornton Bayliss, 1839 ; Morgan Reno, 1840.
Judges — Charles Mason, Chief Justice, 1888 ; Joseph Williams, 1838 ;.
Thomas S. Wilson, 1838.
Presidents of Council — Jesse B. Browne, 1838-9 ; Stephen Hempstead,
1839-40; M. Bainridge, 1840-1; Jonathan W. Parker, 1841-2 ; John D.
Elbert, 1842-3; Thomas Cox, 1843-4; S. Clinton Hastings, 1845; Stephen
Hempstead, 1845-6.
Speakers of the House — William H. Wallace, 1838-9 ; Edward Johnston,
1889-40; Thomas Cox, 1840-1; Warner Lewis, 1841-2; James M. Morgan,
1842-3 ; James P. 'Carleton, 1843-4 ; James M. Morgan, 1845 ; George W.
McCleary, 1845-6.
First Constitutional Convention, 1844- — Shepherd Leffler, President ; Geo.
S. Hampton, Secretary.
Second Constitutional Convention, 18Ji6 — Enos Lowe, President ; William
Thompson, Secretary.
OFFICERS OP THE STATE GOVERNMENT.
Governors — Ansel Briggs, 1846 to 1850 ; Stephen Hempstead, 1850 to
1854; James W. Grimes, 1854 to 1858 ; Ralph P. Lowe, 1858 to 1860; Sam-
uel J. Kirkwood, 1860 to 1864 ; William M. Stone, 1864 to 1868 ; Samuel
Morrill, 1868 to 1872 ; Cyrus C. Carpenter, 1872 to 1876 ; Samuel J. Kirk-
wood, 1876 to 1877; Joshua G. Newbold, Acting, 1877 to 1878; John H.
Gear, 1878 to .
Lieutenant Governor — Office created by the new Constitution September 3,
1867— Oran Faville, 1858-9 ; Nicholas J. Rusch, 1860-1 ; John R. Needham,
1862-3; Enoch W. Eastman, 1864-5; Benjamin F; Gue, 1866-7; John
Scott, 1868-9; M. M. Walden, 1870-1; H. C. Bulls, 1872-3; Joseph Dy-
sart, 1874-5 ; Joshua G. Newbold, 1876-7 ; Frank T. Campbell, 1878-9.
Secretaries of State — Elisha Cutler, Jr., Dec. 5, 1846, to Dec. 4, 1848 ;
Josiah H. Bonney, Dec. 4, 1848, to Dec. 2, 1850; George W. McCleary, Dec.
2, 1850, to Dec. 1, 1856 ; Elijah Sells, Dec. 1, 1856, to Jan. 5, 1863 ; James
Wright, Jan. 5, 1863, to Jan. 7, 1867 ; Ed. Wright, Jan. 7, 1867, to Jan. 6,
1873; Josiah T. Young, Jan. 6, 1873, to .
Auditors of State— Soae^h. T. Fales, Dec. 5, 1846, to Dec. 2, 1850 ; Will-
iam Pattee, Dec. 2, 1850, to Dec. 4, 1854 ; Andrew J. Stevens, Dec. 4, 1854,
resigned in 1855 ; John Pattee, Sept. 22, 1855, to Jan. 3, 1859 ; Jonathan
W. Cattell, 1859 to 1865 ; John A. Elliot, 1865 to 1871 ; John Russell, 1871
to 1875 ; Buren R. Sherman, 1875 to — .
Treasurers of State — Morgan Reno, Dec. 18, 1846, to Dec. 2, 1850 ;
Israel Kister, Dec. 2, 1850, to Dec. 4, 1852 ; Martin L. Morris, Dec. 4, 1852,
to Jan. 2, 1859 ; John W. Jones, 1859 to 1863 ; William H. Holmes, 1863 to
:224 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
1867; Samuel E. Rankin, 1867 to 1873; William Christy, 1873 to 1877;
George W. Bemis, 1877 to .
Superintencknts of Public Instruction — Office created in 1847 — James Harlan,
Junfe 6, 1845 (Supreme Court decided election void) ; Thomas H. Benton, Jr.,
May 23, 1844, to June 7, 1854 ; James D. Eads, 1854-7 ; Joseph C. Stone,
March to June, 1857 ; Maturin L. Fisher, 1857 to Dec, 1858, when the office
was abolished and the duties of the office devolved upon the Secretary of the
IBoard of Education.
Secretaries of Board of Education — Thomas H. Benton, Jr., 1859-1863 ;
■Oran Faville, Jan. 1, 1864. Board abolished March 23, 1864.
Superintendents of Public Instruction — Office re-created March 23, 1864 —
Oran Faville, March 28, 1864, resigned March 1, 1867 ; D. Franklin Wells,
March 4, 1867, to Jan., 1870 ; A. S. Kissell, 1870 to 1872 ; Alonzo Abernethy,
1872 to 1877 ; Carl W. Von Coelln, 1877 to .
State Binders — Office created February 21, 1855 — William M. Coles,
1, 1855, to May 1, 1859 ; Frank M. Mills, 1859 to 1867 ; James S. Carter,
1867 to 1870; J. J. Smart, 1870 to 1874; H. A. Perkins, 1874 to 1875;
James J. Smart, 1875 to 1876 ; H. A. Perkins, 1876 to .
Registers of the State Land Office — Anson Hart, May 5, 1855, to May
13, 1857 ; Theodore S. Parvin, May 13, 1857, to Jan. 3, 1859 ; Amos B.
Miller, Jan. 3, 1859, to October, 1862 ; Edwin Mitchell, Oct. 31, 1862, to
Jan 5, 1863 ; Josiah A. Harvey, Jan. 5, 1863, to Jan. 7, 1867 ; Cyrus C.
Carpenter, Jan. 7, 1867, to January, 1871 ; Aaron Brown> January, 1871, to
to January, 1875 ; David Secor, January, 1875, to .
State Printers — Office created Jan. 3, 1840 — Garrett D. Palmer and
George Paul, 1849; William H. Merritt, 1851 to 1853; William A. Hornish,
1853 (resigned May 16, 1853); Mahoney & Dorr, 1853 to 1855; Peter
Moriarty, 1855 to 1857 ; John Teesdale, 1857 to 1861 ; Francis W. Palmer,
1861 to 1869 ; Frank M. Mills, 1869 to 1870 ; G. W. Edwards, 1870 to
1872 ; R. P. Clarkson, 1872 to .
Adjutants Greneral — Daniel S. Lee, 1851-5; Geo. W. McCleary, 1855-7;
Elijah Sells, 1857 ; Jesse Bowen, 1857-61 ; Nathaniel Baker, 1861 to 1877;
John H. Looby, 1877 to .
Attorneys General — David C. Cloud, 1853-56 ; Samuel A. Rice, 1856-60!
Charles C. Nourse, 1861-4; Isaac L. Allen, 1865 (resigned January, 1866);
Frederick E. Bissell, 1866 (died June 12, 1867); Henry O'Connor, 1867-72;
Marsena E. Cutts, 1872-6 ; John F. McJunkin, 1877.
Presidents of the Senate — Thomas Baker, 1846-7 ; Thomas Hughes,
1848 ; John J. Selman, 1848-9 ; Enos Lowe, 1850-1 ; William E. Leffing-
vrell, 1852-3; Maturin L. Fisher, 1854-5; William W. Hamilton, 1856-7.
Under the new Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is President of the
Senate.
Speakers of the House — Jesse B. Brown, 1847-8; Smiley H. Bonhan,
1849-50; George Temple, 1851-2; James Grant, 1853-4; Reuben Noble,
1855-6 ; Samuel McFarland, 1856-7 ; Stephen B. Sheledy, 1858-9 ; John
Edwards, 1860-1 ; Rush Clark, 1862-3 ; Jacob Butler, 1864-5 ; Ed. Wright,
1866-7 ; John Russell, 1868-9 ; Aylett R. Cotton, 1870-1 ; James Wilson,
1872-3 ; John H. Gear, 1874-7 ; John Y. Stone, 1878.
Niw Constitutional Convention, 1859 — Francis Springer, President ; Thos.
J. Saunders, Secretary.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 225
STATE OFFICERS, 1878.
John H. Gear, Governor ; Frank T. Campbell, Lieutenant Governor ; Josiah
T. Young, Secretary of State; Buren R. Sherman, Auditor of State; George
W. Bemis, Treasurer of State ; David Secor, Register of State Land Office ;
John H. Looby, Adjutant General; John F. McJunken, Attorney General;
Mrs. Ada North, State Librarian ; Edward J. Holmes, Clerk Supreme Court ;
John S. Runnells, 'Reporter Supreme Court; Carl W. Von Coelln, Superintend-
ent Public Instruction ; Richard P. Clarkson, State Printer ; Henry A. Perkins,
State Binder; Prof. Nathan R. Leonard, Superintendent of Weights and
Measures; William H. Fleming, Governor's Private Secretary; Fletcher W.
Young, Deputy Secretary of State; John C. Parish, Deputy Auditor of State;
Erastus G. Morgan, Deputy Treasurer of State; John M. Davis, Deputy Reg-
ister Land Office; Ira C. Kling, Deputy Superintendent Public Instruction.
THE JUDICIARY.
SUPBEME COUKT OP IOWA.
Ohief Justices. — Charles Mason, resigned in June, 1847 ; Joseph Williams,
Jan., 1847, to Jan., 1848 ; S. Clinton Hastings, Jan., 1848, to Jan., 1849; Joseph
Williams, Jan., 1849, to Jan. 11, 1855 ; Geo. G. Wright, Jan. 11, 1855, to Jan.,
1860 ; Ralph P. Lowe, Jan., 1860, to Jan. 1, 1862 ; Caleb Baldwin, Jan., 1862, to
Jan., 1864 ; Geo. G. Wright,Jan., 1864, to Jan., 1866 ; RalphP. Lowe, Jan.,1866,
to Jan., 1868; John F. Dillon, Jan., 1868, to Jan., 1870; Chester C. Cole, Jan.
1, 1870, to Jan. 1, 1871; James G. Day, Jan. 1, 1871, to Jan. 1, 1872; Joseph
M. Beck, Jan. 1, 1872, to Jan. 1, 1874; W. B. Miller, Jan. 1, 1874, to Jan. 1,
1876 ; Chester C. Cole, Jan. 1, 1876, to Jan. 1, 1877 ; James G. Day, Jan. 1,
1877, to Jan. 1, 1878; James H. Rothrock, Jan. 1, 1878.
Associate Judges. — Joseph Williams; Thomas S. Wilson, resigned Oct.,
1847; John F. Kinney, June 12, 1847, resigned Feb. 15, 1854; George
Greene, Nov. 1, 1847, to Jan. 9, 1855; Jonathan C. Hall, Feb. 15, 1854, to
succeed Kinney, resigned, to Jan., 1855; William G. Woodward, Jan. 9, 1855;
Norman W. Isbell, Jan. 16, 1855, resigned 1856 ; Lacen D. Stockton, June 3,
1866, to succeed Isbell, resigned, died June 9, 1860 ; Caleb Baldwin, Jan. 11,
1860, to 1864; Ralph P. Lowe, Jan. 12, 1860; George G. Wright, June 26,
1860, to succeed Stockton, deceased; elected TJ. S. Senator, 1870; John F. Dil-
lon, Jan. 1, 1864, to succeed Baldwin, resigned, 1870; Chester C. Cole, March
1, 1864, to 1877 ; Joseph M. Beck, Jan. 1, 1868 ; W. B. Miller, October 11,
1864, to succeed Dillon, resigned; James G. Day, Jan. 1, 1871, to succeed
Wright.
SUPREME oorRT, 1878.
James H. Rothrock, Cedar County, Chief Justice; Joseph M. Beck, Lee
County, Associate Justice ; Austin Adams, Dubuque County, Associate Justice ;
WiUiam H. Seevers, Oskaloosa County, Associate Justice; James G. Day, Fre-
mont County, Associate Justice.
CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENT ATION.
UNITED STATES SENATOES.
(The first General Assembly failed to elect Senators.)
George W. Jones, Dubuque, Dec. 7, 1848-1858 ; Augustus C. Dodge, Bur-
lington, Dec. 7, 1848-1855; James Harlan, Mt. Pleasant, Jan. 6, 1855-1865;
James W. Grimes, Burlington, Jan. 26, 1858-died 1870 ; Samuel J. Kirkwood,
Iowa City, elected Jan. 13, 1866, to fill vacancy caused by resignation of James
226 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
Harlan ; James Harlan, Mt. Pleasant, March 4, 1866-1872 ; James B. Howell,
Keol5;uk, elected Jan. 20, 1870, to fill vacancy caused by the death of J. W.
Grimes — term expired March 3d ; George G. Wright, Des Moines, March 4,
1871-1877 ; William B. Allison, Dubuque, Match 4, 1872 ; Samuel J. Kirk-
wood, March 4, 1877.
MBMBEK3 OF HOUSE OF KEPKEBENTATIVBS.
Twenty-ninth Congress — 18^6 to 184-7. — S. Clinton Hastings; Shepherd
Leffler.
Thirtieth Congress — 184-7 to 1849. — First District, William Thompson;
Second District, Shepherd Leffler. ^
Thirty-first Congress — 1849 to 1851. — First District, First Session, Wm.
Thompson ; unseated by the House of Representatives on a contest, and election
remanded to the people. First District, Second Session, Daniel F. Miller.
Second District, Shepherd Leffler.
Thirty-second Congress — 1851 to 1853. — First District, Bernhart Henn.
Second District, Lincoln Clark.
Thirty-third Congress — 1858 to 1855. — First District, Bernhart Henn.
Second District, John P. Cook.
Thirty-fourth Congress — 1855 to 1857. — First District, Augustus Hall.
Second District, James Thorington.
Thirty-fifth Congress — 1857 to 1859. — First District, Samuel R. Curtis.
Second District, Timothy Davis.
• Thirty-sixth Congress — 1859 to 1861. — First District, Samuel R. Curtis.
Second District, William Vandever.
Thirty-seventh Congress — 1861 to 1863. — First District, First Session,
Samuel R. Curtis.* First District, Second and Third Sessions, James F. Wil-,
son. Second District, William Vandever.
Thirty-eighth Congress — 1863 to 1865. — First District, James F. Wilson.
Second District, Hiram Price. Third District, William B. Allison. Fourth
District, Josiah B. Grinnell. Fifth District, John A. Kasson. Sixth District,
Asahel W. Hubbard.
Thirty-ninth Congress — 1865 to 1867. — First District, James F. Wilson ;
Second District, Hiram Price; Third District, William B. Allison; Fourth
District, Josiah B. Grinnell ; Fifth District, John A. Kasson ; Sixth District, ;
Asahel W. Hubbard.
Fortieth Congress— 1867 to 1869. — First District, James F. Wilson ; Sec-
ond District, Hiram Price ; Third District, William B. Allison, Fourth District,
William Loughridge; Fifth District, Grenville M. Dodge; Sixth District, i
Asahel W. Hubbard. I
Forty-first Congress — 1869 to 1871. — First District, George W. McCrary;
Second District, William Smyth ; Third District, William B. Allison ; Fourth
District, William Loughridge ; Fifth District, Frank W. Palmer ; Sixth Dis-
trict, Charles Pomeroy. «
Forty-second Congress — 1871 to 1873. — First District, George W. Mc-
Crary ; Second District, Aylett R. Cotton; Third District, W. G. Donnan;
Fourth District, Madison M. Waldon ; Fifth District, Frank W. Palmer ; Sixth
District, Jackson Orr.
Forty-third Congress — 1873 to 1875. — First District, George W. McOrary;
Second District, Aylett R. Cotton ; Third District, William Y. Donnan ; Fourth
District, Henry 0. Pratt; Fifth District, James Wilson; Sixth District,
* Vacated seat by acceptance of commission as Brigadier General, and J. F. Wilson chosen his successor.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 229
William Loughridge; Seventh District, John A, Kasson; Eighth District,
James W. McDill ; Ninth District, Jackson Orr.
Forty-fouHh Congress — 1875 to 1877. — First District, George "W. Mc-
Crary ; Second District, John Q. Tufts ; Third District, L. L. Ainsworth ;
Fourth District, Henry 0. Pratt ; Fifth District, James Wilson ; Sixth District,
Ezekiel S. Sampson; Seventh District, John A. Kasson; Eighth District,
James W. McDill ; Fifth District, Addison Oliver.
Forty-fifth Congress— 1877 to 1879.— Yirsi District, J. C. Stone; Second
District, Hiram Price ; Third District, T. W. Burdick ; Fourth District, H. C.
Deering ; Fifth District, Rush Clark ; Sixth District, E. S. Sampson ;
Seventh District, H. J. B. Cummings ; Eighth District, W. F. Sapp ; Ninth
District, Addison Oliver.
WAR RECORD.
The State of Iowa may well be proud of her record during the War of the
Rebellion, from 1861 to 1865. The following brief but comprehensive sketch of
the history she made during that trying period is largely from the pen of Col. A.
P. Wood, of Dubuque, the author of " The History of Iowa and the War," one
of the best works of the kind yet written.
" Whether in the promptitude of her responses to the calls made on her by
the General Government, in the courage and constancy of her soldiery in the
field, or in the wisdom and efficiency with wiiich her civil administration was
conducted during the trying period covered by the War of the Rebellion, Iowa
proved herself the peer of any loyal State. The proclamation of her Governor,
responsive to that of the President, calling for volunteers to compose her First
Regiment, was issued on the fourth day after the fall of Sumter. At the end
of only a single week, men enough were reported to be in quarters (mostly in
the vicinity of their own homes) to fill the regiment. These, however, were
hardly more than a tithe of the number who had been offered by company com-
manders for acceptance under the President's call. So urgentVere these offers
that the Governor requested (on the 24th of April) permission to organize an
additional regiment. While awaiting an answer to this request, he conditionally
accepted a sufficient number of companies to compose two additional regiments.
In a short time, he was notified that both of these would be accepted. Soon
after the completion of the Second and Third Regiments (which was near the
close of May), the Adjutant General of the State reported that upward of one
hundred and seventy companies had been tendered to the Governor to serve
agaiiist the enemies of the Union.
" Much difficulty and considerable (Jelay occured in fitting these regiments
for the field. For the First Infantry a complete outfit (not uniform) of clothing
was extemporized — principally by the volunteered labor of loyal women in the
different towns — from material of various colors and qualities, obtained within
the limits of the State. The same was done in part for the Second Infantry.
Meantime, an extra session of the General Assembly had been called by the
Governor, to convene on the 15th of May. With Ijut little delay, that body
authorized a loan of $800,000, to meet the extraordinary expenses incurred, and
to be incurred, by the Executive Department, in consequence of the new emer-
gency. A wealthy merchant of the State (Ex-Governor Merrill, then a resident
of McGregor) immediately took from the Governor a contract to supply a com-
plete outfit of clothing for the three regiments organized, agreeing to receive,
should the Governor so elect, his pay therefor in State bonds at ..par. This con-
V p
230 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
tract he executed to the letter, and a portion of the clothing (which was manu-'
factured in Boston, to his order) was delivered at Keokuk, the place at which
the troops had rendezvoused, in exactly one month from the day on which the
contract had been entered into. The remainder arrived only a few days later.
This clothing was delivered to the regiment, but was subsequently condemned
by the Government, for the reason that its color was gray, and blue had been
adopted as the color to be worn by the national troops."
Other States also clothed their troops, sent forward under the first call of
President Lincoln, with gray uniforms, but it was sooii found that the con-
federate forces were also clothed in gray, and that color was at once abandoned
by the Union troops. If both armies were clothed alike, annoying if not fatal
mistakes were liable to be made.
But while engaged in these efforts to discharge her whole duty in common with
all the other Union-loving States in the great emergency, Iowa was compelled
to make immediate and ample provision for the protection of her own borders,
from threatened invasion on the south by the Secessionists of Missouri, and
from danger of incursions from the west and northwest by bands of hostile
Indians, who were freed from the usual restraint imposed upon them by the
presence of regular troops stationed at the frontier posts. These troops were
withdrawn to meet the greater and more pressing danger threatening the life of
the nation at its very heart.
To provide for the adequate defense of her borders from the ravages of both
rebels in arms against the Government and of the more irresistible foes from
the Western plains, the Governor of the State was authorized to raise and equip
two regiments of infantry, a squadron of cavalry (not less than five companies)
and a battalion of artillery (not less than three companies.) Only cavalry were
enlisted for home defense, however, "but," says Col. Wood, "in times of special
danger, or when calls were made by the Unionists of Northern Missouri for
assistance against their disloyal enemies, large numbers of militia on foot often
turned out, and remained in the field until the necessity for their services had
passed.
" The first order for the Iowa volunteers to move to the field was received
on the 13th of June. It was issued by Gen. Lyon, then commanding the
United States forces in Missouri. The First and Second Infantry immediately
embarked in steamboats, and moved to Hannibal. Some two weeks later, the
Third Infantry was ordered to the same point. These three, together with
many other of the earlier organized Iowa regiments, rendered their fijst field
service in Missouri. The First Infantry formed a part of the little army with
which Gen. Lyon moved on Springfield, and fought the bloody battle of Wilson's
Creek. It received unqualified prais^ for its gallant bearing on the field. In
the following month (September), the Third Iowa, with but very slight support,
fought with honor the sanguinary engagement of Blue Mills Landing ; and in
November, the Seventh Iowa, as a part of a force commanded by Gen. Grant,
greatly distinguished itself in the battle of Belmont, where it poured out its
blood like water — ^losing more than half of the men it took into action.
" The initial operations in which the battles referred to took place were fol-
lowed by the more important movements led by Gen. Grant, Gen. Curt^, of
this State, and other commanders, which resulted in defeating the armies
defending the chief strategic lines held by the Confederates in Kentucky, Tenn-
nessee, Missouri and Arkansas, and compelling their withdrawal from much of
the territory previously controlled by them in those States. In these and other
movements, down to the grand culminating campaign by which Vicksburg was.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 231
captured and the Confederacy permanently severed on the line of the Mississippi
River, Iowa troops took part in steadily increasing numbers. In the investment
and siege of Vicksburg, the State was represented by thirty regiments and two
batteries, in addition to which, eight regiments and one battery were employed
on the outposts of the besieging army. The brilliancy of their exploits on the
many fields where they served won for them the highest meed of praise, both
in military and civil circles. Multiplied were the terms in which expression
was given to this sentiment, but these words of one of the journals of a neigh-
boring State, ' The Iowa troops have been heroes among heroes,' embody the
spirit of all.
" In the veteran re-enlistments that distinguished the closing months of 1863
above all other periods in the history of re-enlistments for the national armies,
the Iowa three years' men (who were relatively more numerous than those of any
other State) were prompt to set the example of volunteering for another term of
equal length, thereby adding many thousands to the great army of those who
gave this renewed and practical assurance that the cause of the Union should
not be left without defenders.
" In all the important movements of 1864-65, by which the Confederacy
was penetrated in every quarter, and its military power finally overthrown, the
Iowa troops took part. Their drum-beat was heard on the banks of every great
river of the South, from the Potomac to the Rio Grande, and everywhere they
rendered the same faithful and devoted service, maintaining on all occasions their
wonted reputation for valor in the field and endurance on the march.
" Two Iowa three-year cavalry regiments were employed during their whole
term of service in the operations that were in progress from 1868 to 1866 ■
against the hostile Indians of the western plains. A portion of these men were
among the last of the volunteer troops to be mustered out of service. The State
also supplied a considerable number of men to the navy, who took part in most
of the naval operations prosecuted against the Confederate power on the Atlantic
and Gulf coasts, and the rivers of the West.
" The people of Iowa were early and constant workers in the sanitary field,
and by their liberal gifts and personal efi"orts for the benefit of the soldiery,
placed their State in the front rank of those who became distinguished for their
exhibitions of patriotic benevolence during the period covered by the war.
Agents appointed by the Governor were stationed at points convenient for ren-
dering assistance to the sick and needy soldiers of the State, while others were
employed in visiting, from time to time, hospitals, camps and armies in the field,
and doing whatever the circumstances rendered possible for the health and
comfort of such of the Iowa soldiery as might be found there.
" Some of the benevolent people of the State early conceived the idea of
establishing a Home for such of the children of deceased soldiers as might be
left in destitute circumstances. This idea first took form in 1863, and in the
following year a Home was opened at Farmington, Van Buren County, in a
building leased for that purpose, and which soon became filled to its utmost
capacity. The institution received liberal donations from the general public,
and also from the soldiers in the field. In 1865, it became necessary to pro-
vide, increased accommodations for the large number of children who were
seeking the benefits of its care. This was done by establishing a branch
at Cedar Falls, in Black Hawk County, and by securing, during the same
year, for the use of the parent Home, Camp Kinsman near the City of
Davenport. This property was soon afterward donated to the institution, by
act of Congress.
232 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
" In 1866, in pursuance of a law enacted for that purpose, the Soldiers'
Orphans' Home (which then contained about four hundred and fifty inmates)
became a State institution, and thereafter the sums necessary for its support were
appropriated from the State treasury. A second branch was established at
Glenwood, Mills County. Convenient tracts were secured, and valuable improve-
ments made at all the different points. Schools were also established, and em-
ployments provided for such of the children as were of suitable age. In all
ways the provision made for these wards of the State has been such as to chal-
lenge the approval of every benevolent mind. The number of children who
have been inmates of the Home from its foundation to the present time is
considerably more than two thousand.
" At the beginning of the war, the population of Iowa included about one
hundred and fifty thousand men presumably liable to render military service.
The State raised, for general service, thirty-nine regiments of infantry, nine
regiments of cavalry, and four companies of artillery, composed of three years'
men ; one regiment of infantry, composed of three months' men ; and four regi-
ments and one battalion of infantry, composed of one hundred days' men. The
original enlistments in these various organizations, including seventeen hundred
and twenty-seven men raised by draft, numbered a little more than sixty-nine
thousand. The re-enlistments, including upward of seven thousand veterans,
numbered very nearly eight thousand. The enlistments in the regular army
and navy, and organizations of other States, will, if added, raise the total to
upward of eighty thousand. The number of men who, under special enlistments,
and as militia, took part at different times in the operations on the exposed
borders of the State, was probably as many as five thousand.
" Iowa paid no bounty on account of the men she placed in the field. In
some instances, toward the close of the war, bounty to a comparatively small
amount was paid by cities and towns. On only one occasion — that of the call
of July 18, 1864 — was a draft made in Iowa. This did not occur on account of
her proper liability, as established by previous rulings of the War Department,
to supply men under that call, but grew out of the great necessity that there
existed for raising men. The Government insisted on temporarily setting aside,
in part, the former rule of settlements, and enforcing a draft in all cases where
subdistricts in any of the States should be found deficient in their supply of
men. In no instance was Iowa, as a whole, found to be indebted to the General
Government for men, on a settlement of her quota accounts."
It is to be said to the honor and credit of Iowa that while many of the loyal
States, older and larger in population and wealth, incurred heavy State debts
for the purpose of fulfilling their obligations to the General Government, Iowa,
while she was foremost in duty, while she promptly discharged all her obligations
to her sister States and the Union, found herself at the close of the war without
any material addition to her pecuniary liabilities incurred before the war com-
menced. Upon final settlement after the restoration of peace, her claims upon
the Federal Government were found to be fully equal to the amount of he i- bonds
issued and sold during the war to provide the means for raising and equipping
her troops sent into the field, and to meet the inevitable demands upon her
treasury in consequence of the war.
HISTORY OF THE BXATE OF IOWA. 233
INFANTRY. "
THE FIRST INFANTEY
was organized under the President's first proclamation for volunteers for three
months, with John Francis Bates, of Dubuque, as Colonel ; William H. Mer-
ritt, of Cedar Rapids, as Lieutenant Colonel, and A. B. Porter, of Mt. Pleas-
ant, as Major. Companies A and C were from Muscatine County; Company
B, from Johnson County; Companies D and B, from Des Moines County;
Company F, from Henry County ; Company G, from Davenport ; Companies
H and I, from Dubuque, and Company K, from Linn County, and viere mus-
tered into United States service May 14, 1861, at Keokuk. The above com-
panies were independent military organizations before the war, and tendered
their services before breaking-out of hostilities. The First -was engaged at the
battle of Wilson's Creek, under Gen. Lyon, where it lost ten killed and fifty
wounded. Was mustered out at St. Louis Aug. 25, 1861.
THE SECOND INFANTRY
was organized, with Samuel R. Curtis, of Keokuk, as Colonel ; Jas. M. Tuttle,
of Keosauqua, as Lieutenant Colonel, and M. M. Crocker, of Des Moines, as
Major, and was mustered into the United States service at Keokuk in May,
1861. Company A was from Keokuk ; Company B, from Scott County ; Com-
pany C, from Scott County ; Company D, from Des Moines ; Company E, from
Fairfield, Jefierson Co. ; Company F, from Van Buren County'; Company G,
from Davis County ; Company H, from Washington County ; Company I, from
Clinton County ; and Company K, from Wapello County. It participated in the
following engagements : Fort Donelson, Shiloh, advance on Corinth, Corinth,
Little Bear Creek, Ala.; Tunnel Creek, Ala.; Resaca, Ga.; Rome Cross Roads,
Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Nick-a-Jack Creek, in front of Atlanta, January 22,
1864 ; siege of Atlanta, Jonesboro, Eden Station, Little Ogeechee, Savannah,
Columbia, S. C. ; Lynch's Creek, and Bentonsville. Was on Sherman's march
to the sea, and through the Carolinas home. The Second Regiment of Iowa
Infantry Veteran Volunteers was formed by the consolidation of the battalions
of the Second and Third Veteran Infantry, and was mustered out at Louisville,
Ky., July 12, 1865.
THE THIRD INFANTEY
was organized with N. G. Williams, of Dubuque County, as Colonel ; John
Scott, of Story County, Lieutenant Colonel ; Wm. N. Stone, of Marion County,
Major, and was mustered into the United States service in May, 1861, at
Keokuk. Company A was from Dubuque County ; Company B, from Marion
County ; Company C, from Clayton County ; Company D, from Winneshiek
County ; Company E, from Boone, Story, Marshall and Jasper Counties ; Com-
pany F, from Fayette County ; Company G, from Warren County ; Company H,
from Mahaska County ; Company I, from Floyd, Butler Black Hawk and
Mitchell Counties, and Company K from Cedar Falls. It was engaged at Blue
Mills, Mo. ; Shiloh, Tenn. ; Hatchie River, Matamoras, Vicksburg, Johnson,
Miss., Meridian expedition, and Atlanta, Atlanta campaign and Sherman's
march to Savannah, and through the Carolinas to Richmond and Washington.
The veterans of the Third Iowa Infantry were consolidated with the Second,
and mustered out-at Louisville, Ky., July 12, 1864.
234 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
THE FOURTH INFANTRY
was organized with G. M. Dodge, of Council Bluffs, as Colonel ; John
Galligan, of Davenport, as Lieutenant Colonel ; Wm. R. English, Grlenwood,
as Major. Company A, from Mills County, was mustered in at Jefferson Bar-
racks, Missouri, August 15, 1861 ; Company B, Pottawattamie County, was
mustered in at Council Bluffs, August 8, 1861 ; Company 0, Guthrie County,
mustered in at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., May 3, 1861 ; Company D, Decatur
County, at St. Louis, August 16th ; Company E, Polk County, at Council
Bluffs, August 8th ; Company F, Madison County, Jefferson Barracks, August
15th ; Company G, Ringgold County, at Jefferson Barracks, August 15th ;
Company H, Adams County, Jefferson Barracks, August 15th ; Company I,
Wayne County, at St. Louis, August 31st; Company K, Taylor and Page
Counties, at St. Louis, August 31st. Was engaged at Pea Ridge, Chickasaw
Bayou, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, Jackson, Lookout Mountain, Missionary
Ridge, Ringgold, Resaca, Taylor's Ridge; came home on veteran furlough
February 26, 1864. Returned in April, and was in the campaign against
Atlanta, and Sherman's march to the sea, and thence through the Carolinas
to Washington and home. Was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, July
24, 1865.
THE FIFTH INFANTRY
was organized with Wm. H. Worthington, of Keokuk, as Colonel; C. Z. Mat-
thias, of Burlington, as Lieutenant Colonel; W. S. Robertson, of Columbus City,
as Major, and was mustered into the United States service, at Burlington, July
15, 1861. Company A was from Cedar County; Company B, from jasper
County ; Company C, from Louisa County; Company D, from Marshall County;
Company E, from Buchanan County ; Company F, from Keokuk County ; Com-
pany G, from Benton County ; Company H, from Van Buren County ; Company
I, from .Jackson County ; Company K, from Allamakee County ; was engaged at
New Madrid, siege of Corinth, luka, Corinth, Champion Hills, siege of Vicks-
burg, Chickamauga ; went home on veteran furlough, April, 1864. The non-
veterans went home July, 1864, leaving 180 veterans who were transferred to
the Fifth Iowa Cavalry. The Fifth Cavalry was mustered out at Nashville,
Tennessee, Aug. 11, 1865.
THE SIXTH INFANTRY.
was mustered into the service July 6, 1861, at Burlington, with John A.
McDowell, of Keokuk, as Colonel ; Markoe Cummins, of Muscatine, Lieuten-
ant Colonel ; John M. Corse, of Burlington, Major. Company A was from
Linn County; Company B, from Lucas and Clarke Counties; Company 0,
from Hardin County ; Company D, from Appanoose County ; Company E,
from Monroe County ; Company F, from Clarke County ; Company G, from
Johnson County; Company H, from Lee County; Company I, from Des
Moines County ; Company K, from Henry County. It was engaged at Shiloh,
Mission Ridge, Resaca, Dallas, Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, Jackson, Black
River Bridge, Jones' Ford, etc., etc. The Sixth lost 7 officers killed in action, 18
wounded ; of enlisted men 102 were killed in action, 30 died of wounds, 124 of
disease, 211 were discharged for disability and 301 were wounded in action,
which was the largest list of casualties, of both officers and men, of any reg-
iment from Iowa. Was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, July 21, 1865.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 235
THE SEVENTH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service at Burlington, July 24, 1861,
with J. G. Lauman, of Burlington, as Colonel ; Augustus Wentz, of Daven-
port, as Lieutenant Colonel, and E. W. Rice, of Oskaloosa, as Major. Com-
pany A was from Muscatine County ; Company B, from Chickasaw and Floyd
Counties ; Company C, from Mahaska County ; Companies D and E, from Lee
County ; Company F, from Wapello County ; Company G, from Iowa County ;
Company H, from Washington County ; Company I, from Wapello County ;
Company K, from Keokuk. Was engaged at the battles of Belmont (in which
it lost in killed, wounded and missing 237 men), Fort Henry, Fort Donelson,
Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Corinth, Rome Cross Roads, Dallas, New Hope
Church, Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, Nick-a-Jack Creek, siege of Atlanta,
battle on 22d of July in front of Atlanta, Sherman's campaign to the ocean,
through the Carolinas to Richmond, and thence to Louisville. Was mustered
out at Louisville, Kentucky, July 12, 1865.
. THE EIGHTH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service Sept. 12, 1861, at Davenport,
Iowa, with Frederick Steele, of the regular army, as Colonel ; James L. Greddes,
of Vinton, as Lieutenant Colonel, and J. C. Ferguson, of Knoxville, as Major.
Company A was from Clinton County ; Company B, from Scott County ;
Company C, from Washington , County ; Company D, from Benton and Linn
Counties; Company E, from Marion County; Company F, from Keokuk
County ; Company O, from Iowa and Johnson Counties ; Company H. from
Mahaska County ; Company I, from Monroe County ; Company K', from Lou-
isa County. Was engaged at the following battles : Shiloh (where most of the
regimeiit were taken prisoners of war), Corinth, Vicksburg, Jackson and Span-
ish Fort. Was mustered out of the United States service at Selma, Alabama,
April 20, 1866.
THE NINTH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service September 24, 1861, at Dubuque,
with Wm. Vandever, of Dubuque, Colonel ; Frank G. Herron, of Dubuque,
Lieutenant Colonel ; Wm. H. Coyle, of Decorah, Major. Company A was
from Jackson County ; Company B, from Jones County ; Company C, from Bu-
chanan County ; Company D, from Jones County ; Company E, from Clayton
County ; Company F, from Fayette County ; Company G, from Black Hawk
County ; Company H, from Winneshiek County ; Company I, from Howard
County and Company K, from Linn County. Was in the following engage-
ments : Pea Ridge, Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, siege of Vicksburg,
Ringgold, Dallas, Lookout Mountain, Atlanta campaign, Sherman's march to
the sea, and through North and South Carolina to Richmond. Was mustered
out at Louisville, July 18, 1865.
THE TENTH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service at Iowa City September 6, 1861,
with Nicholas Perczel, of Davenport, as Colonel ; W. E. Small, of Iowa City,
as Lieutenant Colonel ; and John C. Bennett, of Polk County, as Major. Com-
pany A was from Polk County ; Company B, from Warren County ; Company
C, from Tama County ; Company D, from Boone County ; Company E, from
Washington County ; Company F, from Poweshiek County ; Company G, from
236 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
Warren County ; Company H, from Greene County ; Company I, from Jasper
County ; Company K, from Polk and Madison Counties. Participa'-ed in the
following engagements : Siege of Corinth, luka, Corinth, Port Gibson, Eay-
mond, Jackson, Champion Hills, Vicksburg and Mission Ridge. In Septem-
ber, 1864, the non-veterans being mustered out, the veterans were transferred
to the Fifth Iowa Cavalry, where will be found their future operations.
' THE ELEVENTH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service at Davenport, Iowa, in September
and October, 1861, with A. M. Hare, of Muscatine, as Colonel ; Jno. C. Aber-
crombie, as Lieutenant Colonel ; Wm. Hall, of Davenport, as Major. Com-
pany A was from Muscatine ; Company B, from Marshall and Hardin Counties ;
Company C, from Louisa County ; Company D, from Muscatine County ; Com-
pany E, from Cedar County ; Company F, from Washington County ; Company
G, from Henry County ; Company H, from Muscatine County ; Company I
from Muscatine County ; Company K, from Linn County. Was engaged in the
battle of Shiloh, siege of Corinth, battles of Corinth, Vicksburg, Atlanta cam-
naign, battle of Atlanta, July 22, 186-4. Was mustered out at Louisville, Ky.,
July 15, 1865.
THE TWELFTH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service November 25, 1861, at Dubuque,
with J. J. Wood, of Maquoketa, as Colonel ; John P. Coulter, of Cedar Rapids,
Lieutenant Colonel ; Samuel D. Brodtbeck, of Dubuque, as Major. Company
A was from Hardin County ; Company B, from Allamakee County ; Company C,
from Fayette County ; Company D, from Linn County ; Company E, from Black
Hawk County ; Company F, from Delaware County ; Company G, from Winne-
shiek County ; Company H, from Dubuque and Delaware Counties ; Company
I, from Dubuque and Jackson Counties ; Company K, from Delaware County.
It was engaged at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, where most of the regiment was
captured, and those not captured were organized in what was called the Union
Brigade, and were in the battle of Corinth ; the prisoners were exchanged
November 10, 1862, and the regiment re-organized, and then participating in
the siege of Vicksburg, battle of Tupelo, Miss.; White River, Nashville and
Spanish Fort. The regiment was mustered out">at Memphis, January 20, 1866.
THE THIRTEENTH INFANTRY
was mustered in November 1, 1861, at Davenport, with M. M. Crocker, of Des
Moines, as Colonel ; M. M. Price, of Davenport, Lieutenant Colonel ; John
Shane, Vinton, Major. Company A was from Mt. Vernon ; Company B, from
Jasper County ; Company C, from Lucas County ; Company D, from Keokuk
County ; Company E, from Scott County ; Company F, from Scott and Linn
Counties ; Company G, from Benton County ; Company H, from Marshall County ;
Company I, from Washington County ; Company K, from Washington County.
It participated in the following engagements : Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Corinth, ■
Kenesaw Mountain, siege of Vicksburg, Campaign against Atlanta. Was on
Sherman's march to the sea, and through North and South Carolina. Was
mustered out at Louisville July 21, 1865.
THE FOURTEENTH INFANTRY
was mustered in the United States service October, 1861, at Davenport, with
Wm. T. Shaw, of Anamosa, as Colonel ; Edward W. Lucas, of Iowa City, as
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 237
Lieutenant Colonel ; Hiram Leonard, of Des Moines County, as Major. Com-
pany A was from Scott County ; Company B, from Bremer County ; Company
D, from Henry and Van Buren Counties ; Company E, from Jasper County ;
Company F, from Van Buren and Henry Counties ; Company G, from Tama and
Scott Counties; Company H, from Linn County; Company L from Henry
County ; Company K, from Des Moines County. Participated in the follow-
ing engagements : Ft. Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth (where most of the regiment
were taken prisoners of war), Pleasant Hill, Meridian, Ft. De Russey, Tupelo,
Town Creek, Tallahatchie, Pilot Knob, Old Town, Yellow Bayou, etc., etc.,
and was mustered out, except veterans and recruits, at Davenport, Iowa, No-
vember 16, 1864.
THE FIFTEENTH INFANTKT
was mustered into the United States service March 19, 1862, at Keokuk, with
Hugb T. Reid, of Keokuk, as Colonel ; Wm. Dewey, of Fremont County, as
Lieutenant Colonel ; W. W. Belknap, of Keokuk, as Major. Company A was
from Linn County ; Company B, from Polk County ; Company C, from Mahaska
County ; Company -D, from Wapello County ; Company E, from Van Buren
County ; Company F, from Fremont anil Mills Counties ; Company G, from
Marion and Warren Counties ; Company H, from Pottawattamie and Harrison
Counties ; Company I, from Lee, Van Buren and Clark Counties ; Company K,
from Wapello, Van Buren and Warren Counties. Participated in the battle of
Shiloh, siege of Corinth, battles of Corinth, Vicksburg, campaign against At-
lanta, battle in front of Atlanta, July 22, 1864, and was under fire during
the siege of Atlanta eighty-one days ; was on Sherman's march to the sea, and
through the Carolinas to Richmond, Washington and Louisville, where it was
mustered out, August 1, 1864.
THE SIXTEENTH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service at Davenport, Iowa, December 10,
1861, with Alexander Chambers, of the regular army, as Colonel; A. H.
Sanders, of Davenpo"rt, Lieutenant Colonel; Wm. Purcell, of Muscatine,
Major. Company A was from Clinton County ; Company B, from Scott
County; Company 0, from Muscatine County; Company D, from Boone County;
Company E, from Muscatine County ; Company F, from Muscatine, Clinton and
Scott Counties ; Company G, from Dubuque County ; Company H, from Du-
buque and Clayton Counties ; Company I, from Black Hawk and Linn Counties ;
Company E, from Lee and Muscatine Counties. Was in the battles of Shiloh,
siege of Corinth, luka, Corinth, Kenesaw Mountain, Nick-a-Jack Creek, battles
around Atlanta; was in Sherman's campaigns, and the Carolina campaigns.
Was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., July 19, 1865.
THE SEVENTEENTH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service at Keokuk, in March and April,
1862, with Jno. W. Rankin, of Keokuk, Colonel ; D. B. Hillis, of Keokuk,
as Lientenant Colonel; Samuel M. Wise, of Mt. Pleasant, Major. Company
A was from Decatur County; Company B, from Lee County; Company C,
from Van Buren, Wapello and Lee Counties ; Company D, from Des Moines,
Van Buren and Jefferson Counties; Company E, from Wapello County; Com-
pany F, from Appanoose County ; Company G, from Marion County ; Com-
pany H, from Marion and Pottawattamie Counties ; Company I, from Jefferson
and Lee Counties; Company K, from Lee and Polk Counties. They were in
238 HISTORY OF THE STATE OP IOWA.
the following engagements : Siege of Corinth, luka, Corinth, Jackson, Cham-
pion Hills, Fort Hill, siege of Vicksburg, Mission Ridge, and at Tilton, Ga.,
Oct. 13, 1864, most of the regiment were taken prisoners of war. Was mus-
tered out at Louisville, Ky., July 25, 1865.
THE EIGHTEENTH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service August 5, 6 and 7, 1862, at Clin-
ton, with John Edwards, of Chariton, Colonel ; T. Z. Cook, of Cedar Rapids,
Lieutenant Colonel ; Hugh J. Campbell, of Muscatine, as Major. Company
A, was from Linn and various other counties ; Company B, from Clark County;
Company C, from Lucas County; Company D, from Keokuk and Wapello
Counties ; Company E, from Muscatine County ; Company F, from Appanoose
County ; Company G, from Marion and Warren Counties ; Company H, from
Fayette and BentOn Counties; Company I, from Washington County; Com-
pany K, from Wapello, Muscatine and Henry Counties, and was engaged in
the battles of Springfield, Moscow, Poison Spring, Ark., and was mustered out
at Little Rock, Ark., July 20, 1865.
THE NINETEENTH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service August 17, 1862, at Keokuk, with
Benjamin Crabb, of Washington, as Colonel ; Samuel McFarland, of Mt. Pleas-
ant, Lieutenant Colonel, and Daniel Kent, of Ohio, Major. Company A was
from Lee and Van Buren Counties; Company B, from Jeflferson County; Com-
pany C, from Washington County ; Company D, from Jefferson County ; Com-
pany B, from Lee County; Company F, from Louisa County; Company G,
from Louisa County ; Company H, from Van Buren County ; Company I, from
Van Buren County; Company K, from Henry County. Was engaged a Prairie
Grove, Vicksburg, Yazoo River expedition. Sterling Farm, September 29, 1863,
at which place they surrendered ; three officers and eight enlisted men were
killed, sixteen enlisted men were woun^led, and eleven officers and two hundred
and three enlisted men taken prisoners out of five hundred engaged; they
were exchanged July 22d, and joined their regiment August 7th, at New Or-
leans. Was engaged at Spanish Fort. Was mustered out at Mobile, Ala., July
10, 1865.
THE TWENTIETH INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service August 25, 1862, at Clinton, with
Wm. McE. Dye, of Marion, Linn Co., as Colonel : J. B. Leek, of Davenport, as
Lieutenant Colonel, and Wm. G. Thompson, of Marion, Linn Co., as Major-
Companies A, B, F, H and I were from Linn County ; Companies C, D, E, 6
and K, from Scott County, and was engaged in the following battles : Prairie
Grove, and assault on Fort Blakely. Was mustered out at Mobile, Ala., July
8, 1865.
THE TWENTY-FIRST INFANTRY
was mustered into the service at Clinton in June and August, 1862, with
Samuel Merrill (late Governor of Iowa) as Colonel ; Charles W. Dunlap, of
Mitchell, as Lieutenant Colonel; S. G. VanAnda, of Delhi, as Major. Com«
pany A was from Mitchell and Black Hawk Counties ; Company B, from
Clayton County ; Company C, from Dubuque County ; Company D, from
Clayton County ; Company E, from Dubuque County ; Company F, from Du-
buque County ; Company G, from Clayton County ; Company H, from Delar
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 239
ware County ; Company I, from Dubuque County ; Company K, from Delaware
County, and was in the following engagements : Hartsville, Mo. ; Black River
Bridge, Fort Beauregard, was at the siege of Vicksburg, Mobile, Fort Blakely,.
and was mustered out at Baton Rouge, La., July 15, 1865.
THE TWENTY-SECOND INFANTRY
was mustered into the United States service Sept. 10, 1862, at Iowa City, with
Wm. M. Stone, of Knoxville (since Governor of Iowa), as Colonel ; Jno. A.
Garrett, of Ifewton, Lieutenant Colonel ; and Harvey Graham, of Iowa City,
as Major. Company A was from Johnson County ; Company B, Johnson
County ; Company C, Jasper County ; Company D, Monroe County ; Company
E, Wapello County ; Company F, Johnson Countv ; Company G, Johnson.
County ; Company H, Johnson County ; Company I, Johnson County ; Com-
pany K, Johnson County. Was engaged at Vicksburg, Thompson's Hill, Cham-
pion Hills, Sherman's campaign to Jackson, at Winchester, in Shenandoah Val-
ley, losing 109 men, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. Mustered out at Savannah,.
Ga., July 25, 1865.
THE TWENTY-THIRD INFANTRY
was mustered into United States service at Des Moines, Sept. 19, 1862, with
William Dewey, of Sidney, as Colonel ; W. H. Kinsman, of Council Bluffs, as
Lieutenant Colonel, and S. L. Glasgow, of Corydon, as Major. Companies
A, B and C, were from Polk County ; Company D, from Wayne County ; Com-
pany E, from Pottawattamie County ; Company P, from Montgomery County ;.
Company G, from Jasper County ; Company H, from Madison County ; Com-
pany I, from Cass County, and Company K, from Marshall County. Was in
Vicksburg, and engaged at Port Gibson, Black River, Champion Hills, Vicks-
burg, Jackson, Milliken's Bend, Fort Blakely, and was mustered out at Harris-
burg, Texas, July 26, 1865
THE TWENTY-FOURTH
was mustered into United States service at Muscatine, September 18, 1862,
withEber C. Byam, of Mount Vernon, as Colonel; John Q. Wilds, of Mount
Vernon, as Lieutenant Colonel, and Ed. Wright, of Springdale, as Major.
Company A was from Jackson and Clinton Counties ; Companies B and C,
from Cedar County; Company D, from Washington, Johnson and Cedar
Counties; Company E, from Tama County; Companies F, G and H, from
Linn County ; Company I, from Jackson County, and Company K, from Jones
County. Was engaged at Port Gibson, Champion Hills, Gen. Banks' Red
River expedition, Winchester and Cedar Creek. Was mustered out at Savan-
nah, Ga., July 17, 1865.
THE TWENTY-FIFTH INFANTRY
was organized with George A. Stone, of Mount Pleasant, as Colonel ; Fabian.
Brydolf as Lieutenant Colonel, and Calom Taylor, of Bloomfield, .as Major,
and was mustered into United States service at Mount Pleasant, September 27,
1862. Companies A and I were from Washington County ; Companies B and
H, from Henry County ; Company C, Irom Htory and Lee Counties ; Com-
panies D, E and G, from Des Moines County ; Company F, from Louisa
County, and Company K, from Des Moines and Lee Counties. Was engaged
at Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, Walnut Bluff, Chattanooga, Campain, Ring-
240 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
gold, Ga., Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, battles around Atlanta, Love-
joy Station, Jonesboro, Ship's Gap, Bentonville, and on Sherman's march
through Georgia and the Carolinas, to Richmond and Washington. Was
mustered out at Washington, D. C, June 6, 1865.
THE TWENTY-SIXTH
was organized and mustered in at Clinton, in August, 1862, -with Milo Smith,
of Clinton, as Colonel ; S. G. Magill, of Lyons, as Lieutenant Colonel, and
Samuel Clark, of De Witt, as Major. Company A was from Clinton and
Jackson Counties ; Company B, from Jackson County ; Companies C, D, E,
F, G, H, I and K, from Clinton County. Was engaged at Arkansas Post,
Vicksburg, Snake Creek Gap, Ga., Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, De-
catur, siege of Atlanta, Ezra Church, Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, Ship's Gap',
Sherman's campaign to Savannah, went through the Carolinas, and was mua-
1;ered out of service at Washington, D. C, June 6, 1865.
THE TWENTY-SEVENTH
-was mustered into United States service at Dubuque, Oct. 3, 1862, with Jamea
I. Gilbert, of Lansing, as Colonel ; Jed Lake, of Independence, as Lieutenant
Colonel ; and G. W. Howard, of Bradford, as Major. Companies A, B and I
■were from Allamakee County; Companies C and H, from Buchanan County;
Companies D and E, from Clayton County; Company F, from Delaware
€ounty ; Company G, from Floyd and Chickasaw Counties, and Company K,
from Mitchell County. Engaged at Little Rock, Ark., was on Red River ex-
pedition. Fort De Russey, Pleasant Hill, Yellow Bayou, Tupelo, Old Town
'Creek and Fort Blakely. Was mustered out at Clinton, Iowa, Aug. 8, 1865.
THE TWENTY-EIGHTH '
was organized at Iowa City, and mustered in Nov. 10, 1862, with William E.
Miller, of Iowa City, as Colonel; John Connell, of Toledo, as Lieutenant Colonel,
and H. B. Lynch, of Millersburg, as Major. Companies A and D were
from Benton County ; Companies B and G, from Iowa County ; Companies
C, H and I, from Poweshiek County; Company B, from Johnson County;
Company F, from Tama County, and Company K, from Jasper County. Was
■engaged at Port Gibson, Jackson and siege of Vicksburg ; was on Banks' Red
River expedition, and engaged at Sabine Cross Roads ; was engaged in Shen-
andoah Valley, Va., and engaged at Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek.
Was mustered out of service at Savannah, Ga., July 31, 1865.
THE TWENTY-NINTH
was organized at Council Bluffs, and mustered into the United States service
December 1, 1862, with Thomas H. Benton, Jr., of Council Bluffs, as Colonel;
R. F. Patterson, of Keokuk, as Lieutenant Colonel; and Charles B. Shoe-
maker, of Clarinda, as Major. Company A was from Pottawattamie County;
Company B, from Pottawattamie and Mills Counties ; Company C, from Harrison
County ; Company D, from Adair and Adams Counties , Company E, from
Fremont County ; Company F, from Taylor County ; Company G, from Ring-
gold County. Was engaged at Helena, Arkansas and Spanish Fort. Was
mustered out at New Orleans August 15, 1865.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 241
THE THIRTIETH INFANTRY
was organized at Keokuk, and mustered into the United States service September
23, 1862, with Charles B. Abbott, of Louisa County, as Colonel; Wm. M. G. Tor-
rence, of Keokuk, as Lieutenant Colonel ; and Lauren Dewey, of Mt. Pleasant, as
Major. Companies A and I were from Lee County ; Company B, from Davis
County ; Company C, from Des Moines County ; Company D, from Van Buren
County ; Companies E and K from Washington County ; Company F, from
Davis County ; and Companies G and H, from Jefferson County. Was
engaged at Arkansas Post, Yazoo City, Vicksburg, Cherokee, Ala., Ringgold,
Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Lovejoy Station, Jonesboro, Taylor's
Ridge; was in Sherman's campaigns to Savannah and through the Carolinas ta
Richmond ; was in the grand review at Washington, D. C, where it was mus-
tered out June 5, 1865.
THE THIRTY-FIRST INFANTRY
was mustered into the service at Davenport October 13, 1862, with William
Smyth, of Marion, as Colonel; J. W. Jenkins, of Maquoketa, as Lieutenant
Colonel ; and Ezekiel Cutler, of Anamosa, as Major. Company A was from
Linn County; Companies B, C and D, from Black Hawk County; Companies
E, G and H, from Jones County ; Companies F, I and K, from Jackson County.
Was engaged at Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Raymond, Jackson, Black
River, Vicksburg, Cherokee, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Ringgold,
Taylor's Hills, Snake Creek Gap, Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Big
Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesboro ; was in Sherman's campaign
through Georgia and the Carolinas, and was mustered out at Louisville, Ken-
tucky, June 27, 1865
THE THIRTY-SECOND INFANTRY
was organized at Dubuque, with John Scott, of Nevada, as Colonel ; E. H..
Mix, of Shell Rock, as Lieutenant Colonel, and G. A. Eberhart, of Waterloo,
as Major. Company A was from Hamilton, Hardin and Wright Counties;
Company B, from Cerro Gordo County; Company C, from Black Hawk
County ; Company D, from Boone County ; Company E, from Butler County ;.
Company F, from Hardin County; Company G, from Butler and Floyd Coun-
ties ; Company H, from Franklin County ; Company I, from Webster County,
, and Company K, from Marshall and Polk Counties, and was mustered into
the United States service October 5, 1862. Was engaged at Fort De Russey,
Pleasant Hill, Tupelo, Old Town Creek, Nashville, etc., and was mustered out
of the United States service at Clinton, Iowa, Aug. 24, 1865.
THE THIRTY-THIRD INFANTRY
was organized at Oskaloosa, with Samuel A. Rice, of Oskaloosa, as Colonel ;:
Cyrus H. Maskey, of Sigoumey, as Lieutenant Colonel, and Hiram D. Gibson,
of Knoxville, as Major. Companies A and I were from Marion County ; Com-
panies B, F and H, from Keokuk County ; Companies C, D, E and K, from
Makaska County, and Company G, from Marion, Makaska and Polk Counties,
and mustered in October 1, 1862. Was engaged at Little Rock, Helena, Sa-
line River, Spanish Fort and Yazoo Pass. Was mustered out at New Orleans^
July 17, 1865.
242 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
THE THIRTY-FOURTH INFANTRY
was organized with George W. Clark, of Indianola, as Colonel ; W. S. Duilgan,
of Chariton, as Lieutenant Colonel, and R. D. Kellogg, of Decatur County, as
Major, and mustered in at Burlington, October 15, 1862. Companies A and I
were from Decatur County ; Companies B, C and D, from Warren County ; Com-
pany E, from Lucas County; Company F, from Wayne County; Company G,
from Lucas and Clark Counties; Company H, from Madison and Warren
Counties, and Company K, from Lucas County. Was engaged at Arkansas
Post, Ft. Gaines, etc., etc. Was consolidated with the Thirty-eighth Infantry,
January 1, 1865, and mustered out at Houston, Texas, August 15, 1865.
THE THIRTY-FIFTH INFANTRY
was organized at Muscatine, and mustered in the United States service Sep-
tember 18, 1862, with S. G. Hill, of Muscatine, as Colonel; James H. Roth-
rock, as Lieutenant Colonel, and Henry 0' Conner, of Muscatine, as Major.
Companies A, B, C, D and E, were from Muscatine County; Company F,
from Muscatine and Louisa Counties ; Companies G, H and I, from Muscatine
and Cedar Counties, and Company K, from Cedar County. Participated in
the battles of Jackson, siege of Vicksburg, Bayou Rapids, Bayou de Glaze,
Pleasant Hill, Old River Lake, Tupelo, Nashville, etc. Was mustered out at
Davenport, August 10, 1865.
THE THIRTY-SIXTH INFANTRY
was organized at Keokuk, with Charles W. Kittredge, of Ottumwa, as Colonel ;
F. M. Drake, of Unionville, Appanoose County, as Lieutenant Colonel, and T.
C. Woodward, of Ottumwa, as Major, and mustered in October 4, 1862 ; Com-
pany A was from Monroe County ; Companies B, D, E, H and K, from
Wapello County, and Companies C, F, G and I, from Appanoose County.
Was engaged in the following battles : Mark's Mills, Ark. ; Elkins' Ford,
Camden, Helena, Jenkins' Ferry, etc. At Mark's Mills, April 25, 1864, out
of 500 engaged, lost 200 killed and wounded, the balance being taken prisoners
of war ; was exchanged October 6, 1864. Was mustered out at Duvall's Bluff,
Ark., August 24, 1865.
THE THIRY-SEVENTH INFANTRY (OR GRAY BEARDS;
was organized with Geo. W. Kincaid, of Muscatine, as Colonel ; Geo. R. West,
of Dubuque, as Lieutenant Colonel, and Lyman Allen, of Iowa City, as Major,
and was mustered into United States service at Muscatine December 15, 1862.
Company A was from Black Hawk and Linn Counties ; Company , B, from
Muscatine County ; Company C, from Van Buren and Lee Counties ; Company
D, from Johnson and Iowa Counties ; Company E, from Wapello and Mahaska
Counties ; Company F, from Dubuque County ; Company G, from Appanoose,
Des Moines, Henry and Washington Counties ; Company H, from Henry and
JeflFerson Counties; Company I, from Jasper, Linn and other counties, and
Company K, from Scott and Fayette Counties. The object of the Thirty-
seventh was to do garrison duty and let the young men go to the front. It was
mustered out at Davenport on expiration of three years' service.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 243
THE THIRTY-EIGHTH INFANTRY
was organized at Dubuque, and mustered in November 4, 1862, with D. H.
Hughes, of Decorah, as Colonel ; J. 0. Hudnutt, of Waverly, as Lieutenan,
Colonel, and Charles Chadwick, of West Union, as Major. Companies A, Ft
G and H were from Fayette County ; Company B, from Bremer County ; Com-
pany C, from Chickasaw County ; Companies D, B and K, from Winneshiek
County, and Company I, from Howard County. Participated in the siege of
Vicksburg, Banks' Red River expedition, and on December 12, 1864, was
consolidated with the Thirty-fourth Infantry. Mustered out at Houston, Texas,
August 15, 1865.
THE THIRTY-NINTH INFANTRY
was organized with H. J. B. Cummings, of Winterset, as Colonel ; James Red-
field, of Redfield, Dallas County, as Lieutenant Colonel ; and J. M. Griffiths,
of Des Moines, as Major. Companies A and F were from Madison County ;
Companies B and I, from Polk County; Companies C and H, from Dallas
County; Company D, from Clark County; Company E, from Greene County ;
Company G, from Des Moines and Henry Counties ; and Company K, from
Clark and Decatur Counties. Was engaged at Parker's Cross JEloads, Tenn.;
Corinth, AUatoona, Ga.; Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Sherman's march
to Savannah and through the Carolinas to Richmond, and was mustered out at
Washington June 5, 1865.
THE FORTIETH INFANTRY
was organized at Iowa City November 15, 1862, with John A. Garrett, of
Newton, as Colonel; S. F. Cooper, of Grinnell, as Lieutenant Colonel;, and
S. G. Smith, of Newton, as Major. Companies A and H were from Marion
County; Company B, from Poweshiek County; Company C, from Mahaska
County ; Companies D and E, from Jasper County ; Company F, from Ma-
haska and Marion Counties ; Company G, from Marion County ; Company I,
from Keokuk County ; and Company K, from Benton and other counties. Par-
ticipated in the siege of Vicksburg, Steele's expedition, Banks' Red River
expedition, Jenkins' Ferry, etc. Was mustered out at Port Gibson August 2,
1866.
THE FORTY-FIRST INFANTRY,
formerly Companies A, B and C of the Fourteenth Infantry, became Compa-
nies K, L and M of the Seventh Cavalry, under authority of the War Depart-
ment. Its infantry organization was under command of John Pattee, of Iowa
City. Company A was from Black Hawk, Johnson and other counties ; Com-
pany B, from Johnson County ; and Company C, from Des Moines and various
counties.
THE FORTY-FOURTH INFANTRY (100 DAYS)
was organized at Davenport, and mustered in June 1, 1864. Company A was
from Dubuque County ; Company B, Muscatine County ; Company C, Jones,
Linn and Dubuque Counties ; Company D, Johnson" and Linn Counties ; Com-
pany E, Bremer and Butler Counties ; Company F, Clinton and Jackson
Counties ; Company G, Marshall and Hardin Counties ; Company H, Boone
and Polk Counties; Companies I and K, Scott County. The Forty-fourth
did garrison duty at Memphis and La Grange, Tenn. Mustered out at Daven-
port, September 15, 1864.
241 HISTORY OP THE STATE OP IOWA.
THE PORTY-FIPTH INFANTRY (100 DAYS)
was mustered in at Keokuk, May 25, 1864, with A. H. Bereman, of Mount
Pleasant, as Colonel ; S. A. Moore, of Bloomfield, as Lieutenant Colonel, and
J. B. Hope, of Washington, as Major. The companies were from the following
counties : A, Henry ; B, "Washington ; C, Lee ; D, Davis ; E, Henry and
Lee ; F, Des Moines ; G, Des Moines and Henry ; H, Henry ; I, Jefferson,
and K, Van Buren. Was mustered out at Keokuk, September 16, 1864.
THE FORTY-SIXTH INFANTRY (100 DAYS)
was organized with D. B. Henderson, of Clermont, as Colonel; L. D. Durbin,
of Tipton, as Lieutenant Colonel, and G. L. Tarbet, as Major, and was mus-
tered in at Dubuque, June 10, 1864. Company A was from Dubuque ; Com-
pany B, from Poweshiek; C, from Dallas and Guthrie ; D, from Taylor and
Fayette ; E, from Ringgold and Linn ; F, from Winneshiek and Delaware ; G,
from Appanoose and Delaware ; H, from Wayne ; I, from Cedar, and K, from
Lucas. Was mustered out at Davenport, September 23, 1864.
THE FORTY-SEVENTH INFANTRY (100 DAYS)
was mustered into United States service at Davenport, June 4, 1864, with
James P. Sanford, of Oskaloosa, as Colonel ; John Williams, of Iowa City, as
Lieutenant Colonel, and G. J. Wright, of Des Moines, as Major. Company
A was from Marion and Clayton Counties; Company B, from Appanoose
County ; Company C, from Wapello and Benton Counties ; Company B, from
Buchanan and Linn Counties ; Company E, from Madison County ; Company
F, from Polk County ; Company G, from Johnson County ; Company H, from
Keokuk County ; Company I, from Mahaska County, and Company K, from
Wapello.
THE FORTY-EIGHTH INFANTRY — BATTALION — (100 DAYS)
was organized at Davenport, and mustered in July 13, 1864, with 0. H. P.
Scott, of Farmington, as Lieutenant Colonel. Company A was from Warren
County ; Company B, from Jasper County ; Company C, from Decatur County,
and Company D, from Des Moines and Lee Counties, and was mustered out at
Rock Island Barracks Oct. 21, 1864.
CAVALRY.
THE FIRST CAVALRY
was organized at Burlington, and mustered into the United States service May
3, 1861, with Fitz Henry Warren, of Burlington, as Colonel ; Chas. E. Moss,
of Keokuk; as Lieutenant Colonel ; and E. W. Chamberlain, of Burlington,
James 0. Gower, of Iowa City, and W. M. G. Torrence, of Keokuk, as Majors.
Company A was from Lee, Van Buren and Wapello Counties ; Company B,
from Clinton County ; Cofnpany C, from Des Moines and Lee Counties ; Com-
pany D, from Madison and Warren Counties; Company E, from Henry
County ; Company F, from Johnson and Linn Counties ; Company G, from
Dubuque and Black Hawk Counties ; Company H, from Lucas and Morrison
Counties ; Company I, from Wapello and Des Moines Counties ; Company K,
from Allamakee and Clayton Counties ; Company L, from Dubuque and otner
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 245
counties; Company M, from Clinton County. It was engaged at Pleasant
Hill, Mo.; Rolla, New Lexington, Elkins' Ford, Little Rock, Bayou Metoe,
Warrensburg, Big Creek BluiFs, Antwineville, Clear Creek, etc. Was mustered
out at Austin, Texas, February 15, 1866.
THE SECOND CAVALRY
was organized with W. L. Elliott, of the regular army, as Colonel ; Edward
Hatch, of Muscatine, as Lieutenant Colonel ; and N. P. Hepburn, of Marshall-
town, D. E. Coon, of Mason City, and H. W. Love, of Iowa City, as Majors,
and was mustered into the United States service at Davenport September 1,
1861. Company A was from Muscatine County ; Company B, from Marshall
County ; Company C, from Scott County ; Company D, from Polk County ;
Company E, from Scott County; Company F, from Hamilton and Franklin
Counties ; Company G, from Muscatine County ; Company H, from Johnson
County ; Company I, from Cerro Gordo, Delaware and other counties ; Com-
pany K, from Des Moines County ; Company L, from Jackson County, and
Company M, from Jackson County. The Second Cavalry participated in the
following military movements : Siege of Corinth, battles of Farmington, Boone-
ville, Rienzi, luka, Corinth, Coffeeville, Palo Alto, Birmingham, Jackson,
Grenada, Collierville, Moscow, Pontotoc, Tupelo, Old Town, Oxford, and en-
gagements against Hood's march on Nashville, battle of Nashville, etc. Was
mustered out at Selma, Ala., September 19, 1866.
THE THIRD CAVALRY
was organized and mustered into the United States service at Keokuk, in Au-
gust and September, 1861, with Cyrus Bussey, of Bloomfield, as Colonel; H.
H. Bussey, of Bloomfield, as Lieutenant Colonel, and C. H. Perry, H. C. Cald-
well and W. C. Drake, of Corydon, as Majors. Companies A and E were from
Davis County ; Company B, from Van Buren and Lee Counties ; Company C,
from Lee and Keokuk Couilties; Company D, from Davis and Van Buren
Counties ; Company F, from Jefferson County ; Company G, from Van Buren
County ; Company H, from Van Buren and Jefferson Counties ; Company I,
from Appanoose County ; Company K, from Wapello and Marion Counties ;
Company L, from Decatur County, and Company M, from Appanoose and De-
catur Counties. It was engaged in the following battles and skirmishes :
Pea Ridge, La Grange, Sycamore, near Little Rock, Columbus, Pope's Farm,
Big Blue, Ripley, Coldwater, Osage, Tallahatchie, Moore's Mill, near Monte-
vallo, near Independence, Pine Bluff, Botts' Farm, Gun Town, White's Station,
Tupelo, Village Creek. Was mustered out of United States service at Atlanta,
Ga., August 9, 1865.
THE FOURTH CAVALRY
was organized with Asbury B. Porter, of Mount Pleasant, as Colonel ; Thomas
Drummond, of Vinton, as Lieutenant Colonel ; S. D. Swan, of Mount Pleas-
ant, J. E. Jewett, of Des Moines, and G. A. Stone, of Mottnt Pleasant, as
Majors, and mustered into United States service at Mount Pleasant November
21, 1861. Company A was from Delaware County ; Company C, from Jef-
ferson and Henry Counties ; Company D, from Henry County ; Company E,
246 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
from Jasper and Poweshiek Counties ; Company F, from Wapello County ;
Company G, from Lee and Henry Counties ; Company H, from Chickasaw
County; Company I, from Madison County; Company K, from Henry
County ; Company L, from Des Moines and other counties ; and Company M,
from Jefferson County. The Fourth Cavalry lost men in the following engage-
ments : Guntown, Miss.; Helena, Ark.; near Bear Creek, Miss.; near Mem-
phis, Tenn.; Town Creek, Miss.; Columbus, Ga.; Mechanicsburg, Miss.; Little
Blue River, Ark.; Brownsville, Miss.; Bipley, Miss.; Black River Bridge,
Miss.; Grenada, Miss.; Little Red River, Ark.; Tupelo, Miss.; Yazoo River,
Miss.; White River, Ark.; Osage, Kan.; Lick Creek, Ark.; Okalona, Miss.;
St. Francis River, Ark. Was mustered out at Atlanta, Ga., August 10, 1865.
THE FIETH CAVALRY
was organized at Omaha with Wm. W. Lowe, of the regular army, as Colo-
nel ; M. T. Patrick, of Omaha, as Lieutenant Colonel ; and C. S. Bernstein,
of Dubuque, as Major, and mustered in September 21, 1861. Companies A,
B, C and D were mostly from Nebraska ; Company E, from Dubuque County;
Company F, from Des Moines, Dubuque and Lee Counties ; Company G, from
Minnesota ; Company H, from Jackson and other counties ; Companies I and
K were from Minnesota ; Company L, from Minnesota and Missouri ; Com-
pany M, from Missouri ; Companies G, I and K were transferred to Minnesota
Volunteers Feb. 25, 1864. The new Company G was organized from veterans
and recruits and Companies C, E, F and I of Fifth Iowa Infantry, and trans-
ferred to Fifth Cavalry August 8, 1864. The second Company 1 was organ-
ized from veterans and recruits and Companies A,^ B, D, G, H and K of tte
Fifth Iowa Infantry, and transferred to Fifth Iowa Cavalry August 18, 1864.
Was engaged at second battle of Fort Donelson, Wartrace, Duck River Bridge,
Sugar Creek, Newnan, Camp Creek, Cumberland Works, Tenn.; Jonesboro, .
Ebenezer Church, Lockbridge's Mills, Pulaski, Cheraw, and mustered out at
Nashville, Tenn., August 11, 1865.
THE SIXTH CAVALRY.
was organized with D. S. Wilson, of Dubuque, as Colonel ; S. M. Pollock, of
Dubuque, as Lieutenant Colonel ; T. H. Shephard, of Iowa City, E. P. Ten-
Broeck, of Clinton, and A. E. House, of Delhi, as Majors, and was mustered
in at Davenport; January 31, 1863. Company A was from Scott and other
counties ; Company B, from Dubuque and other counties ; Company C, from
Fayette County ; Company D, from Winneshiek County ; Company E, from
Southwest counties of the State; Company F, from Allamakee and other
counties ; Company G, from Delaware and Buchanan Counties ; Company H,
from Linn County ; Company I, from Johnson and other counties ; Company
K, from Linn County ; Company L, from Clayton County ; Company M, from
Johnson and Dubuque Counties. The Sixth Cavalry operated on the frontier
against the Indians. Was mustered out at Sioux City, October 17, 1865.
THE SEVENTH CAVALRY
was organized at Davenport, and mustered into the United States service April
27, 1863, with S. W. Summers, of Ottumwa, as Colonel ; John Pattee, of lows
City, as Lieutenant Colonel ; H. H. Heath and G. M. O'Brien, of Dubuque,
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 247
and John S. Wood, of Ottumwa, as Majors. Companies A, B, C and D, were
from Wapello and other counties in immediate vicinity ; Companies B, F, G
and H, were from all parts of the State ; Company I, from Sioux City and
known as Sioux City Cavalry; Company K was originally Company A of the
Fourteenth Infantry and afterward Company A of the Forty-first Infantry, was
from Johnson and other jounties ; Company L was originally Company B, of
the Forty-first Infantry and afterward Company B, of the Forty , and
was from Johnson County; Company M was originally Company C, of the
Fourteenth Infantry, and afterward Company C, of the Forty-first and from Des
Moines and other counties. The Seventh Cavalry operated against the Indi-
ans. Excepting the Lieutenant Colonel and Companies K, L and M, the regi-
ment was mustered out at Leavenworth, Kansas, May 17, 1866. Companies
K, L, and M were mustered out at Sioux City, June 22, 1866.
THE EIGHTH CAVALRY
was organized with J. B. Dorr, of Dubuque, as Colonel ; H. G. Earner, of
Sidney, as Lieutenant Colonel ; John J. Bowen, of Hopkinton, J. D. Thompson,
of Eldora, and A. J. Price, of Guttenburg, as Majors, and were mustered in at
Davenport September 30, 1863. The companies were mostly from the follow-
ing counties : Company A, Page ; B, Wapello ; C, Van Buren ; D, Ring-
gold ; E, Henry ; F, Appanoose ; G, Clayton ; H, Appanoose ; I, Marshall ;
jfc, Muscatine; L, Wapello ; M, Polk. The Eighth did a large amount of duty
guarding Sherman's communications, in which it had many small engagements.
It was in the battles of Lost Mountain, Lovejoy's Station, Newnan, Nashville,
etc. Was on Sioneman's cavalry raid around Atlanta, and Wilson's raid
through Alabama. Was mustered out at Macon, Ga., August 13, 1865.
THE NINTH CAVALRY
was mustered in at Davenport, November 30, 1863, with M. M. Trumbull, of
Cedar Falls, as Colonel ; J. P. Knight, of Mitchell, as Lieutenant Colonel ; E.
'T. Ensign, of Des Moines, Willis Drummond, of McGregor, and William Had-
dock, of Waterloo, as Majors. Company A was from Muscatine County ;
Company B, Linn County; Company C, Wapello and Decatur Counties ; Com-
pany D, Washington County ; Company B, Fayette County ; Company F,
Clayton County ; Companies G and H, various counties ; Company I, Wapello
tind JeflFerson Counties ; Company K, Keokuk County ; Company L, Jasper
'and Marion Counties ; Company M, Wapello and Lee Counties. Was mustered
out at Little Rock, Ark., February 28, 1866.
ARTILLERY.
THE FIRST BATTERY OF LIGHT ARTILLERY
TTas enrolled in the counties of Wapello, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jefferson,
Black Hawk, etc., and was mustered in at Burlington, Aug. 17, 1861, with C. H.
jFletcher, of Burlington, as Captain. Was engaged at Pea Ridge, Port Gibson,
pn Atlanta campaign, Chickasaw Bayou, Lookout Mountain, etc. Was mus-
jtered out at Davenport July 5, 1865.
248 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
THFi SECOND BATTERY OF LIGHT ARTILLERY
was enrolled in the counties of Dallas, Polk, Harrison, Fremont and Pottawat-
tamie, and mustered into United States service at Council Bluffs and St. Louis,
Mo., Aug. 8 and 31, 1861, with Nelson T. Spear, of Council Bluffs, as
Captain. Was engaged at Farmington, Corinth, etc. Was mustered out at
Davenport, Aug. 7, 1865.
THE THIRD BATTERY OF LIGHT ARTILLERY
was enrolled in the counties of Dubuque, Black Hawk, Butler and Floyd, and
mustered into United States service at Dubuque, September, 1861, with M.
M. Hayden, of Dubuque, as Captain. Was at battle of Pea Ridge, etc., etc.
Was mustered out at Davenport, Oct. 23, ,1865.
THE FOURTH BATTERY OF LIGHT ARTILLERY
was enrolled in Mahaska, Henry, Mills and Fremont Counties, and was mus-
tered in at Davenport, Nov. 28, 1863, with P. H. Goode, of Grienwood, Cap-
tain. Was mustered out at Davenport, July 14, 1865.
MISCELLANEOUS.
THE FOURTH BATTALION
Company A, from Fremont County, W. Hoyt, Captain ; Company B, from
Taylor County, John Flick, Captain; Company C, from Page County, J.
Whitcomb, Captain.
THE NORTHERN BORDER BRIGADE
was organized by the State of Iowa to protect the Northwestern frontier,
James A. Sawyer, of Sioux City, was elected Colonel. It had Companies A,
B, C, D and E, all enlisted from the Northwestern counties.
THE SOUTHERN BORDER BRIGADE
was organized by the State for the purpose of protecting the Southern border
of the State, and was organized in counties on the border of Missouri. Com-
pany A, First Battalion, was from Lee County, Wm. Sole, Captain; Company B,
First Battalion, Joseph Dickey, Captain, from Van Buren County; Company
A, Second Battalion, from Davis County, Capt. H. B. Horn; Company B, Sec-
ond Battalion, from Appanoose County, E. B. Skinner, Captain ; Company A,
Third Battalion, from Decatur County, J. H. Simmons, Captain ; Company B,
Third Battalion, from Wayne County, E. F. Estel, Captain ; Company C,
Third Battalion, from Ringgold County, N. Miller, Captain.
THE FIRST INFANTRY — AFRICAN DESCENT — (SIXTIETH U. S.)
was organized with John G. Hudson, Captain Company B, Thirty-third Mis-
souri, as Colonel ; M. F. Collins, of Keokuk, as Lieutenant Colonel, and J. "•
Murphy, of Keokuk, as Major. Had ten companies, and were mustered in >t
various places in the Fall of 1863. The men were from all parts of the State
and some from Missouri.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA. 249
During the war, the following promotions were made by the United States
Government from Iowa regiments:*
MAJOR GENERALS
Samuel R. Curtis, Brigadier General, from March 31, 1863.
Frederick Steele, Brigadier General, from November 29, 1863.
Frank J. Herron, Brigadier General, from November 39, 1862.
Grenville M. Dodge, Brigadier General, from June 7, 1864.
BRIGADIER GENERALS.
Samuel E. Curtis, Colonel 3d Infantry, from May 17, 1861.
Frederick Steele. Colonel 8th Infantry, from February 6, 1662.
Jacob G. Lauman, Colonel 7th Infantry, from March 21, 1863.
Grenville M. Dodge, Colonel 4th Infantry, from March 31, 1862.
James M. Tuttle, Colonel 2d Infantry, from June 9, 1863.
Washington L. Elliott, Colonel 3d Cavalry, from June 11, 1862.
Fitz Henry Warren, Colonel 1st Cavalry , from July 6, 1863.
Frank J. Herron, Lieutenant Colonel 9th Infantry, from July 30, 1863.
Charles L. Matthies, Colonel 5th Infantry, from November 39, 1863.
William Vandever, Colonel 9th Infantry, from November 39, 1863.
Marcellus M. Crocker, Colonel 13th Infantry, from Nov. 29, 1862. (Since died.)
Hugh T. Eeid, Colonel 15th Infantry from March 13, 1863.
Samuel A. Eice, Colonel 33d Infantry, from August 4, 1863.
John M. Corse, Colonel 6th Infantry, from August 11, 1868. '
Cyrus Bussey, Colonel 8d Cavalry, from January 5, 1864.
Edward Hatch, Colonel 2d Cavalry, from April 27, 1864.
Elliott W. Eice, Colonel 7th Infantry, from June 20, 1864.
Wm. W. Belknap, Colonel 15th Infantry, from July 30, 1864.
John Edwards, Colonel 18th Infantry, from September 26, 1864.
James A. Williamson, Colonel 4th Infantry, from January 13, 1864.
• James I. Gilbert, Colonel 27th Infantry, from February 9, 1865.
BREVET MAJOR GENERALS.
John M. Corse, Brigadier General from October 5, 1864.
Edward Hatch, Brigadier General, from December 15, 1864.
Wm. W. Belknap, Brigadier General, from March 13, 1865.
W. L. Elliott, Brigadier General, from March 13, 1865.
Wm. Vandever, Brigadier (general, from June 7, 1865.
BREVET BRIGADIER GENERALS.
Wm. T. Clark, A. A. G., late of 13th Infantry, from July 23, 1864.
Edward F. Winslow, Colonel 4th Cavalry, from December 13, 1864.
S. G. Hill, Colonel 35th Infantry, from December 15, 1864. (Since died.)
Thos. H. Benton, Colonel 29th Infantry, from December 15, 1864.
Samuel L. Glasgow, Colonel 23d Infantry, from December 19, 1864.
Clark E. Wever, Colonel 17th Infantry, from February 9, 1865.
Francis M. Drake, Lieutenant Colonel 36th Infantry, from February 32, 1865.
George A. Stone, Colonel 25th Infantry, from March 13, 1865.
Datus E. Coon, Colonel 3d Cavalry, from March 8, 1865.
George W. Clark, Colonel 34th Infantry, from March 13, 1865.
Herman H. Heath, Colonel 7th Cavalry, from March 13, 1865.
J. M. Hedrick, Colonel 15th Infantry, from March 13, 1865.
W. W. Lowe, Colonel 5th Cavalry, from March 13, 1865.
*Thoma8 J, McKean was appointed Paymaster in U. S. A. from Iowa, and subsequently promoted Brigadier General,
to date from Nov. 21, 1861.
250
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
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254
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
NUMBER OF TROOPS FURNISHED BY THE STATE OF IOWA
DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION,
TO JANUARY 1, 1865.
No. Regiment.
No. of
men.
959
1,247
1,074
1,184
1,037
1,013
1,138
1,027
1,090
1,027
1,022
981
989
840
1,196
919
956
875
985
925
980
1,008
961
979
995
919
940
956
1,006
978
977
926
986
953
984
986
914
910
2d
( ti
3d
I <(
4th
( tt
5th
i 11
6th
t tt
7lh
t 11
8th
( ((
9th '
( ((
10th '
( It
llth '
1 tt
12th '
t tt
13th '
1 •>
14th '
( ((
15th '
( It
16th '
t tt
17th •
t ((
18th '
19th '
( tt
20th '
I tt
2l8t '
t tt
22d '
t tt
23d '
I tt
24th '
t tt
25th '
t if
26th '
( It
27th '
t tt
28th '
I It
29th •
t tt
30th '
t tt
31st '
32d '
t tt
t tt .
33d '
34th '
35th '
t tt
I tt
36th '
t tt
37th '
1 It
38th '
t 41
No. Regiment.
39th Iowa Infantry
40th " "
41st Battalion Iowa Infantry....
44th Infantry (100-days men)..
4.5th " " " .,
4r)th " " " .,
47ih " " " .,
48th Battalion '• " ..
1st Iowa Cavalry
2d " "
3d " "
4th " "
5th " "
6th " "
7th " "
8th " "
9th " "
Sioux City Cavalry*
Co. A, llth Penn. Cavalry.,
1st ]3attery Artillery
2d •' "
3d " "
4th " "
1st Iowa African Infantry, 60th U. Sf ..
Dodge's Brigade Band
Band of 2d lowa Infantry
Enlistments os far as reported to Jan. 1,
1864, for the older Iowa regiments
Enlistments of Iowa men in regiments
of other States, over
Total
Re-enlisted Veterans lor different Regi-
ments
Additional enlistments
Grand total as far as reported up to Jan,
1, 186-5
No. of
men.
93S
SCO
294
867
912
892
884
846
1,478
1.304
1,360
1,227
1,24.5
1,125
562
1,234
1,178
93
87
149
123
142
152
903
14
10
2,765
2,500
61,663
7,202
6,664
76,519
This does- not include those Iowa men who veteranized in the regiments of other States, nor
the names of men who enlisted during 1864, in regiments of other States.
* Afterward consolidated with Seventh Cavalry.
■j- Only a portion of this regiment was credited to the State.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
255
POPULATION OF IOWA,
By Counties.
COUNTIES.
A^GGREGATE.
1875.
1870.
I860.
1850.
1840.
Voters.
7046
7832
19158
17405
2370
28807
22913
17251
13220
17316
3561
3982
4614
17868
16456
1212
22464
21706
14684
12528
17034
1585
984
1533
12237
11931
464
8496
8244
4232
4915
7906
57
1616
1727
777
3131
3653
Appanoose
8679'
627
Benton
672
135
736
4778
Black Hawk
4877
3515
2666
Buchanan
617
3890
Buena Vista
817
Butler
11734
3185
6760
■ 10562
17879
6685
4249
11400
10118
3559
27184
34295
6039
14386
15767
13249
16893
35416
1748
43845
1436
20616
13100
6568
13719
7028
8134
9638
•7701
1482
15029
11818
21594
7876
3466
794
17456
23061
24128
17127
24664
19168
9951
1602
2451
5464
19731
4722
1967
10180
8736
1523
27771
35367
2530
- 12019
15565
12018
17432
27256
1389
38969
1392
16973
10768
4738
11173
4627
6399
7061
6055
999
13684
8931
21463
6282
2596
226
16644
22619
22116
17839
24898
19731
3724
147
281
1612
12949
940
58
4336
6427
62
20728
18938
383
5244
13764
8677
11024
19611
180
31164
105
12073
3744
1309
5074
1374
793
3068
1699
179
6440
3621
18701
3168
332
43
8029
18493
9883
16038
17573
13306
2598
CaJhoun
681
Carroll
1197
Cass
2422^
Cedar
3941
1253
3934
1526
1001
2392
Clarke .....
79
2213
(];iay
868-
Clavton
3873
2822
1101
821
5272
5669
1244
Dallas
864
7264
966
1759
12988
3170
Davis
3448
2882-
168
5577
3662
6654
394
10841
3059
8759
299
Fayette
825
4637
2884
Frflnlrlin
1374
1244
29^8-
1622
1625
2339
1455
303
3215
2658
Henry •
8707
3772
4641
1712-
695
Ida
172
822
7210
1280
9904
4472
3007
3576
1411
4901
6239
2773
1491
471
3721
6225
4180
• In 1862, name changed to Lyon.
256
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.
POPULATION OF IOWA— Concluded.
COUNTIES.
AGQKEGATE.
187.5.
1870.
1860.
1850.
1840.
Toters.
Keokuk '.
20488
3765
83913
31815
12499
11725
1139
16030
23718
24094
19629
10555
11523
2267
12811
1U389
21623
2349
1778
14274
• 2728
5282
2249
31558
21665
16482
7546
2873
89763
5664
8120
13111
18771
10418
8827
16980
23865
18541
19269
13978
13114
2986
24233
8568
4908
3244
19434
3351
38210
28852
12877
10388
221
13884
22508
24436
17576
8718
9582
3654
12724
5934
21688
715
13271
416
29232
18947
10370
5766
4822
4202
773
JjeQ
18861
5444
4939
471
6093
1373
1927
7374
7509
2899
2464
287
7339
14816
16813
6015
4481
3409
832
, 8612
1256
16444
8
1179
5989
5482
338
3632
Mahaika
5287
4988
Marshall
4445
Mills
2365
Mitphpll
2338
1292
2884
2743
2485
Muscatine
6731
1942
6588
O'Brien .'.
595
498
Page
9975
1336
2199
1446
27857
16893
15581
5691
1411
38599
2540
576
11651
16131
6989
6986
17672
22346
17980
18952
11287
10484
1562
23570
6172
2892
2392
4419
132
148
103
11625
4968
5668
2923
246
25959
818
10
4051
5285
3590
2012
17081
14-518
10281
14236
6409
2504
168
13942
1119
756
653
651
3222
656
Plymouth
1136
464
Polk
4513
7828
615
6842
4392
Poweshiek
3634
1496
Sao
657
5986
2140
7109
Shelby
1084
Sioux
637
Story
2574
8
204
3911
Taylor
2282
1924
12270
8471
961
4957
340
6146
3893
Wapello
6346
4168
Washington
1594
4168
2947
2747
Winnebago
406
546
4117
1776
Worth
763
Wright
694
Total
1353118
1191792
674913
192214
43112
284557
* Formerly Buncombe.
THE NORTHWESTERN STATES. 257
ILLINOIS.
Length, 380 miles, mean width about 156 miles. Area, 55,410 square
miles, or 35,462,400 acres. Illinois, as regards its surface, constitutes a
table-land at a varying elevation ranging between 350 and 800 feet above
the sea level ; composed of extensive and highly fertile prairies and plains.
Much of the south division of the State, especially the river-bottoms, are
thickly wooded. The prairies, too, have oasis-like clumps of trees
scattered here and there at intervals. The chief rivers irrigating the
State are the Missi^ippi — dividing it from Iowa and Missouri — the Ohio
(forming its south barrier), the Illinois, Wabash, Kaskaskia, and San-
gamon, with their numerous affluents. The total extent of navigable
streams is calculated at 4,000 miles. Small lakes are scattered over vari-
ous parts of the State. Illinois is extremely prolific in minerals, chiefly
coal, iron, copper, and zinc ores, sulphur and limestone. The coal-field
alone is estimated to absorb a full third of the entire coal-deposit of North
America. Climate tolerably equable and healthy ; the mean temperature
standing at about 51° Fahrenheit As an agricultural region, Illinois takes.
a competitive rank with neighboring States, the cereals, fruits, and root-
crops yielding plentiful returns ; in fact, as a grain-growing State, Illinois
may be deemed, in proportion to her size, to possess a greater area of
lands suitable for its production than any other State in the Union. Stock-
raising is also largely carried on, while her manufacturing interests in
regard of woolen fabrics, etc., are on a very extensive and yearly expand-
ing scale. The lines of railroad in the State are among the most exten-
sive of the Union. Inland water-carriage is facilitated by a canal
connecting the Illinois River with Lake Michigan, and thence with the
St. Lawrence and Atlantic. Illinois is divided into 102 counties ; the
chief towns being Chicago, Springfield (capital), Alton, Quincy, Peoria,
Galena, Bloomington, Rock Island, Vandalia, etc. By the new Consti^
tution, established in 1870, the State Legislature consists of 51 Senators,
elected for four years, and 153 Representatives, for two years ; which
numbers were to be' decennially increased thereafter to the number of
six per every additional half-million of inhabitants. Religious and
educational institutions are largely diffused throughout, and are in a very
flourishing condition. Illinois has a State Lunatic and a Deaf and Dumb
Asylum at Jacksonville ; a State Penitentiary at Joliet ; and a Home for
(99)
258
THE NORTHWESTERN STATES.
Soldiers' Orphans at Normal. On November 30, 1870, the public debt of
the State was returned at $4,870,937, with a balance of 11,808,833
unprovided for. At the same period the value of assessed and equalized
property presented the following totals : assessed, $840,031,703 ; equal-
ized $480,664,058. The name of Illinois, through nearly the whole of
the eighteenth century, embraced most of the known regions north and
west of Ohio. French colonists established themselves in 1673, at
Cahokia and Kaskaskia, and the territory of which these settlements
formed the nucleus was, in 1763, ceded to Great Britain in conjunction
with Canada, and ultimately resigned to the United States in 1787.
Illinois entered the Union as a State, December 3, 1818; and now sends
19 Representatives to Congress. Population, 2,539,891, in 1870.
THE NORTHWESTERN STATES. 259
INDIANA.
The profile of Indiana forms a nearly exact parallelogram, occupy-
ing one of the most fertile portions of the great Mississippi Valley. The
greater extent of the surface embraced within its limits consists of gentle
undulations rising into hilly tracts toward the Ohio bottom. The chief
rivers of the State are the Ohio and Wabash, with their numerous
affluents. The soil is highly productive of the cereals and grasses — most
particularly so in the valleys of the Ohio, Wabash, Whitewater, and
White Rivers. The northeast and central portions are well timbered
with virgin forests, and the west section is notably rich in coal, constitut-
ing an offshoot of the great Illinois carboniferous field. Iron, copper,
marble, slate, gypsum, and various clays are al§o abundant. From an
agricultural point of view, the staple products are maize and wheat, with
the other cereals in lesser yields ; and besides these, flax, hemp, sorghum.,
hops, etc., are extensively raised. Indiana is divided into 92 counties,
and counts among her principal cities and towns, those of Indianapolis
(the capital). Fort Wayne, Evansville, Terre Haute, Madison, Jefferson-
ville, Columbus, Vincennes, South Bend, etc. The public institutions of
the State are many and various, and on a scale of magnitude and
efficiency commensurate with her important political and industrig,l status.
Upward of two thousand miles of railroads permeate the State in all
directions, and greatly conduce to the development of her expanding
manufacturing interests. Statistics for the fiscal year terminating
October 31, 1870, exhibited a total of receipts, $3,896,541 as against dis-
bursements, $3,532,406, leaving a balance, 1364,135 in favor of the State
Treasury. The entire public debt, January 5, 1871, $3,971,000. This
State was first settled by Canadian voyageurs in 1702, who erected a fort
at Vincennes ; in 1763 it passed into the hands of the English, and was
by the latter ceded to the United States in 1783. From 1788 till 1791,
an Indian warefare prevailed. In 1800, all the region west and north of
Ohio (then formed into a distinct territory) became merged in Indiana.
In 1809, the present limits of the State were defined, Michigan and
Illinois having previously been withdrawn. In 1811, Indiana was the
theater of the Indian War of Tecumseh, ending with the decisive battle
of Tippecanoe. In 1816 (December 11), Indiana became enrolled among
the States of the American Union. In 1834, the State passed through a
monetary crisis owing to its having become mixed up with railroad,
canal, and other speculations on a gigantic scale, which ended, for the
time being, in a general collapse of public qredit, and consequent bank-
ruptcy. Since that time, however, the greater number of the public
260 THE NORTHWESTERN STATES.
works which had brought about that imbroglio — especially the great
Wabash and Erie Canal — have been completed, to the great benefit of
the State, whose subsequent progress has year by year been marked by
rapid strides in the paths of wealth, commerce, and general social aud
political prosperity. The constitution now in force was adopted in 1851.
Population, l,68o!i637.
IOWA.
In shape, Iowa presents an almost perfect parallelogram; has a
lepgth, north to south, of about 300 miles, by a pretty even width of 208
miles, and embraces an area of 55,045 square miles, or 35,228,800 acres.
The surface of the State is generally undulating, rising toward the
middle into an elevated plateau which forms the " divide " of the
Missouri and Mississippi basins. Rolling prairies, especially in the south
section, constitute a regnant feature, and the river bottoms, belted with
woodlands, present a soil of the richest alluvion. Iowa is well watered;
the principal rivers being the Mississippi and Missouri, which form
respectively its east and west limits, and the Cedar, Iowa, and Des
Moines, affluents of the first named. Mineralogically, Iowa is important
as occupying a section of the great Northwest coal field, to the extent of
an area estimated at 25,000 square miles. Lead, copper, zinc, and iron,
are also mined in considerable quantities. The soil is well adapted to
the production of wheat, maize, and the other cereals ; fruits, vegetables,
and esculent roots ; maize, wheat, and oats forming the chief staples.
Wine, tobacco, hops, and wax, are other noticeable items of the agricvil-
tural yield. Cattle-raising, too, is a branch of rural industry largely
engaged in. The climate is healthy, although liable to extremes of heat
and cold. The annual gross product of the various manufactures carried
on in this State approximate, in round numbers, a sum of $20,000,000.
Iowa has an immense railroad system, besides over 500 miles of water-
communication by means of its navigable rivers. The State is politically
divided into 99 counties, with the following centers of population : Des
Moines (capital), Iowa City (former capital), Dubuque, Davenport, Bur-
lington, Council Bluffs, Keokuk, Muscatine, and Cedar Rapids. The
State institutions of Iowa — religious, scholastic, and philanthropic — are
on a par, as regards number and perfection of orgaliization and operation»
with those of her Northwest sister States, and education is especially
well cared for, and largely diffused. Iowa formed a portion of the
American territorial acquisitions from France, by the so-called Louisiana
purchase in 1 803, and was politically identified with Louisiana till 1812)
THE NORTHWESTERN STATES. 263
when it merged into the Missouri Territory; in 1834 it came under the
Michigan organization, and, in 1836, under that of Wisconsin. Finally,
after being constituted an independent Territory, it became a State of
the Union, December 28, 1846. Population in 1860, 674,913 ; in 1870,
1,191,792, and in 1875, 1,358,118.
MICHIGAN.
United area, 56,243 square miles, or 35,995,520 acres. Extent of the
Upper and smaller Peninsula — length, 316 mUes ; breadth, fluctuating
between 36 and 120 miles. The south division is 416 miles long, by from
50 to 300 miles wide. Aggregate lake-shore line, 1,400 miles. The
Upper, or North, Peninsula consists chiefly of an elevated plateau,
expanding into the Porcupine mountain-system, attaining a maximum
height of some 2,000 feet. Its shores along Lake Superior are eminently
bold and picturesque, and its area is rich in minerals, its product of
copper constituting an important source of industry. Both divisions are
heavily wooded, and the South one, in addition, boasts of a deep, rich,
loamy soil, throwing up excellent crops of cereals and other agricultural
produce. The climate is generally mild and humid, though the Winter
colds are severe. The chief staples of farm husbandry include the cereals,
grasses, maple sugar, sorghum, tobacco, fruits, and dairy-stuffs. In 1870,
the acres of land in farms were : improved, 5,096,939 ; unimproved
woodland, 4,080,146 ; other unimproved land, 842,057. The cash value
of land was $398,240,578 ; of farming implements and machinery,
$13,711,979. In 1869, there were shipped from the Lake Superior ports,
874,582 tons of iron ore, and 45,762 of smelted pig, along with 14,1 88
tons of copper (ore and ingot). Coal is another article largely mined.
Inland communication is provided for by an admirably organized railroad
system, and by the St. Mary's Ship Canal, connecting Lakes Huron and
Superior. Michigan is politically divided into 78 counties ; its chief
urban centers are Detroit, Lansing (capital), Ann Arbor, Marquette,
Bay City, Niles, Ypsilanti, Grand Haven, etc. The Governor of the
State is elected biennially. On November 30, 1870, the aggregate bonded
debt of Michigan amounted to $2,385,028, and the assessed valuation of
land to 1266,929,278, representing an estimated cash value of $800,000,000.
Education is largely diffused and most excellently conducted and pro-
vided for. The State University at Ann Arbor, the colleges of Detroit
and Kalamazoo, the Albion Female College, the State Normal School at
Ypsilanti, and the State Agricultural College at Lansing, are chief among
the academic institutions. Michigan (a term of Chippeway origin, and
R
264 THE NORTHWESTERN STATES.
signifying "Great Lake), was discovered and first settled by French
Canadians, who, in 1670, founded Detroit, the pioneer of a series of trad-
ing-posts on the Indian frontier. During the " Conspiracy of Pontiac,"
following the French loss of Canada, Michigan became the scene of a
sanguinary struggle between the whites and aborigines. In 1796, it
became annexed to the United States, which incorporated this region
with the Northwest Territory, and then with Indiana Territory, till 1803,
when it became territorially independent. Michigan was the theater of
warlike operations during the war of 1812 with Great Britain, and in
1819 was authorized to be represented by one delegate in Congress ; itt
1837 she was admitted into the Union as a State, and in 1869 ratified the
16th Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Population, 1,184,059.
WISCONSIN.
It has a mean length of 260 miles, and a maximum breadth of 215.
Land area, 53,924 square miles, or 84,511,360 acres. Wisconsin lies at a
considerable altitude above sea-level, and consists for the most part of an
upland plateau, the surface of which is undulating and very generally
diversified. Numerous local eminences called mounds are intersperse!
over the State, and the Lake Michigan coast-line is in many parts char-
acterized by lofty escarped cliffs, even as on the west side the banks of
the Mississippi form a series of high and picturesque bluffs. A group of
islands known as The Apostles lie off the extreme north point of the
State in Lake Superior, and the great estuary of Green Bay, running far
inland, gives formation to a long, narrow peninsula between its waters
and those of Lake Michigan. The river-system of Wisconsin has three
outlets — those of Lake Superior, Green Bay, and the Mississippi, which
latter stream forms the entire southwest frontier, widening at one point
into the large watery expanse called Lake Pepin. Lake Superior receives
the St. Louis, Burnt Wood, and Montreal Rivers ; Green Bay, the
Menomonee, Peshtigo, Oconto, and Fox; while into the Mississippi
empty the St. Croix, Chippewa, Black, Wisconsin, and Rock Eivers.
The chief interior lakes are those of Winnebago, Horicon, and Court
Oreilles, and smaller sheets of water stud a great part of the surface.
The climate is healthful, with cold Winters and brief but very warm
Summers. Mean annual rainfall 31 inches. The geological system
represe/ited by the State, embraces those rocks included between the
primary and the Devonian series, the former containing extensive
deposits of copper and iron ore. Besides these minerals, lead and zinc
are found in great quantities, together with kaolin, plumbago, gypsum.
THE NORTHWESTERN STATES. 265
and various clays. Mining, consequently, forms a prominent industry,
and one of yearly increasing dimensions. The soil of Wisconsin is of
varying quality, but fertile on the whole, and in the north parts of the
State heavily timbered. The agricultural yield comprises the cereals,
together with flax, hemp, tobacco, pulse, sorgum, and all kinds of vege-
tables, and of the hardier fruits. In 1870, the State had a total number
of 102,904 farms, occupying 11,715,321 acres, of which 5,899,343 con-
sisted of improved land, and 3,437,442 were timbered. Cash value of
farms, $300,414,064 ; of farm implements and machinery, $14,239,364.
Total estimated value of all farm products, including betterments and
additions to stock, $78,027,032 ; of orchards and dairy stuffs, $1,045,983 ;
of lumber, $1,327,618 ; of home manufactures, $338,423 ; of all live-stock,
$45,310,882, Number of manufacturing establishments, 7,136, employ-
ing 39,055 hands, and turning out productions valued at $85,624,966.
The political divisions of the State form 61 counties, and the chief places
of wealth, trade, and population, are Madison (the capital), Milwaukee,
Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Prairie du Chien, Janesville, Portage City,
Eacine, Kenosha, and La Crosse. In 1870, the total assessed valuation
reached $333,209,838, as against a true valuation of both real and personal
estate aggregating $602,207,829. Treasury receipts during 1870, $886,-
696 ; disbursements, $906,329. Value of church property, $4,749,983.
Education is amply provided for. Independently of the State University
at Madison, and those of Galesville and of Lawrence at Appleton, and
the colleges of Beloit, Racine, and Milton, there are Normal Schools at
Platteville and Whitewater. The State is divided into 4,802 common
school districts, maintained at a cost, in 1870, of $2,094,160. The chari-
table institutions of Wisconsin include a Deaf and Dumb Asylum, an
Institute for the Education of the Blind, and a Soldiers' Orphans' School.
In January, 1870, the railroad system ramified throughout the State
totalized 2,779 miles of track, including several lines far advanced toward
completion. Immigration is successfully encouraged by the State author-
ities, the larger number of yearly new-comers being of Scandinavian and
German origin. The territory now occupied within the limits of the
State of Wisconsin was explored by French missionaries and traders in
1639, and it remained under French jurisdiction until 1708, when it
became annexed to the British North American possessions. In 1796, it
reverted to the United States, the government of which latter admitted
it within the limits of the Northwest Territory, and in 1809, attached it
to that of Illinois, and to Michigan in 1818. Wisconsin became independ-
ently territorially organized in 1836, and became a State of the Union,
March 3, 1847. Population in 1870, 1,064,985, of which 2,113 were of
the colored race, and 11,521 Indians, 1,206 of the latter being out of
tribal relations.
266 THE NORTHWESTERN STATES.
MINNESOTA,
Its length, north to south, embraces an extent of 380 miles ; its
oreadth one of 250 miles at a maximum. Area, 84,000 square miles, or
54,760,000 acres. The surface of Minnesota, generally speaking, coh-
sists of a succession of gently undulating plains and prairies, drained by
an admirable water-system, and with here and there heavily- timbered
bottoms and belts of virgin forest. The soil, corresponding with such a
superfices, is exceptionally rich, consisting for the most part of a dark,
calcareous sandy drift intermixed with loam. A distinguishing physical
feature of this State is its riverine ramifications, expanding in nearly
every part of it into almost innumerable lakes — the whole presenting an
aggregate of water-power having hardly a rival in the Union. Besides
the Mississippi — which here has its rise, and drains a basin of 800 miles
of country — the principal streams are the Minnesota (334 miles long),
the Red River of the North, the St. Croix, St. Louis, and many others of
lesser importance ; the chief lakes are those called Red, Cass, Leech,
Mille Lacs, Vermillion, and Winibigosh. Quite a concatenation of sheets
of water fringe the frontier line where Minnesota joins British America,
culminating in the Lake of the Woods. It has been estimated, that of
an area of 1,200,000 acres of surface between the St. Croix and Mis-
sissippi Rivers, not less than 73,000 acres are of lacustrine formation. In
point of minerals, the resources of Minnesota have as yet been very
imperfectly developed ; iron, copper, coal, lead — all these are known to
exist in considerable deposits ; together with salt, limestone, and potter's
clay. The agricultural outlook of the State is in a high degree satis-
factory ; wheat constitutes the leading cereal in cultivation, with Indian
corn and oats in next order. Fruits and vegetables are grown in great
plenty and of excellent quality. The lumber resources of Minnesota are
important; the pine forests in the north region alone occupying an area
of some 21,000 square miles, which in 1870 produced a return of scaled
logs amounting to 313,116,416 feet. The natural industrial advantages
possessed by Minnesota are largely improved upon by a railroad system.
The political divisions of this State number 78 counties ; of which the
chief cities and towns are : St. Paul (the capital), Stillwater, Red Wing)
St. Anthony, Fort Snelling, Minneapolis, and Mankato. Minnesota has
already assumed an attitude of high importance as a manufacturing State;
this is mainly due to the wonderful command of water-power' she pos-
sesses, as before spoken of. Besides her timber-trade, the milling of^
flour, the distillation of whisky, and the tanning of leather, are prominent
interests, which in 1869, gave returns to the amount of $14,831,043.
THE NOKTHWBSTEEN STATES. 267
Education is notably provided for on a broad and catholic scale, the
eniiie amount expended scholastically during the year 1870 being $857,-
816 ; while on November 30 of the preceding year the permanent school
fund stood at 12,476,222. Besides a University and Agricultural College,
Normal and Reform Schools flourish, and with these may be mentioned
such various philanthropic and religious institutions as befit the needs of
an intelligent and prosperous community. The finances of the State for
the fiscal year terminating December 1, 1870, exhibited a balance on the
right side to the amount of $136,164, being a gain of $44,000 over the
previous year's figures. The earliest exploration of Minnesota by the
whites was made in 1686 by a French Franciscan, Father Hennepin, who
gave the name of St. Antony to the Great Falls on the Upper Missisippi.
In 1768, the Treaty of Versailles ceded this region to England.
Twenty years later, Minnesota formed part of the Northwest Territory
transferred to the United States, and became herself territoriaUzed inde-
pendently in 1849. Indian cessions in 1851 enlarged her boundaries, and,
May 11, 1857, Minnesota became a unit of the great American federation
of States. Population, 439,706.
NEBRASKA.
Maximum length, 412 miles; extreme breadth, 208 miles. Area,
75,905 square miles, or 48,636,800 acres. The surface of this State is
almost entirely undulating prairie, and forms part of the west slope of
the great central basin of the North American Continent. In its west
division, near the base of the Rocky Mountains, is a sandy belt of
country, irregularly defined. In this part, too, are the " dunes," resem-
bling a wavy sea of sandy billows, as well as the Mauvaises Terres, a tract
of singular formation, produced by eccentric disintegrations and denuda-
tions of the land. The chief rivers are the Missouri, constituting its en-
tire east line of demarcation ; the Nebraska or Platte, the Niobrara, the
Republican Fork of the Kansas, the Elkhorn, and the Loup Fork of the
Platte. The soil is very various, but consisting chiefly of rich, bottomy
loam, admirably adapted to the raising of heavy crops of cereals. All
the vegetables and fruits of the temperate zone are produced in great
size and plenty. For grazing purposes Nebraska is a State exceptionally
well fitted, a region of not less than 23,000,000 acres being adaptable to
this branch of husbandry. It is believed that the, as yet, comparatively
infertile tracts of land found in various parts of the State are susceptible
of productivity by means of a properly conducted system of irrigation.
Pew minerals of moment have so far been found within the limits of
268 THE NORTHWESTERN STATES.
Nebraska, if we may except important saline deposits at the head of Salt
Creek in its southeast section. The State is divided into 57 counties,
independent of the Pawnee and Winnebago Indians, and of unorganized
territory in the northwest part. The principal towns are Omaha, Lincoln
(State capital), Nebraska City, Columbus, Grand Island, etc. In 1870,
the total assessed value of property amounted to $53,000,000, being an
increase of §11,000,000 over the previous year's returns. The total
amount received from the school-fund during the year 1869-70 was
$77,999. Education is making great onward strides, the State University
and an Agricultural College being far advanced toward completion. In
the matter of railroad communication, Nebraska bids fair to soon place
herself on a par with her neighbors to the east. Besides being inter-
sected by the Union Pacific line, with its off-shoot, the Fremont and Blair,
other tracks are in course of rapid construction. Organized by Con-
gressional Act into a Territory, May 30, 1854, Nebraska entered the
Union as a full State, March 1, 1867. Population, 122.993.
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 209
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union,
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common
defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution
for the United States of America.
Article I.
Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and
House of Representatives.
Sec. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of mem-
bers chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the
electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of
the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.
No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the
age of twenty-iive years, and been seven years a citizen of the United
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in
which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the sev-
eral states which may be included within this Union, according to their
respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole
number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of
years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons.
The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first
meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within everj^ subse-
quent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The
number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand,
but each state shall have at least one Representative ; and until such
enumeration shall be made the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled
to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plan-
tations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylva-
nia eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five,
and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the
Executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such
vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other
officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.
Sec. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each state, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six years ;
and" each Senator shall have one vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes.
The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira-
270 AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
tion of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth
year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that
one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by
resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any state,
the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next
meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacaxicies.
No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age
of thirty years and been, nine years a citizen of the United States, and
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he
shall be chosen.
The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no vote unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President jor9
tempore, ia the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise
the office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When
sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the
President of the United States is tried the Chief Justice shall preside.
And no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds
of the members present.
Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of
honor, trust, or profit under the United States ; but the party convicted
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment,
and punishment according to law.
Sec. 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Sen-
ators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the Legis-
lature thereof ; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter
such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by
law appoint a different day.
Sec. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the election, returns, and
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute
a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to
day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members
in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide.
Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds,
expel a member.
Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment,
require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house
on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered
on the journal.
Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other
place than that in which the two houses shall be' sitting.
Sec. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compen'
sation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the
treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason,
CONSTITUTION OP THE tJNITED STATES ^71
felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their
attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and
returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either house
they shall not be questioned in any other place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United
States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall
have been increased during such time ; and no person holding any, office
under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his
continuance in office.
Sec. 7. All biUs for raising revenue shall originate in the House of
Kepresentatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments
as on other bills.
Every bill which shall haw^e passed the House of Representatives and
the Senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President
the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it ; but if not he shall
return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have origi-
nated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and
proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration two-thirds of that
house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objec-
tions, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if
approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all
such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays,
and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered
on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned
by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted), after it shall have
been presented to hijn, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he
had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its
return, in which case it shall not be a law.
Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a
question of adjournment), shall be presented to the President of the
United States, and before the same shall take effect shall be approved by
him, or, being disapproved by him, shall be re-passed by two-thirds of
the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and lim-
itations prescribed in the case of a bill.
Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power —
To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts,
and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United
States ; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout
the United States ;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States ;
To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several
Str.tes, and with the Indian tribes ;
To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on
the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ;
To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and
fix the standard of weights and measures ;
To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and
current coin of the United States ;
To establish post offices and post roads ;
272 -^^^ ITS AMENDMENTS.
To promote the progress of sciences and useful arts, by securing,
for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their
respective writings and discoveries ;
To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ;
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high
seas, and offenses against the law of nations ;
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules
concerning captures on land and water ;
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that
use shall be for a longer term than two years ;
To provide and maintain a navy ;
To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and
naval forces ;
To provide for calling forth the militi* to execute the laws of the
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ;
To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and
for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the
United States, reserving to the states respectively the appointment of the
officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the disci-
pline prescribed by Congress ;
To exercise legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not
exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and ths
acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United
States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the
consent of the Legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for
the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other needful
buildings ; and
To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this
Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any depart-
ment or officer thereof.
Sec. 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the
states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited
by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight,
but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten
dollars for each person.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may
require it.
No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion
to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.
No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.
No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or rev-
enue to the ports of one state over those of another; nor shall vessels
bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in
another.
No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of
appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of
the receipts and expeditures of all public money shall be published from
time to time.
CONSTITUTION OP THE UNITED STATES 27S
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : and no
person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title
of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Sec. 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confeder-
ation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of
credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of
debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the
obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.
No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts
or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary
for executing its inspection laws, and the net produce of all duties and
imposts laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the
Treasury of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the
revision and control of the Congress.
No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty on
tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any
agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or
engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as wiU
not admit of delay.
Article II.
Section 1. The Executive power shall be vested in a President of
the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term
of four years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same
term, be elected as follows :
Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof
may direct, a number of Electors, equal to the whole number of Senators
and Representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress j
but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or
profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
[*The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by
ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of
the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the
persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they
shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the- seat of the government
of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The Pres-
ident of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Rep-
resentatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted.
The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President,
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed j
and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal
number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
choose by ballot one of them for President ; and if no person have a ma-
jority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like
manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the vote
shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one
vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members
from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be
necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President,
* TUs clause between.brackets tias been superseded and annulled by tbe Twelfth;amendiuent,
274 AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
the person having the greatest number of votes of the Electors shall be
the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more who have
equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-Presi-
dent.]
The Congress may determine the time of choosing the Electors, and
the day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same
throughout the United States.
No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United
States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible
to the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that
office who shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been
fourteen years a resident within the United States.
In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death,
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-PBesident, and the Congress
may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inabil-
ity, hpth of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall
then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the dis-
ability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a com-
pensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the
period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive
within that period any other emolument from the United States or any of
them.
Before he enters on the execution of his office, he shall take the fol-
lowing oath or affirmation:
" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the
office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability,
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Sec. 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the army and
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when
called into the actual service of the United States ; he may require the
opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive
departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective
offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardon for offenses
against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present con-
cur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice of the Senate,
shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of
the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States whose
appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by law ; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment
of such inferior officers as they think proper ip the President alone, in
the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which
shall expire at the end of their next session.
Sec. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information
of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such mea-
sures as he shall judge "necessary and expedient ; he may on extraordinary
OONSTITTJTION OF THE tTNITED STATES" 27&
occasions convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagree-
ment between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may
adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive
ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be
faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United
States.
Sec. 4. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and con-
viction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Abticlb hi.
Section I. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested
in one Supreme Court, and such inferior courts as the Congress may from
time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the Supreme and
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at
stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be
diminished during their continuance in office.
Sec. 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all cases,
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls ; to all cases of
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United
States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or more states ;
between a state and citizens of another state ; between citizens of differ-
ent states ; between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants,
of different states, and between a state or the citizens thereof, and foreign
states, citizens, or subjects.
In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls,
and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have
original jurisdiction.
In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall
have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions
and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by
jury ; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall
have been committed ; but when not committed within any state, the
trial shall be at such .place or places as the Congress may by law have
directed.
Sec. 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levy-
ing war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the tes-
timony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open
court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason,
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of bloody or forfeiture,
except during the life of the person attainted.
Abticlb IV.
Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And
276 AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such
acts, recdrds, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Sec. 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges
and immunities of citizens in the several states.
A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime,
who shall flee from justice and be found in another state, shall, on demand
■of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered
up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.
No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulatioii
therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered
up on the claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.
Sec. 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union;
but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any
other state ; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states,
or parts of states, without the consent of the Legislatures of the states
concerned, as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging
to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed
as to prejudice any claims of the United States or of any particular state.
Sec. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them
against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or of the Execu-
tive (when the Legislature can not be convened), against domestic vio-
lence.
Article V.
The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the ap-
plication of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call
a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be
valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution, when rati-
fied by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by con-
ventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratifi-
cation may be proposed by the Congress. Provided that no amendment
which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and
eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth
section of the first article ; and that no state, without its consent, shall
be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
Article VI.
All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adop-
tion of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United States under
this Constitution as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall he
made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made,
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the
land ; and the Judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in
the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the mem-
7
CONSTITtTTION OP THE UNITED STATES
277
bers of the several state Legislatures, and all executive and judicial offi-
cers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound
by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no religious test
shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under
the United States.
Article VII.
The ratification of the Conventions of nine states shall be sufficient
for the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying
the same.
Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present, the
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the
United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have
hereunto subscribed our names.
GEO. WASHINGTON,
President and Deputy from Virginia.
New Hampshire.
John Langdon,
Nicholas Gilman.
MassachuBettg.
Nathaniel Gobham,
Rupus King.
Connecticut.
Wm. Sam'l Johnson,
Roger Sherman.
Delaware.
Geo. Read,
John Dickinson,
Jaco. Broom,
Gunning Bedford, Jr.,
Richard Bassett.
Maryland.
Jambs M' Henry,
Danl. Carroll,
Dan. op St. Thos. Jenifer.
New York.
Alexander Hamilton.
New Jersey.
WUi. Livingston,
Wm. Patbrson,
David Brearlet,
JoNA. Dayton.
Pennsylvania.
B. Franklin,
RoBT. Morris,
Thos. Fitzsimons,
Jambs Wilson,
Thos. Mifflin,
Geo. Clymer,
Jared Ingersoll,
Gouv. Morris.
Virginia.
John Blair,
James Madison, Jr.
North Carolina.
Wm. Blount,
Hu. Williamson,
Rich'd Dobbs Spaiget.
South Carolina.
j. rutledge,
Charles Pinckney,
Chas. Cotesworth Pinckney,
Pierce Butler.
Georgia.
William Few,
Abb. Baldwin.
WIHilAM JACKSON, Secretary.
278 AND ITS AKEINDMENTS.
Abticles in Addition to and Amendatory of the CoNSTirrrTiOH
OP THE United States op Ambkica.
Proposed by Congress and ratified hy the Legislatures of the several statet,
pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution.
Article I.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Article II.
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free
state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Article III.
No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without
the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be pre-
scribed % law.
Article IV.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio-
lated ; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by
oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched
and the persons or things to be seized.
Article V.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamo"U8
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual
service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject
for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall
be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor
shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Article VI.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
epeedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him;
to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor ; and to
have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Article VII.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty doUars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fet
^ .. .tot.
^^^2::<? Ai^^^
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 281
tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United
States than according to the rules of the common law.
Article VIII.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Article IX.
The enumeration, in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Article X.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively,
or to the people.
Article XI.
The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to
extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one
of the United States by Citizens of another state, or by citizens or sub-
jects of any foreign state.
Article XII.
The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot
for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an
inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their
ballots the person to be voted for as president, and in distinct ballots the
person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of
all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-
President, and of the number of votes for each, which list they shall sign
and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United
States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the
Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives,
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person
having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President,
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed;
and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the
highest number not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as
President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by
ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be
taken by States, the representation from each state having one vote; a
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-
thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to
a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a Presi-
dent whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the
fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as
President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of
the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-
President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be the majority
of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a major-
282 AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
ity, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose
the Vice-President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds
of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number
shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible
to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the
United States.
Article XIII.
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their juris-
diction.
Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro-
priate legislation.
Aeticle XIV.
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and
of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.
Sec. 2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several stateg
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per- ]
sons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed ; but when the right to
vote at any election for the choice of Electors for President and Vice- ,
President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the execu- ■
tive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the Legislature
thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being
twenty-one years of age and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged except for participation in rebellion or other crimes, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the num-
ber of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens
twenty-one years of age in such state.
Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress,
or Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previ-
ously taken an oath as a Member of Congress, or as an officer of the
United States, or as a member of any state Legislature, or as an exe'cur
tive or judicial officer of any state to support the Constitution of the
United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may
by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability.
Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States author-
ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and boun-
ties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be ques-
tioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall pay any deW
or obligation incurred in the aid of insurrection or rebellion against the
United States, or any loss or emancipation of any slave, but such '" """
obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void.
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
283
Article XV.
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of
race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
VOTE FOR GOVERNOR, 1877, AND PRESIDENT, 1876.
■' N
1877.
Governor.
1876.
President.
COXISTIES.
1877.
Governor.
1876.
President.
' t^ .
Eep.
Dem.
Gr.
Pro.
Bep.
Dem.
Bep.
Dem.
Gr.
Pro.
Bep.
Dem.
Adair.
982
876
1547
1165
410
1432
178(
1612
1180
1290
747
1453
418
633
1692
1315
903
662
1279
1054
617
1873
2444
898
1641
893
1269
1226
2315
197
1687
213
1933
1233
1311
1250
1031
909
1160
842
340
1492
1348
1770
551
382
321
1132
1619
1977
1396
181
397
1540
1049
352
712
nil
981
682
769
192
758
75
744
839
1093
848
74
1107
267
16
1770
2327
651
216
1231
961
1143
1384
8
3415
28
1067
208
336
1331
216
504
496
265
96
661
86 i
424
647
149
54
1120
1966
1154
763
681
485
69
729
26
567
95
466
196
725
161
19
171
141
116
206
72
383
37
813
20
66
286
19
1241
803
310
32
767
16
38
36
32
""S9
244
10
1
223
20
96
74
11
30
446
40
86
94
19
67
167
66
111
SO
12
19
526
6
12
53
1334
1376
1709
1711
427
2901
2979
2018
1737
2227
770
1828
622
799
1S76
2328
1274
864
1574
1405
567
2662
3654
1043
2136
1586
1647
2233
3326
259
2798
246
3029
2032
1178
1658
1310
1099
1434
U87
281
2152
1667
2809
1194
623
212
1870
2126
3376
2166
693
626
1646
1419
.362
1356
1692
1305
757
14 L6
200
780
196
771
979
1445
448
175
1090
816
94
2621
3398
638
752
1631
1282
1466
2917
48
4977
36
1709
761
379
1682
510
417
629
426
99
980
1386
1486
600
183
67
1348
2485
1804
1449
1884
1868
1772
463
2167
2524
1328
1203
261
1792
1823
1976
1448
1435
1396
680
1034
1122
1753
306
296
1166
311
779
^70
3171
9,2?.3
1496
964
656
3031
888
436
1260
1426
1325
899
1490
1710
1726
1687
1316
850
544
2074
1109
628
391
2345
1218
1526
236
2863
2316
817
804
17
1077
1086
1866
837
1102
469
119
928
441
1776
21
40
608
367
487
93
1885
2069
682
71
128
1963
639
132
344
833
293
616
1306
1029
944
1221
832
127
40
1009
867
132
166
18
14
322
13
350
75
89
103
9
616
1011
760
389
98
35
432
247
632
171
201
. 13
348
273
68
106
89
299
686
108
12
14
66
596
95
504
28
36
9
26
47
387
14
33
293
3
39
36
94
121
346
47
13
37
16
2345
2591
2364
638
3160
4331
1920
1478
262
2246
3221
2736
3056
1452
1663
713
1418
1749
2523
463
329
2243
343
836
374
4321
2566
2609
1246
661
3819
897
439
1843
2337
1727
1238
2113
2682
2439
2467
1692
1299
498
2769
1034
703
574
1763
1862
Allamakee
Keokuk
Appa^ooae
Kossuth
227
S682
2917
1008
Benton-
Linn
Black Hawk
Louisa
1044
46
1638
Bremer
Bucfianan
BuM^ Vista
Mahaska
1701
Calhoun
Marshall
1189
1165
671
304
1246
759
2075
Oarroli
Mills
CasMv
3*.:..": "";:
Oerro Gordo
Montgomery
Ohickasaw
Clark
116
69
861
333
602
141
2382
2414
1083
, 422
166
2853
Clay
Osceola
Pago
Crawford
77
44
1353
218
420
671
177
309
3
49
644
196
868
830
301
1266
742
303
404
1421
Dallas
Pocahontas
! Davis
Potta-wattamie....
Dm Moines
Sac
406
889
162
16
334
661
27
30
10
Jloyd
187
133
FraDklin
1317
Greene
27
8
21
67
2
164
19
140
619
64
63
130
296
101
112
3
47
795
Ornndy
1661
Guthrie
364
422
29
238
623
1041
201
115
104
642
224
1018
676
Hamilton
1316
Washingtoh
Wayne
Hardin
1341
987
Heniy
39
Winneshiek
Woodbury
279
226
8
117
238
9
14
98
1617
Humboldt
997
Ida
Worth ~ . .
149
228
16
268
109
Wright
184
Totals
121646
42193
79353
34228
10639
171332
69211
Jefferson
Majoritiea
, Total vote, 1877, 245,766 , 1876 (including^949 Greenback), 292,943.
VOTE FOR CONGRESSMEN, 1876.
P District.
Eep.
Dem.
E. Maj.
Total.
Maj. '74.
District.
Eep.
Dem.
E. Maj.
Total.
Maj. '74.
I .-. .
17188
16439
17423
20770
19274
18778
14814
14683
16100
9379
11154
14719
2374
1756
1323
11391
8120
4069
32002
31122
33623
30149
30428
33497
D. 1863
E. 667
D. 63
B. 3824
E. 6243
E.2724
VII
19496
19358
19663
11688
16236
10683
7808
4122
8980
31184
34694
30146
E 2300
II ■
VIII „
IX
III
ay
I'T .■."■.■.■
168289
118366
49933
*292111
■vi..":;:3":r
Total vote, 1874, 184,640 ; aggregate Bepublican minority, 24,624. '"Including 6,466 Greenback votes.
Practical Rules for Every Day Use.
Sow to find the gain or loss per cent, when the cost and selling price
are given.
Rule. — Find the difference between the cost and selling price^ which
will be the gain or loss.
Annex two ciphers to the gain or loss, and divide it by the cost
price ; the result will be the gain or loss per cent.
How to change gold into currency.
Rule. — Multiply the given sum of gold by the price of gold.
Sow to change currency into gold.
Divide the amount in currency by the price of gold.
Sow to find each partner'' s share of the gain or loss in a copartnersh^
Rule. — Divide the whole gain or loss by the entire stock, the quo-
tient will be the gain or loss per cent.
Multiply each partner's stock by this per cent., the result wUl be
each one's share of the gain or loss.
Sow to find gross and net weight and price of hogs.
A short and simple method for finding the net weight, or price of hog»,
when the gross weight or pHce is given, and vice versa.
Note.— It Is generally assumed that the gross weight of Hogs d&minislied by 1-5 or 20 per cent
of itself gives the net weight, and the net weiglit increased by H or 26 per cent, of Itself equals tto
gross weight.
To find the net weight or gross price.
Multiply the given number by .8 (tenths.)
To find the gross weight or net price.
Divide the given number by .8 (tenths.)
Sow to find the capacity of a granary, bin, or wagon-bed.
Rule. — Multiply (by short method) the number of cubic feet by
6308, and point off one decimal place — the result will be the correct
nswer in bushels and tenths of a bushel.
For only an approximate answer, multiply the cubic feet by 8, and
point off one decimal place.
Sow to find the contents of a corn-crib.
Rule. — Multiply the number of cubic feet by 54, short method, or
(284)
MISCEIiLANEOTTS INFORMATION. 285
by 4i ordinary method, and point off onb decimal place — the result will
be the answer in bushels.
NOTZ.— Id estimating corn In the ear, the qnaUty and the time it lias been cribbed must be taken
Into consideration, since corn will sbrlnlc considerably during the Winter and Spring. This rule generally holds
good for corn measured at the time it is cribbed, provided It Is sound and clean.
Sow to find the contents of a cistern or tank.
Rule. — Multiply the square of the mean diameter4)y the depth (all
in feet) and this product by 5681 (short method), and point off one
decimal place — ^the result will be the contents in barrels of 31 J gallons.
Mow to find the contents of a barrel or cash.
Rule. — Under the square of the mean diameter, write the length
(all in inches) in REVEKgao order, so that its units will fall under the
TENS; multiply by short method, and this product again by 430 ; point'
off one decimal place, and the result will be the answer in wine gallons.
How to measure boards.
Rule. — Multiply the length (in feet) by the width (in inches) and
divide the product by 12 — the result will be the contents in square feet.
How to measure scantlings, joists, planks, sills, etc.
Rule. — Multiply the width, the thickness, and the length together
(the width and thickness in inches, and the length in feet), and divide
the product by 12 — the result will be square feet.
How to find the number of acres in a body of land.
Rule. — Multiply the length by the width (in rods), and divide the
product by 160 (carrying the division to 2 decimal places if there is a
remainder) ; the result will be the answer in acres and hundredths.
When the opposite sides of a piece of land are of unequal length,
add them together and take one-half for the mean length or width.
How to find the nv/mber of square yards in a floor or wall.
Rule. — Multiply the length by the width or height (in feet), and
divide the product by 9, the result will be square yards.
How to find the number of bricks required in a building.
Rule. — Multiply the number of cubic feet by 22i.
The number of cubic feet is found by multiplying the length, height
nd thickness (in feet) together.
Bricks are usually made 8 inches long, 4 inches wide, and two inches
thick ; hence, it requires 27 bricks to make a cubic foot without mortar,
but it is generally assumed that the mortar fills 1-6 of the space.
How to find the number of shingles required in a roof.
Rule. — Multiply the number of square feet in the roof by 8, if the
shingles are exposed 4 J inches, or by 7 1-5 if exposed 5 inches.
To find the number of square feet, multiply the length of the roof by
twice the length of the rafters.
286 MISCELLANEOTTS INFORMATION.
To find the length of the Tafters, at one-foueth pitch, multiply the
width of the building by .56 (hundredths) ; at one-thied pitch, by ,6
(tenths) ; at two-fifths pitch, by .64 (hundredths) ; at one-half
pitch, by .71 (hundredths). This gives the length of the rafters from
the apex to the end of the wall, and whatever they are to project must be
taken into consideration.
Note.— By X or Ji pitch Is meant that the apex or comb of the roof is to be X or M the width ot ttie
building higher than the wails or base of the rafters.
How to reckon the cost of hay.
Rule. — Multiply the number of pounds by half the price per ton,
and remove the decimal point three places to the left.
How to measure grain.
Rule. — Level the grain ; .ascertain the space it occupies in cubic
feet ; multiply the number of cubic feet by 8, and point off one place to
the left.
Note.— Exactness requires the addition to every three hundred bushels of one extra bushel.
The foregoing rule may be used for finding the number of gallons, by
multiplying the number of bushels by 8.
If the corn in the box is in the ear, divide the answer by 2, to find
the number of bushels of shelled corn, because it requires 2 bushels of eai
corn to make 1 of shelled corn.
Rapid rules for measuring land without instruments.
In measuring land, the first thing to ascertain is the contents of any
given plot in square j-^ards ; then, given the number of yards, find out the
number of rods and acres.
The most ancient and simplest measure of distance is a step. Now,
an ordinary-sized man can train himself to cover one yard at a stride, on
the average, with sufficient accuracy for ordinary purposes.
To make use of this means of measuring distances, it is essential to
walk in a straight line ; to do this, fix the eye on two objects in a line
straight ahead, one comparatively near, the other remote ; and, in walk-
ing, keep these objects constantly in line.
Farmers and others hy adopting the following simple and ingenious con-
trivance, may always carry with them the scale to construct a correct yard
measure.
Take a foot rule, and commencing at the base of the little finger oi
the left hand, mark the quarters of the foot on the outer borders of the
left arm, pricking in the marks with indelible ink.
To find how many rods in length will make an acre, the width being given.
Rule. — Divide 160 by the width, and the quotient will be the answer.
MISCELIiANEOTJS INFOEMATION. 287
How to find the number of acres in any plot of land, the number of rods
being given.
RuiiB. — ^Divide the number of rods by 8, multiply the quotient by 5,
and remove the decimal point two places to the left.
The diameter being given, to find the circumference.
Rule. — Multiply the diameter by 3 1-7.
B-ow to find the diameter, when the circumference is given.
Rule. — Divide the circumference by 3 1-7.
To find how many solid feet a round stick of timber of the same thick-
ness throughout will contain when squared.
Rule. — Square half the diameter in inches, multiply by 2, multiply
by the length in feet, and divide the product by 144.
General rule for mAisuring timber, to find the solid contents in feet.
RtrjiB. — Multiply the depth in inches by the breadth in inches, and
then multiply by the length in feet, and divide by 144.
To find the number of feet of timber in trees with the bark on.
RtTUE. — Multiply the square of one-fifth of the circumference in
inches, by twice the length, in feet, and divide by 144. Deduct 1-10 to
1-15 according to the thickness of the bark.
Howard's new rule for computing interest.
Rule. — The reciprocal of the rate is the time for which the interest
on any sum of money will be shown by simply removing the decimal
point two places to the left ; for ten times that time, remove the point
one place to the left ; for 1-10 of the same time, remove the point three
places to the left.
Increase or diminish the results to suit the time given.
NOTB.— The reciprocal of the rate is found by invertins the rate ; thus 3 per cent, per month, In-
verted, becomes 3^ of a month, or 10 days.
When the rate is expressed by one figure, always write it thus : 3-1,
three ones. ♦
Hulefor converting English into American currency.
Multiply the pounds, with the shillings and pence stated in decimals,
by 400 plus the premium in fourths, and divide the product by 90.
U. S. GOVERNMENT LAND MEASURE.
A township — 36 sections each a mile square.
A section — 640 acres.
- A quarter section, half a mile square — 160 acres.
P An eighth section, half a mile long, north and south, and a quarter
of a mile wide — 80 acres.
A sixteenth section, a quarter of a mile square — 40 acres.
288 MISCELLANEOTTS rNFORMATION.
The sections are all numbered 1 to 36, commencing at the north-east
corner.
The sections are divided into quarters, which are named by the
cardinal points. The quarters are divided in the same way. The de-
scription of a forty acre lot would read : The south half of the west half of
the south-west quarter of section 1 in township 24, north of range 7 west,
or as the case might be ; and sometimes will fall short and sometimes
overrun the number of acres it is supposed to contain.
The nautical mile is 795 4-5 feet longer than the common mile.
SURVEYORS' MEASURE.
7 92-100 inches make 1 link.
25 links , " 1 rod.
4 rods A " 1 chain.
80 chains " 1 mile.
Note. — A chain is 100 links, equal to 4 rods or 66 feet.
Shoemakers formerly used a subdivision of the inch called a barley-
corn ; three of which made an inch.
Horses are measured directly over the fore feet, and the standard of
measure is four inches — called a hand.
In Biblical and other old measurements, the term span/ is sometimes
used, which is a length of nine inches.
The sacred cubit of the Jews was 24.024 inches in length.
The common cubit of the Jews was 21.704 inches in length.
A pace is equal to a yard or 36 inches.
A fathom is equal to 6 feet.
A league is three miles, but its length is variable, for it is strictly
speaking a nautical term, and should be three geographical miles, equal
to 3.45 statute miles, but when used on land, three statute miles are said
to be a league.
Ih cloth measure an aune is equal toli yards, or 45 inches.
An Amsterdam ell is equal to 26.796 inches.
A Trieste ell is equal to 25.284 inches.
A Brabant ell is equal to 27.116 inches.
HOW TO KEEP ACCOUNTS-
Every farmer and mechanic, whether he does much or little business,
should keep a record of his transactions in a clear and systematic man-
ner. For the benefit of those who have not had the opportunity of ac-
quiring a primary knowledge of the principles of book-keeping, we here
present a simple form of keeping accounts which is easily comprehended,
and well adapted to record the business transactions of farmers, mechani^P
and laborers.
MISCBIiAUEOTJS INPOEMATION.
289
1876.
A. H. JACKSON.
Dr.
Cr
•
Jan. 10
To 7 bushels Wheat
at *1.25
68
6
1
48
6
17
75
30
25
00
25
50
$2
18
2
35
4
35
^
« 17
By shoeing span of Horses
50
Feb. 4
» 4
March 8
To 14 bushels Oats
To 5 lbs. Butter
By new Harrow
...at $ .45
...at .35
00
" 8
By sharpening 2 Plows
40
" 13
By new Double-Tree
^5
« 27
To Cow and Calf...
April 9
9
To half ton of Hay
By Cash.
on
May 6
" 24
By repairing Corn-Planter
75
To one Sow with Pigs
July 4
By Cash, to balance account . ...
15
$88
05
$88
05
1876.
,CASSA MASON.
Dr.
WW
INTEREST TABLE.
Cr.
March 21
" 21
By 3 days' labor
To 2 Shoats
at $1.35
at 3.00
$6
8
10
2
2
20
18
00
10
00
75
70
00
20
|3
25
12
18
9
75
" 23
May. 1
" 1
To 18 bushels Corn
By 1 month's Labor
at .45
on
To Cash - -
June 19
" 36
By 8 days' Mowing
To 50 lbs. Flour .-
at $1.50
00
July 10
" 39
Aug. 13
" 12
To 27 lbs. Meat
By 9 days' Harvesting
By 6 days' Labor
To Cash
at$ .10
at 2.00
at 1.50
00
00
Sept. 1
To Cash to balance account ... ..
$67
75
$67
75
A SIMFLB BCTLB ffOR AOCTTRATBLT COMPUTING INTEREST AT AwY GlVHW PER CENT. FOR ANT
Lbnoth of Time.
Multiply the vri/ncipal (amount of money at interest) by the time reduced to days; then divide this product
by the gitoMent obtained by dividing 360 (the number of days In the interest year) by the per cent, of interest,
sndt/ie quotient thus obtained will be the required Interest.
illustration. • SoluUon.
$462.50
.48
Require the Interest of $462.50 for one month and eighteen days at 6 per cent. An
tateresl month is 30 days; one month and eighteen days equal 48.days. S4b3.50 multl-
ffledby .48 gives S238.0000; 360divided by 6 (the per cent of interest) gives 60, and „„„„„„
1222.0000 divided by 60 wlU give you the exact Interest, whloli is $3:70. n the rate of 370000
liitereBt in the above example were 12 per cent., we would divide the $222.p000,l3y 30 6)360 \ 185000
Cbeuanse 360 divided by 12 gives 30); It 4 per cent., we would divide by 90; If 8 per |
«ent, by 45: and In like manner for any other per cent.
60/?222.0000(S3.70
180
420
420
00
MISCELLANEOUS TABLE.
12 units, or things, 1 Dozen.
12 dozen, 1 Gross.
20 things, 1 Score.
1196 pounds, 1 Barrel Of Flour. I 24 sheets of paper, 1 Quire.
200 pounds, 1 Barrel of Pork. 20 quires paper 1 Ream. . „ ^ ... ^
66 pounds, 1 Firliln of Butter. | 4 ft. wide, 4 r. high, and 8 ft. long. 1 Cord Wood.
290 MTSCBLLANEOrrS ITTFOEMATION.
NAMES OF THE STATES OF THE UNION, AND THEIR SIGNIFICATIONS,
Virginia. — The oldest of the States, was so called in honor of Queen
Elizabeth, the "Virgin Queen," in whose reign Sir Walter Raleigh made
his first attempt to colonize that region.
Florida, — Ponce de Leon landed on the coast of Florida on Easter
Sunday, and called the country in commemoration of the day, which was
the Pasqua Florida of the Spaniards, or " Feast of Flowers."
Louisiana was called after Louis the Fourteenth, who at one time
owned that section of the country.
Alabama was so named by the Indians, and signifies " Here we Rest."
Mississippi is likewise an Indian name, meaning " Long River."
Arkansas, from Kansas, the Indian word for " smoky water." Its
prefix was really arc, the French word for " bow."
The Carolinas were originally one tract, and were called "Carolana,"
after Charles the Ninth of France.
Creorgia owes its name to George the Second of England, who first
established a colony there in 1732.
Tennessee is the Indian name for the " River of the Bend," i. e., the
Mississippi which forms its western boundary.
Kentucky is the Indian name for " at the head of the river."
Ohio means " beautiful ; " Iowa, " drowsy ones ; " Minnesota, " cloudy
water," and Wisconsin, " wild-rushing channel."
Illinois is derived from the Indian word illini, men, and the French
Buffix ois, together signifying "tribe of men."
Michigan was called by the name given the lake, fish-weir, which was
60 styled from its fancied resemblance to a fish trap.
Missouri is from the Indian word " muddy," which more properly
applies to the river that flows through it.
Oregon owes its Indian name also to its principal river.
Cortes named California.
Massachusetts is the Indian for " The country around the great hills."
Connecticut, from the Indian Quon-ch-ta-Cut, signifying "Long
River."
Maryland, after Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles the First, of
England.
New York was named by the Duke of York.
Pennsylvania means " Penn's woods," and was so called after WHliam
Penn, its orignal owner.
MISCELLANEOUS INPOEMATION.
291
Delaware after Lord De La Ware.
New Jersey, so called in honor of Sir George Carteret, who was
Governor of the Island of Jersey, in the British Channel.
Maine was called after the province of Maine in France, in compli-
ment of Queen Henrietta of England, who owned that province.
Vermont, from the French word Vert Mont, signifying Green
Mountain.
New Hampshire, from Hampshire county in England. It was
formerly called Laconia.
The little State of Rhode Island owes its name to the Island of
Rhodes in the Mediterranean, which domain it is said to greatly
resemble.
Texas is the American word for the Mexican name hy which all that
section of the country was called before it was ceded to the United States.
POPULATION OF THE
UNITED STATES.
States and Territories.
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
minols
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Xoulslana
Haine
Maryland
Massachusetts —
Michigan
' Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampsliire
New Jersey
New York
Nortb Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Bhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wiscpnsln
Total states
Arizona
Colorada
Dakota
District o( Columbia
Idaho
Montana
New Mexico
Utah
Washington
Wyoming
Total Territories
Total United States
Total
Population.
996.993
484,471
660,247
537,454
125,015
187,748
1.184,109
2,539,891
1,680,637
1,191,792
364,399
1,321,011
726,915
626,916
780,894
1,457,351
1,184,059
439,706
827,922
1,721,295
122,993
42.491
318,300
906.096
4,382.759
1,071,361
2,665.260
90,923
3,521,791
217,853
705,606
1,258.520
818,579
830,551
1,225,163
442,014
1,054,670
38,113,253
9,658
39,864
14,181
131,700
14,999
20,595
91,874
86,786
23,955
9,118
442,730
38,565,983
POPULATION OF FIFTY
PRINCIPAL CITIES.
Aggregate
Fopulation.
New York. N. T
Philadelphia, Pa
Brooklyn, N. T
St. Louis, Mo
Chicago, 111
Baltimore, Md
Boston, M:ass
Cincinnati, Ohio
New Orleans, La, ...
San Francisco, Cal...
Buffalo, N. Y
Washington, D. C...
Newark. N.J
Louisville, Ky
Cleveland, Ohio
Pittsburg, Pa
.Jersey City, N. J
Detroit, BDch
Milwaukee, Wis
Albany, N. Y
Providence, R. I
Rochester, N. T
Allegheny, Pa
Bichmond, Va
New Haven, C^nn. . .
Charleston, S. C
Indianapolis, Ind
Troy, N.T
Syracuse, N. Y
Worcester, Mass
Lowell, Mass
Memphis, Tenn
Cambridge, Mass
Hartford, Conn
Scranton, Fa
Reading, Fa
Paterson, N. J
Kansas City, Mo
Mobile, Ala
Toledo, Ohio
Portland, Me
Columbus, Ohio
Wilmington, Del
Dayton, Ohio
Lawrence, Mass
Utica, N. Y
Chariestown, Mass..
Savannah, da
Lynn. Mass
Fall River, Maas
942,
674,
396,
310,
298.
267,
250,
216,
191,
149,
117,
109,
105,
100,
92,
86,
82,
79,
71,
69,
68,
62,
63,
51.
50,
48,
48,
46,
43,
41,
40,
40,
39,
37,
35,
33,
33,
32,
32,
31,
31,
31,
30,
30,
099
864
977
364
526
239
418
473
714
199
059
753
829
076
546
577
440
422
904
386
180
038
840
956
244
466
051
105
928
226
634
180
092
930
579
a60
034
.584
,413
274
,841
,473
,921
,804
32a
,235
,233
,766
292
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.
States and
Tbrbitobies.
Area In
square
Miles.
Population.
Miles
K. K.
1872.
States ahd
tsbbitobius.
Area iu
square
Miles.
POPCLATIOM.
Mlli?
B.S.
1872.
1870.
996,992
484,471
560,247
537,454
125,015
187,748
1,184,109
2,539,891
1,680,637
1,191.792
364,399
1,321,011
726,915
626,915
780,894
1,457,351
1,184,059
489,706
827,922
1,721,295
183,993
42.491
318,300
906,096
4,382,759
1,071,361
2,665.260
90.923
1875.
1870.
1875.
states.
50.722
52.198
188,981
4.674
2,120
59,268
58,000
55,410
83,809
55,045
81.318
37,600
41,346
31,776
11.184
7,800
,56,451
'83,531
47,156
65,350
75,995
112,090
9.280
8,320
47,000
50,704
39,964
95,244
1.013
820
227
466
2,108
3,529
3,160
1,760
1,128
589
2;235
1.612
990
2.580
828
593
790
1,265
4,470
1,190
3,740
1&9
States.
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina...
46,000
1,306
40,904
23,000
63,924
3,521,791
217,853
705,606
1,258.520
818,579
330.561
1,225,168
442,014
1,054.670
'■■258;2S9
925.146
'■m
Florida.
Vermont
1.4JI
Vlreinia
Illinois
Welt Virginia
Wisconsin
Total States
T&rritoriea.
"l,'286.729
■857,039
Kansas
1,960,171
113,916
104,500
147,490
i^i:?i
121,201
80.056
69,944
93,107
38,113,253
9,658
39,864
14,181
131,700
14,999
20,695
9i;874
86,786
69,6BT
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
l.'65i;912
1,334,031
598,429
Colorado..^
M%
Dakota
Michigan*
Dlst. of Columbia.
Idaho
'■;
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
■246;286
52,640
1,026; 502
4,705,208
New Mexico ......
Utah
Washington
New Hampshire,
New Jersey
4es
Total TerHtoriet,
Aggregate of XT. S..
• Included In t
965,032
442.730
1,S66
Ohio
2.915,203
he Railro
38,555,983
ROSM
• Last Cen«u
s of Mlc
higan tak
en m 1874
ad Mileage of Maryland.
PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD;
Population and Abba.
COUHTRIES.
Date of
Area in
Population.
Census.
Square
Miles,
446,500.000
1871
8.741.846
226.817,108
1 71
4,677,482
81,925,400
1 71
8,008,778
38.925,600
1 70
2,603,884
86.469.800
1 66
204,091
36,904.400
69
240,848
34.785.300
71
149,899
31.817,100
J71
121.815
29,906,092
S71
160.207
27.439.921
im
118,847
1«,642,000
li67
195,775
10.000,000
3,253,029
16,463,000
niti'^
9.173.000
1869
6,921,500
1870
292,871
6,000,000
1870
635,964
6.021,300
1869
11,878
4,861,400
871
29,292
3,995,200
868
34,494
3,688,300
870
12,680
3,000,000
870
857,157
g'SfiS'OfiS
869
132,616
2,669,100
870
15,992
2,500.000
871
471,838
497,321
2,000.000
1,812.000
1869
871,848
1,818,500
1871
7,538
1,784,700
1870
14,758
I 500.000
368,238
1,461,400
1871
6,912
1,457,900
1870
19,858
1,180.000
1871
40,879
1.300.000
218,928
1,000.000
1871
828,138
2,969
718,000
1871
9,576
tiOO 000
1871
7,835
10,206
678,000
1871
58,171
300,000
1871
66,722
850,000
1871
186,000
l"? 837
165,000
1870
31,505
62,950
7.638
Inhabitants
to Square
Mile.
Capitals.
PopulatloiL
■China
British Empire
Russia
United States with Alaska. .
KrancB
Austria and Hungary.
Japan
Great Britain and Ireland. . . .
German Empire
Italy
Spain
Brazil
Turkey
Mexico
.Sweden and Norway. . .
Persia
Belgium
Bavaria
Portugal
Holland
^ew Grenada
■Chill
;Switzerland
Peru
Bolivia
Argentine Republic. . . .
Wurtemburg
Denmark
Venezuela
Baden
•Greece
■Guatemala
Ecuador
Paraguay
Hesse
Liberia
San Salvador
Hayti
Nicaragua
Uruguay
Honduras
San Domingo
Costa Rica
Hawaii.
119.3
48.6
10.2
7.78
178.7
149.4
282.8
262.S
187.
230.9
8b.
8.07
24.4
20.
7.8
441.5
165.9
115.8
290.9
8.4
15.1
166.9
5.8
4.
2.1
241.4
120.9
4.2
247.
75.8
28.9
6.9
16.6
277.
74.9
81.8
66.
6.
6.5
7.4
7.6
7.7
80.
Fekln
London
St. Petersburg...
Washington
Paris
Vienna..
Teddo
London
Berlin
Rome
Madrid
Rio Janeiro
Constantinople..
Mexico
Stockholm
Teheran
Brussels
Munich
Lisbon
Hague
Bogota
Santiago
Berne
Lima
Chuquisaca ,
Buenos Ayres....
Stuttgart
Copenhagen
Caraccas
Carlsruhe
Athens
Guatemala
Qul|;o
•ASuhcion
Darmstadt
Monrovia
Sal Salvador ....
Port au Prince,,
Managua
Monte Video
Comayagua
San Domingo....
San Jose
Honolulu
1,648,800
8,251.800
667,000
109,199
1,829,300
683,000
1,5J)4,9II0
8,251,800
825(400
244,484
832,000
420.000
1.075,000
210.800
186,900
120,000
814,100
160,600
224,063
90,100
46,000
116,400
86,000
160,100 '
85.000
177,800
91,600
162,043
»
t§:S
48,000
8,000
16,000
20,000
10,000
44,600
12,000
S0,000
2,000
M
ABSTRACT OF IO¥A STATE LAWS. •
BILLS OF EXCHANGE AND PROMISSORY NOTES.
Upon negotiable bills, and notes payable in this State, grace shall be allowed
aooording to the law merohant, All the above mentioned paper falling due on
Sunday, Now Year's Day, the Fourth of Jul^, Christmas, or any day appointed
or recommended by the President of the United States or the Governor of the'
State, as a day of fast or thanksgiving, shall be deemed as duo on the day pre-
vious. No defense can be made against a negotiable instrument (assigned before-
due) in the hands of the assignee without notice, except fraud was used in
obtaining the same. To hold an indorser, due diligence must be used by suit
against tne maker or his representative. Notes payable to person named or to
order, in order to absolutely transfer titlo, must be indorsed by the payee.
Notes payable to bearer may bo transferred by delivery, and when so payable,
every mdorser thereon is held as a guarantor of payment, unless otherwise
In computing intere^ or discount on negotiable instruments, a month shall
bo considered a calendai' month or twelfth of a year, and for less than a month,
ft day shall bo figured a thirtieth part of a uu>iitli. Notes only bear interest
when so expressed ; but after due, they draw the legal interest, even if not
stated.
INTEREST.
^ The legal rate of interest is six per cent. Poi'ties may agree, in writing,
on a rate not exceeding ten per cent. If a rate of interest greater than ten
$er cent, ia contracted for, it works a forfeiture of ten per cent, to tlie soliool!
md, and only the principal sum otm be recovered.
DESCENT.
'^ The personal property of the deceased (except (1) tliat necessary for pay-
ment of debts and expenses of administration ; (2) propei'ty sot apai't to widow,
as exempt from oxeollition: (3) allowance by court, if necessary, of tweh-iy
inontlis' support to |||pw, and to duldroii under fifteen years of age), including
li& insurance, dcsowqKnj^ does roal estate.
One>thi^ in vohlMKbsolutely) of all estates in real jproperty,«^os8essed by
husband &t any Mmt^ Rring marriage, which have not been sold on execution
^md to which me wife has made no relinquishment of her
i as her property, in fee simple, if she survive him.
(293)
auaband atanytumft mr
W'Other jud||ial sH^lM^cl
right, sho||be set ap9> °^
294 ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
The same share shall be set apart to the surviving husband of a deceased
"wife.
The widow's share cannot be affected by any will of her husband's, unless
she consents, in writing thereto, within six months after notice to her of pro-
visions of the will.
The provisions of the statutes of descent apply alike to surviving husband
or surviving wife.
Subject to the above, the remaining estate of which the decedent died
siezed, shall in absence of other arrangements by will, descend
First. To his or her children and their descendants in equal parts ; the
descendants of the deceased child or grandchild taking the share of their
deceased parents in equal shares among them.
Second. Where there is no child, nor descendant of such child, and no
widow or surviving husband, then to the parents of the deceased in equal parts ;
the surviving parent, if either be dead, taking the whole ; and if there is no
parent living, then to the brothers and sisters of the intestate and their descend-
ants.
Third. When there is a widow or surviving husband, and no child or chil-
dren, or descendants of the same, then one-half of the estate shall descend to
such widow or surviving husband, absolutely ; and the other half of the estate
shall descend as in other cases where there is no widow or surviving husband,
or child or children, or descendants of the same.
Fourth. If there is no child, parent, brother or sister, or descendants of
either of them, then to wife of intestate, or to her heirs, if dead, according to
like rules.
Fifth. If any intestate leaves no child, parent, brother or sister, or de-
scendants of either of them, and no widow or surviving husband, and no child,
parent, brother or sister (or descendant of either o^hem) of such widow or
surviving husband, it shall escheat to the State. jf
WILLS AND ESTATES OF DECEASED PERSONS.
No exact form of words are necessary in order to make a will good at law.
Every male person of the age of twenty-one years, and every female of the age
-of eighteen years, of sound mind and memory, can make a valid will ; it must
be in writing, signed by the testator, or by some one in his or her presence, and
by his or her express direction, and attested by two or more competent wit-
nesses. Care should be taken that the witnesses are not interested in the will.'
Inventory to be made by executor or administrator within fifteen days from
date of letters testamentary or of administration. Executors' and administra-
tors' compensation on amount of personal estate distributed, and for proceeds of
sale of real estate, five per cent, for first one thousand dollars, two and one-half
per cent, on overplus up to five thousand dollars, and one- per cent, on overplus
above five thousand dollars, with such additional allowance as shall be reasona-
ble for extra services. jgtf
Withm ten days after the receipt of letters of admi^Klition, the executor
or administrator shall give such notice of appointment aa^^e»court or-clerk shall-
direct. ..■^^: .
Claims (other than preferred) must be filed within om^i^ar tjj^reafter, are
forever barred, unless the claim is pending in the Districtw^Supreme. Court, or
unless peculiar circumstances entitle the claimant to equitable relief*.
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. 295
Claims are classed and payable in the following order :
1. Expenses of administration.
2. Expenses of last sickness and funeral.
3. Allowance to widow and children, if made by the court.
4. Debts preferred under laws of the United States.
6. Public rates and taxes.
6,^ Claims filed within six months after the first publication of the notice
given' by the executors of their appointment.
7. All other debts.
8. Legacies.
The award, or property which must be set apart to the widow, in her own
right, by the executor, includes all personal property which, in the hands of thf
deceased, as head of a family, would have been exempt from execution.
TAXES.
The owners of personal property, on the first day of January of each year,
and the owners of real property on the first day of November of each year, are
liable for the taxes thereon.
The following property is exempt from taxation, viz. :
1. The property of the United States and of this State, including univer-
sity, agricultural, college and school lands and all property leased to the State ;
property of a county, township, city, incorporated town or school district when
devoted entirely to the public use and not held for pecuniary profit ; public
grounds, including all places for the burial of the dead ; fire engines and all
implements for extinguishing fires, with the grounds used exclusively for their
buildings and for the meetings of the fire companies ; all public libraries,
grounds and buildings of- literary, scientific, benevolent, agricultural and reli-
gious institutions, and societies devoted solely to the appropriate objects of these
institutions, not exceeding 640 acres in extent, and not leased or otherwise used
with a view of pecuniary profit ; and all property leased to agricultural, charit-
able institutions and benevolent eocieties, and so devoted during the term of such
lease; provided, that all deeds, by which such property is held, shall be duly
filed for record before the property therein described shall be omitted from the
assessment.
2. The books, papers and apparatus belonging to the above institutions;
used solely for the purposes above contemplated, and the like property of stu-
dents in any such institution, used for their education.
3. Money and credits belonging exclusively to such institutions and devoted
solely to sustaining them, but not exceeding in amount or income the sum pre-
scribed by their charter.
4. Animals not hereaftei: specified, the wool shorn from sheep, belonging to
•the person giving the list, his farm produce harvested within one year previous
to the listing ; private libraries not exceeding three hundred dollars in value ;
family pictures, kitchen furniture, beds and bedding requisite for each family,
!all wearing apparel in actual use, and all food provided for the family ; but no
person from whom a compensation for board or lodging is received or expected,
is to be considered a member of the family within the intent of this clause.
5; The polls or estates or both of persons who, by reason of age or infirm-
ity, may, in the opinion of the Assessor, be unable to contribute to the public
296 ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
revenue ; such opinion and the fact upon which it is based being in all cases
reported to the Board of Equalization by the Assessor or any other person, ajid
subject to reversal by them.
6. The farming utensils of any person who makes his livelihood by farming,
and the tools of any mechanic, not in either case to exceed three hundred dollars
in value.
7. Government lands entered or located or lands purchased from this State,
should not be taxed for the year in which the entry, location or purchase is
made;
There is also a suitable exemption, in amount, for planting fruit trees or
forest trees or hedges.
Where buildings are destroyed by fire, tornado or other unavoidable casu-
alty, after being assessed for the year, the Board of Supervisors may rebate
taxes for that year on the property destroyed, if same has not been sold far
taxes, and if said taxes have not been delinquent for thirty days at the time of
destruction of the property, and the rebate shall be allowed for such loss only
as is not covered by insurance.
All other property is subject to taxation. Every inhabitant of full age and
sound mind shall assist the Assessor in listing all taxable property of which
he is the owner, or which he controls or manages^ either as agent, guardian,
father, husband, trustee, executor, accounting oflScer, partner, mortgagor or
lessor, mortgagee or lessee.
Road beds of railway corporations shall not be assessed to owners of adja-
cent property, but shall be considered the property of the companies for pur-
poses of taxation ; nor shall real estate used as a public highway be assessed
and taxed as part of adjacent lands whence the same was taken for such public
purpose.
The property of railway, telegraph and express companies shall be listed
and assessed for taxation as the property of an individual would be listed and
assessed for taxation. Collection of taxes made as in the case of an individual.
The Township Board of Equalization shall meet first Monday in April of
each year. Appeal lies to the Circuit Court.
The County Board of Eqalization (the Board of Supervisors) meet at their
regular session in June of each year. Appeal lies to the Circuit Court.
Taxes become delinquent February 1st of each year, payable, without
interest or penalty, at any time before March .1st of each year.
Tax sale is held on first Monday in October of each year.
Redemption may be made at any time within three years after date of sale,
by paying to the County Auditor the amount of sale, and twenty per centum of
such amount immediately added as penalty, with ten per cent, interest per
annum on the whole amount thus made from the day of sale, and also all sub-
sequent taxes, interest and costs paid by purchaser after March ^Ist of each
year, and a similar penalty of twenty per centum added as before, with ten per
cent, interest as before.
If notice has been given, by purchaser, of the date at which the redemptio)i
IS limited, the cost of same is added to the redemption money. Ninety days
notice is required, by the statute, to be published by the purchaser or holder of
certificate, to terminate the right of redemption.
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS 297
JURISDICTION OF COURTS
DISTRICT COURTS
have jurisdiction, general and original, both civil and criminal, except in such
cases where Circuit Courts have exclusive jurisdiction. District Courts have
exclusive supervision over courts of Justices of the Peace and Magistrates, in
criminal matters, on appeal and vrrits of error.
CIRCUIT COURTS
have jurisdiction, general and original, with the District Courts, in all civil
actions and special proceedings, and exclusive jurisdiction in all appeals and
writs of error from inferior courts, in civil matters. And exclusive jurisdiction
in matters of estates and general probate business.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
have jurisdiction in civil matters where $100 or less is involved. By consent
of parties, the jurisdiction may be extended to an amount not exceeding $300.
They have jurisdiction to try and determine all public offense less than felony,
committed within their respective counties, in which the fine, by law, does not
exceed ^100 or the imprisonment thirty days.
LIMITATION OF ACTIONS.
Action for injuries to the person or reputation ; for a stutute penalty ; and
to enforce a mechanics' lien, must be brought in two (2) years.
Those against a public officer within three (3) years.
Those founded on unwritten contracts; for injuries to property; for relief
on the ground of fraud ; and all other actions not otherwise provided for, within
five (5) years.
Those founded on written contracts; on judgments of any court (except
those provided for in next section), and for the recovery of real property, withih
ten (10) years.
Those founded on judgment of any court of record in the United States,
within twenty (20) years.
All above limits, except those for penalties and forfeitures, are extended in
favor, of minors and insane persons, until one year after the disability is removed
— time during which defendant is a non-resident of the State shall not be
included in computing any of the above periods.
Actions for the recovery of real property, sold for non-payment of taxes,
must be brought within five years after thfe Treasurer's Deed is executed
and recorded, except where a minor or convict or insane person is the owner,
and they shall be allowed five years after disability is removed, in which to
bring action.
I
JURORS.
All qualified electors of the State, of good moral character, sound judgment,
and in full possession of the senses of hearing and seeing, are competent jurors
in their respective counties.
United States olBcers, practicing attorneys, physicians and clergymen,
acting professors or teachers in institutions of learning, and persons disabled by
298 ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
bodily infirmity or over sixty-five years of age, are exempt from liability to act
as jurors.
Any person may be excused from serving on a jury when his own interests
or the public's will be materially injured by his attendance, or when the state of
his health or the death, or sickness of his family requires his absence.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
was restored by the Seventeenth General Assembly, making it optional with
the jury to inflict it or not.
A MARRIED WOMAN
may convey or incumber real estate, or interest therein, belonging to her ; may
control the same or contract with reference thereto, as other persons may con-
vey, encumber, control or contract.
She may own, acquire, hold, convey and devise property, as her husband
may.
Her husband is not liable for civil injuries committed by her.
She may convey property to her husband, and he may convey to her.
She may constitute her husband her attorney in fact.
EXEMPTIONS FROM EXECUTION.
A resident of the State and head of a family may hold the following prop-
erty exempt from execution : All wearing apparel of himself and family kept for
actual use and suitable to the condition, and the trunks or other receptacles nec-
essary to contain the same ; one musket or rifle and shot-gun ; all private
libraries, family Bibles, portraits, pictures, musical instruments, and paintings
not kept for the purpose of sale ; a seat or pew occupied by the debtor or his
family in any house of public worship ; an interest in a public or private burying
ground not exceeding one acre; two cows and a calf; one horse, unless a horse
is exempt as hereinafter provided ; fifty sheep and the wool therefrom, and the
materials manufactured from said wool; six stands of bees; five hogs and all
pigs under six months ; the necessary food for exempted animals for six months ;
all fiax raised from one acre of ground, and manufactures therefrom ; one bed-
stead and necessary bedding for every two in the family ; all cloth manufactured
by the defendant not exceeding one hundred yards ; household and kitchen fur-
niture not exceeding two hundred dollars in value ; all spinning wheels and
looms ; one sewing machine and other instruments of domestic laber kept for
actual use ; the necessary provisions and fuel for the use of the family for six
months ; the proper tools, instruments, or books of the debtor, if a farmer,
mechanic, surveyor, clergyman, lawyer, physician, teacher or professor; the
horse or the team, consisting of not more than two horses or mules, or two yokes
of cattle, and the wagon or other vehicle, with the proper harness or tackle, by
the use of which the debtor, if a physician, public officer, farmer, teamster or
other laborer, habitually earns his living ; and to the debtor, if a printer, there
shall also be exempt a printing press and the types, furniture and material nec-
essary for the use of such printing press, and a newspaper office to the value of
twelve hundred dollars ; the earnings of such debtor, or those of his family, at
any time within ninety days next preceding the levy.
Persons unmarried and not the head of a family, and non-residents, have
exempt their own ordinary wearing apparel and trunks to contain the same.
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. 299
There is also exempt, to a head of a family, a homestead, not exceeding forty-
acres; or, if inside city limits, one-half acre with improvements, value not
limited. The homestead is liable for all debts contracted prior to its acquisition as
such, and is subject to mechanics' liens for work or material furnished for the same.
An article, otherwise exempt, is liable, on execution, for the purchase
money thereof.
Where a debtor, if a head of a family, has started to leave the State, he shall
have exempt only the ordinary wearing apparel of himself and family, and
other property in addition, as he may select, in all not exceeding seventy-five
dollars in value.
A policy of life insurance shall inure to the separate use of the husband or
wife and children, entirely independent of his or her creditors.
ESTRAYS.
An unbroken animal shall not be taken up as an astray between May 1st
and November 1st, of each year, unless the same be found within the lawful
enclosure of a householder, who alone can take up such animal, unless some
other person gives him notice of the fact of such animal coming on his place ;
and if he fails, within five days thereafter, to take up such estray, any other
householder of the township may take up such estray and proceed with it as if
taken on his own premises, provided he shall prove to the Justice of the Peace
such notice, and shall make affidavit where such estray was taken up.
Any swine, sheep, goat, horse, neat cattle or other animal distrained (for
damage done to one's enclosure), when the owner is not known, shall be treated
as an estray.
Within five days after taking up an estray, notice, containing a full descrip-
tion thereof, shall be posted up in three of the most public places in the town-
ship ; and in ten days, the person taking up such estray shall go before a Justice
of the Peace in the township and make oath as to where such estray was taken
up, and that the marks or brands have not been altered, to his knowledge. The
estray shall then be appraised, by order of the Justice, and the appraisement,
description of the size, age, color, sex, marks and brands of the estray shall be
entered by the Justice in a book kept for that purpose, and he shall, within ten
days thereafter, send a certified copy thereof to the County Auditor.
When the appraised value of an estray does not exceed five dollars, the
Justice need not proceed further than to enter the description of the estray on
his book, and if no owner appears within six months, the property shall vest in
the finder, if he has complied with the law and paid all costs.
Where appraised value of estray exceeds five and is less than ten dollars, if
no owner appears in nine months, the finder has the property, if he has com-
plied with the law and paid costs.
An estray, legally taken up, may be used or worked with care and
moderation.
If any person unlawfully take up an estray, or take up an estray and fail to
comply with the law regarding estrays, or use or work it contrary to above, or
work it before having it appraised, or keep such estray out of the county more
than five days at one time, before acquiring ownership, such offender shall forfeit
to the county twenty dollars, and the owner may recover double damages with
costs.
If the owner of any estray fail to claim and prove his title for one year after
the taking up, and the finder shall have complied with the law, a comnlete title
vests in the finder.
300 ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
But if the owner appear within eighteen months from the taking up, proye
his ownership and pay all costs and expenses, the finder shall pay him the
appraised value of such estray, or may, at his option, deliver up the estray.
wolf' scalps.
A bounty of one dollar is paid for wolf scalps.
MARKS AND BRANDS.
Any person may adopt his own mark or brand for his domestic animals, and
have a description thereof recorded by the Township Clerk.
No person shall adopt the recorded mark or brand of any other person
residing in his township.
DAMAGES FROM TRESPASS.
When any person's lands are enclosed by a lawful fence, the owner of any
domestic animal injuring said lands is liable for the damages, and the damages
may be recovered by suit against the owner, or may be made by distraining the
animals doing the damage ; and if the party injured elects to recover by action
against the owner, no appraisement need be made by the Trustees, as in case of
distraint.
When trespassing animals are distrained within twenty-four hours, Sunday
not included, the party injured shall notify the owner of said animals, if known ;
and if the owner fails to satisfy the party within twenty-four hours thereafter,
the party shall have the township Trustees assess the damage, and notice shall
be posted up in three conspicuous places in the township, that the stock, or part
thereof, shall, on the tenth day after posting the notice, between the hours of 1
and 3 P. M., be sold to the highest bidder, to satisfy said damages, with costs.
Appeal lies, within twenty days, from the action of the Trustees to the Cir-
cuit Court.
Where stock is restrained, by police regulation or by law, from running at
large, any person injured iA his improved or cultivated lands by any domestic
animal, may, by action against the owner of such animal, or by distraining such
animal, recover his damages, whether the lands whereon the injury was done
were inclosed by a lawful fence or not.
FENCES.
A lawful fence is fifty-four inches high, made of rails, wire or boards, with
posts not more than ten feet apart where rails are used, and eight feet where
boards are used, substantially built and kept in good repair ; or any other fence
which, in the opinion of the Fence Viewers, shall be declared a lawful fence-
provided the lower rail, wire or board be not more that twenty nor less than six-
teen inches from the ground.
The respective owners of lands enclosed with fences shall maintain partition
fences between their own and next adjoining enclosure so long as they improve
them in equal shares, unless otherwise agreed between them.
If any party neglect to maintain such partition fence as he should maintain,
the Fence Viewers (the township Trustees), upon complaint of aggrieved party,
may, upon due notice to both parties, examine the fence, and, if found insiif'
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. 301
ficient, notify the delinquent party, in writing, to repair or re-build the same
within such time as they judge reasonable.
If the fence be not repaired or rebuilt accordingly, thq complainant may do
so, and the same being adjudged sufficient by the Fence Viewers, and the
value thereof, with their fees, being ascertained and certified under their hands,
the complainant may demand of the delinquent the sum so ascertained, and if
the same be not paid in one month after demand, may recover it with one per
cent a month interest, by action.
In case of disputes, the Fence Viewers may decide as to who shall erect or
maintain partition fences, and in what time the same shall be done ; and in case
any party neglect to maintain or erect such part as may be assigned to him,
the aggrieved party may erect and maintain the same, and recover double
damages.
No person, not wishing his land inclosed, and not using it otherwise than in
common, shall be compelled to maintain any partition fence ; but when he uses
or incloses his land otherwise than in common, he shall contribute to the parti-
tion fences.
Where parties have had their lands inclosed in common, and one of the
owners desires to occupy his separate and apart from the other, and the other
refiises to divide the line or build a sufficient fence on the line when divided,
the Fence Viewers may divide and assign, and upon neglect of the other to
build as ordered by the Viewers, the one may build the other's part and
recover as above.
And when one incloses land which has lain uninclosed, he must pay for
one-half of each partition fence between himself and his neighbors.
Where one desires to lay not less than twenty feet of his lands, adjoining
his neighbor, out to the public to be used in common, he must give his neighbor
six months' notice thereof.
Where a fence has been built on the land of another through mistake, the
owner may enter upon such premises and remove his fence and material withn
six months after the division line has been ascertained. Where the material to
build such a fence has been taken from the land on which it was built, then,
before it can be removed, the person claiming must first pay for such material
to the owner of the land from which it was taken, nor shall such a fence be
removed at a time when the removal will throw open or expose the crops of the
other party ; a reasonable time must be given beyond the six months to remove
crops.
MECHANICS' LIENS.
Every mechanic, or other person who shall do any labor upon, or furnish
any materials, machinery or fixtures for any building, erection or other improve-
ment upon land, including those engaged in the construction or repair of any
w6rk of internal improvement, by virtue of any contract with the owner, his
agent, trustee, contractor, or sub-contractor, shall have a lien, on complying
with the forms of law, upon the building or other improvement for his labor
done or materials furnished.
It would take too large a space to detail the manner in which a sub-
contractor secures his lien. He should file, within thirty days after the last of
the labor was performed, or the last of the material shall have been furnished,
with the Clerk of the District Court a true account of the amount due him, after
allowing all credits, setting forth the time when such material was furnished or
labor performed, and when completed, and containing a correct description of
302 ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
the property sougtt to be charged with the lien, and the whole verified by
affidavit.
A principal contractor must file such an affidavit within ninety days, as
above.
Ordinarily, there are so many points to be examined in order to secure a
mechanics' lien, that it is much better, unless one is accustomed to managing
such liens, to consult at once with an attorney.
Remember that the proper time to file the claim is ninety days for a princi-
pal contractor, thirty days for a sub-contractor, as above ; and that actions to
enforce these liens must be commenced within two years, and the rest can much '
better be done with an attorney.
ROADS AND BRIDGES.
Persons meeting each other on the public highways, shall give one-half of
the, same by turning to the right. All persons failing to observe this rule shall
be liable to pay all damages resulting therefrom, together with a fine, not exceed-
ing five dollars.
The prosecution must be instituted on the complaint of the person wronged.
Any person guilty of racing horses, or driving upon the public highway, in
a manner likely to endanger the persons or the lives of others, shall, on convic-
tion, be fined not exceeding one hundred dollars or imprisoned not exceeding
thirty days.
it is a misdemeanor, without authority from the proper Road Supervisor, to
break upon, plow or dig within the boundary lines of any public highway.
The money tax levied upon the property in each road district in each town-
ship (except the general Township Fund, set apart for purchasing tools, machin-
ery and guide boards), whether collected by the Road Supervisor or County
Treasurer, shall be expended for highway purposes in that district, and no part
thereof shall be paid out or expended for the benefit of another district.
The Road Supervisor of each district, is bound to keep the roads and bridges
therein, in as good condition as the funds at his disposal will permit ; to put
guide boards at cross roads and forks of highways in his district ; and when noti-
fied in writing that any portion of the public highway, or any bridge is unsafe,
must in a reasonable time repair the same, and for this purpose may call out
any or all the able bodied men in the district, but not more than two days at
one time, without their consent.
Also, when notified in writing, of the growth of any Canada thistles upon
vacant or non-resident lands or lots, within his district, the owner, lessee or
agent thereof being unknown, shall cause the same to be destroyed.
Bridges when erected or maintained by the public, are parts of the highway,
and must not be less than sixteen feet wide.
A penalty is imposed upon any one who rides or drives faster than a walk
across any such bridge.
The manner of establishing, vacating or altering roads, etc., is so well known
to all township officers, that it is sufficient here to say that the first step is by
petition, filed in the Auditor's office, addressed in substance as follows :
The Board of Supervisors of County : The undersigned asks that
a highway, commencing, at and running thence and terminating
at , be established, vacated or altered (as the case may be.)
When the petition is filed, all necessary and succeeding steps will be shown
and explained to the petitioners by the Auditor.
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. 303
ADOPTION OP CHILDREN.
Any person competent to make a will can adopt as his own the minor child
of another. The consent of both parents, if living and not divorced or separ-
ated, and if divorced or separated, or if unmarried, the consent of the parent
lawfully having the custody of the child ; or if either parent is dead, then the
consent of the survivor, or if both parents be dead, or the child have been and
remain abandoned by them, then the consent of the Mayor of the city -where
the child is living, or if not in the city, then of the Clerk of the Circuit Court
of the county, shall be given to such adoption by an instrument in writing,
signed by party or parties consenting, and stating the names of the parties, if
known, the name of the child, if known, the name of the person adopting such
child, and the residence of all, if known, and declaring the name by which the
child is thereafter to be called and known, and stating, also, that such child is
given to the person adopting, for the purpose of adoption as his own child.
The person adopting shall also sign said instrument, and all the parties shall
acknowledge the same in the manner that deeds conveying lands shall be
acknowledged.
The instrument sh?ill be recorded in the office of the County Recorder.
SURVEYORS AND SURVEYS.
There is in every county elected a Surveyor known as County Surveyor,
who has power to appoint deputies, for whose official acts he is responsible. It
is the duty of the County Surveyor, either by himself or his Duputy, to make
all surveys that he may be called upon to make within his county as soon as
may be after application is made. The necessary chainmen and other assist-
ance must be employed by the person requiring the same to be done, and to be
by him paid, unless otherwise agreed ; but the chainmen must be disinterested
persons and approved by the Surveyor and sworn by him to measure justly and
impartially. Previous to any survey, he shall furnish himself with a copy of
the field notes of the original survey of the same land, if there be any in the
office of the County Auditor, and his survey shall be made in accordance there-
with.
Their fees are three dollars per day. For certified copies of field notes,
twenty-five cents.
SUPPORT OF POOR.
The father, mother and children of any poor person who has applied for aid,
and who is unable to maintain himself by work, shall, jointly or severally,
maintain such poor person in such manner as may be approved by the Town-
ship Trustees.
In the absence or inability of nearer relatives, the same liability shall extend
to the grandparents, if of ability without personal labor, and to the male grand-
children who are of ability, by personal labor or otherwise.
The Township Trustees may, upon the failure of such relatives to maintain
a poor person, who has made application for relief, apply to the Circuit Court
for an order to compel the same.
Upon ten days' notice, in writing, to the parties sought to be charged, a
hearing may be had, and an order made for entire or partial support of the poor
person.
304 ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
Appeal may be taken from such judgment as from other judgments of the
Circuit Court.
When any person, having any estate, abandons either children, wife or hus-
band, leaving them chargeable, or likely to become chargeable, upon the public for
support, upon proof of above fact, an order may be had from the Clerk of the
Circuit Court, or Judge, authorizing the Trustees or the Sheriff to take into
possession such estate.
The Court may direct such personal estate to be sold, to be applied, as well
as the rents and profits of the real estate, if any, to the support of children,
wife or husband.
If the party against whom the order is issued return and support the per-
son abandoned, or give security for the same, the order shall be discharged, and
the property taken returned.
The mode of relief for the poor, through the action of the Township
Trustees, or the action of the Board of Supervisors, is so well known to every
township officer, and the circumstances attending applications for relief are so
varied, that it need now only be said that it is the duty of each county to pro-
vide for its poor, no matter at what place they may be.
LANDLORD AND TENANT.
A tenant giving notice to quit demised premises at a time named, and after-
ward holding over, and a tenant or his assignee willfully holding over the prem-
ises after the term, and after notice to quit, shall pay double rent.
Any person in possession of real property, with the assent of the owner, is
presumed to be a tenant at will until the contrary is shown.
Thirty days' notice, in writing, is necessary to be given by either party
before he can terminate a tenancy at will ; -but when, in any case, a rent is
reserved payable at intervals of less than thirty days, the length of notice need
not be greater than such interval betweeu the days of payment. In case of
tenants occupying and cultivating farms, the notice must fix the termination of
the tenancy to take place on the 1st day of March, except in cases of field
tenants or croppers, whose leases shall be held to expire when the crop is har-
vested ; provided, that in case of a crop of corn, it shall not be later than the
1st day of December, unless otherwise agreed upon. But when an express
agreement is made, whether the same has been reduced to writing or not,
the tenancy shall cease at the time agreed upon, without notice.
But where an express agreement is made, whether reduced to writing or
not, the tenancy shall cease at the time agreed upon, without notice.
If such tenant cannot be found in the county, the notices above required
may be given to any sub-tenant or other person in possession of the premises ;
or, if the premises be vacant, by affixing the notice to the principal door of the
building or in some conspicuous position on the land, if there be no building.
The landlord shall have a lien for his rent upon all the crops grown on the
premises, and upon any other personal property of the tenant used on the
premises during the term, and not exempt from execution, for the period of one
year after a year's rent or the rent of a shorter period claimed falls due ; but
such lien shall not continue more than six months after the expiration of the
term.
The lien may be effected by the commencement of an action, within thit
period above prescribed, for the rent alone ; and the landlord is entitled to a vrrit
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
305
of attachment, upon filing an affidavit that the action is commenced to rcover
rent accrued within one year previous thereto upon the premises described in the
affidavit.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Whenever any of the following articles shall be contracted for, or sold or
•delivered, and no special contract or agreement shall be made to the contrary,
■the weight per bushel shall be as follows, to- wit:
Apples, Peaches or Quinces, 48
Cherries, Grapes, Currants or Gooseberries, 40
fitrawberries, Raspberries or Blackberries, 32
Osage Orange Seed 32
Millet Seed 45
StoneCoal 80
Lime 80
Oornin the ear 70
Wheat 60
Potatoes 60
Beans 60
Clover Seed 60
Cnions A 57
Shelled Corn 56
Rye 66
Flax Seed 56
Sweet Potatoes 46
Penalty for giving less than the above standard is treble damages and costs
and five dollars addition thereto as a fine.
Sand 130
Sorghum Seed •?. 30
Broom Corn Seed 80
Buckwheat 52
Salt 50
Barley 48
Corn Meal 48
Castor Beans 46
Timothy Seed 45
Hemp Seed 44
Dried Peaches 33
Oats 33
Dried Apples 24
Bran 20
Blue Grass Seed 14
Hungarian Grass Seed 45
DEFINITION OF COMMERCIAL TERMS.
$ means dollars, being a contraction of U. S., which was formerly placed
before any denomination of money, and meant, as it means now. United States
Currency.
£ means pounds, English money.
@ stands for at ov to; Bt) for pounds, and bbl. for barrels ; ^ for per or hy
the. Thus, Butter sells at 20@30c f ft, and Flour at $8@$12 f bbl.
foiar per cent., ziaA.'jfiov number.
May 1. Wheat sells at $1.20@$1.25, "seller June." Seller June mez.n%
that the person who sells the wheat has the privilege of delivering it at any
time during the month of June.
Selling short, is contracting to deliver a certain amount of grain or stock,
at a fixed price, within a certain length of time, when the seller has not the
stock on hand. It is for the interest of the person selling "short" to depress
the market as much as possible, in order that he may buy and fill his contract
at a profit. Hence the "shorts" are termed "bears."
Buying long, is to contract to purchase a certain amount of grain or shares
•of stock at a fixed price, deliverable within a stipulated time, expecting to make
« profit by the rise in prices. The " longs " •"■° *^'^^"^'^^ " i^"ii= " »= i* '° f^v
their interest to "operate"
possible.
The
so as to
■toss
are termed " bulls," as it is for
the prices upward as much as
306 ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
NOTES.
Form of note is legal, worded in the simplest way, so that the amount and
•erne of payment are mentioned :
$100. Chicago, HI., Sept. 15, 1876.
Sixty days from date I promise to pay to E. F. Brown or order, one hun-
dred dollars, for value received. L. D. Lowrt.
A note to be payable in anything else than money needs only the facts sub-
stituted for money in the above form.
ORDERS.
Orders should be worded simply, thus :
Mr. F. H. Coats : Chicago, Sept. 16, 1876.
Please pay to H. Birdsall twenty-five dollars, and charge to
F. D. SiLVA.
RECEIPTS.
Receipts should always state when received and what for, thus :
$100. Chicago, Sept. 15, 1876.
Received of J. W. Davis, one hundred dollars, for services.
rendered in grading his lot in Fort Madison, on account.
Thomas Brady.
If receipt is in full, it should be so stated.
BILLS OF PURCHASE.
W. N. Mason, Salem, Illinois, Sept. 18, 1876.
Bought of A. A. Graham.
4 Bushels of Seed Wheat, at $1.50 $6 W
2 Seamless Sacks " 30 m
Received payment, $6 60'
A. A. Graham.
CONFESSION OF JUDGMENT.
— , Iowa, , 18 — .
after date — promises to pay to the order of , dollars,
at , for value received, with interest at ten per cent, per annum after
until paid. Interest payable , and on interest not paid when due,
interest at same rate and conditions.
A failure to pay said interest, or any part thereof, within 20 days after due, shall cause ths
whole note to become due and collectable at once.
If this note is sued, or judgment is confessed hereon, $ shall be allowed as attorney feca.
No. — . P. 0. ,
CONFESSION OF JUDGMENT.
— VS. — . In Court of County, Iowa, , of "
County, Iowa, do hereby confess that justly indebted to , in the
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. 307
sum of dollars, and the further sum of $ as attorney fees, with
interest thereon at ten per cent, from , and — hereby confess judgment
against as defendant in favor of said , for said sum of $ ,
and $ as attorney fees, hereby authorizing the Clerk of the Court of
said county to enter up judgment for said sum against with costs, and
interest at 10 per cent, from , the interest to be paid .
Said debt and judgment being for .
It is especially agreed, however, That if this judgment is paid within twenty
days after due, no attorney fees need be paid. And hereby sell, convey
and release all right of homestead we now occupy in favor of said so
far as this judgment is concerned, and agree that it phall be liable on execution,
for this judgment.
Dated , 18—. '■ .
The State op Iowa, 1
County. /
being duly sworn according to law, depose and say that the forego-
ing statement and Confession of Judgment was read over to , and that —
understood the contents thereof, and that the statements contained therein are
true, and that the sums therein mentioned are justly to become due said
as aforesaid.
Sworn to and subscribed before me and in my presence by the said — '■ —
this day of , 18 — . , Notary Public.
AETICLES OF AGREEMENT.
An agreement is where one party promises to another to do a certain thing
in a certain time for a stipulated sum. Good business men always reduce an
agreement to writing, which nearly always saves misunderstandings and trouble.
No particular form is necessary, but the facts must be clearly and explicitly
stated, and there must, to make it valid, be a reasonable consideration.
GENERAL FORM OF AGREEMENT.
This Ageebmbnt, made the Second day of June, 1878, between John
Jones, of Keokuk, County of Lee, State of Iowa, of the first part, and Thomas
Whiteside, of the same place, of the second part —
WITNESSETH, that the said John Jones, in consideration of the agreement
of the party of the second part, hereinafter contained, contracts and agrees to
Ejand with the said Thomas Whiteside, that he will deliver in good and market-
able condition, at the Village of Melrose, Iowa, during the month of November,
;0f this year. One Hundred Tons of Prairie Hay, in the following lots, and at
the following specified times ; namely, twenty-five tons by the seventh of Nov-
ember, twenty-five tons additional by the fourteenth of the month, twenty-five
tons more by the twenty-first, and the entire one hundred tons to be all delivered
by the thirtieth of November.
' And the said Thomas Whiteside, in consideration of the prompt fulfillment
of this contract, on the part of the party of the first part, contracts to and agrees
iwith the said John Jones, to pay for said hay five dollars per ton, for each ton
te soon as delivered.
30r- ABSTRACT OP IOWA STATE LAWS.
In case of failure of agreement by either of the parties hereto, it is hereby
stipulated and agreed that the party so failing shall pay to the other, One Hun-
dred dollars, as fixed and settled damages.
In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands the day and year first
above written. John Jones,
Thomas Whiteside.
agreement with clerk for services.
This Agreement, made the first day of May, one thousand eight hundred
and seventy-eight, between Reuben Stone, of Dubuque, County of Dubuque,
State of Iowa, party of the first part, and George Barclay, of McGregor,
County of Clayton, State of Iowa, party of the second part —
WITNESSETH, that said George Barclay agrees faithfully and diligently to
work as clerk and salesman for the said Reuben Stone, for and during the space
•of one year from the date hereof, should both live such length of time, without
absenting himself from his occupation ; during which time he, the said Barclay, 'in
the store of said Stone, of Dubuque, will carefully and honestly attend, doing
and performing all duties as clerk and salesman aforesaid, in accordance and in
all respects as directed and desired by the said Stone.
In consideration of which services, so to be rendered by the said Barclay, the
said Stone agrees to pay to said Barclay the annual sum of one thousand dol-
lars, payable in twelve equal monthly payments, each upon the last day of each
month ; provided that all dues for days of absence from business by said Barclay,
shall be deducted from the sum otherwise by the agreement due and payable by
the said Stone to the said Barclay.
Witness our hands. Reuben Stone.
George Barclay.
BILLS OF SALE.
A bill of sale is a written agreement to another party, for a consideration to
■convey his right and interest in the personal property. The purchaser must
take, actual possession of the property, or the bill of sale must be acknowledged
and recorded.
COMMON FORM OF BILL OF SALE. *
Xnow all Men by this instrument, that I, Louis Clay, of Burlington,
Iowa, of the first part, for and in consideration of Five Hundred and Ten
Dollars, to me paid by John Floyd, of the same place, of the second part, the
receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have sold, and by this instrument do
convey unto the said Floyd, party of the second part, his executors, adrainistrar
tors and assigns, my undivided half of ten acres of corn, now growing on the
arm of Thomas Tyrell, in the town above mentioned ; one pair of horses, _
sixteen sheep, and five cows, belonging to me and in my possession at the farm
aforesaid ; to have and to hold the same unto the party of the second part, his
executors and assigns forever. And I do, for myself and legal representatives,
agree with the said party of the second part, and his legal representatives, to
warrant and defend the sale of the afore-mentioned property and chattels unto
the said party of the second part, and his legal representatives, against all aip
every person whatsoever.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my hand, this tenth day of
October, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Louis CuY.
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. 30f
NOTICE TO QUIT.
To John Wontpay :
You are hereby notified to quit the possession of the premises you now
occupy to wit :
{^Insert Description.]
on or before thirty days from the date of this notice.
Dated January 1, 1878. Landlord.
[^Reverse for Notice to Landlord.']
GENERAL FORM OF WILL FOR REAL AND PERSONAL
PROPERTY.
I, Charles Mansfield, of the Town of Bellevue, County of Jackson, State
of Iowa, being aware of the uncertainty of life, and in failing health, but of
sound mind and memory, do make and declare this to be my last will and tes-
tament, in manner following, to- wit :
First. I give, devise and bequeath unto my eldest son, Sidney H. Mans-
field, the sum of Two Thousand Dollars, of bank stock, now in the Third
National Bank, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the farm owned by myself, in the
Township of Iowa, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, with all the
houses, tenements and improvements thereunto belonging ; to have and to hold
unto my said son, his heirs and assigns, forever.
Second. I give, devise and bequeath to each of my two daughters, Anna.
Louise Mansfield and Ida Clara Mansfield, each Two Thousand Dollars in bank
stock in the Third National Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio; and also, each one
quarter section of land, owned by myself, situated in theTownship of Fairfield,
and recorded in my name in the Recorder's office, in the county where such land
is located. The north one hundred and sixty acres of said half section is
devised to my eldest daughter, Anna Louise.
Third. I give, devise and bequeath to my son, Frank Alfred Mansfield, five
shares of railroad stock in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and my one hundred
and sixty acres of land, and saw-mill thereon, situated in Manistee, Michigan,
Tfith all the improvements and appurtenances thereunto belonging, which said
real estate is recorded in my name, in the county where situated.
' Fourth. I give to my wife, Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield, all my household
furniture, goods, chattels and personal property, about my home, not hitherto
disposed of, including Eight Thousand Dollars of bank stock in the Third
National Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio, fifteen shares in the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad, and the free and unrestricted use, possession and benefit of the home
farm so long as she may live, in lieu of dower, to which she is entitled by law
r— said farm being my present place of residence.
i Fifth. I bequeath to my invalid father, Elijah H. Mansfield, the income
(from rents of my store building at 145 Jackson street, Chicago, Illinois, during
tile term of his natural life. Said building and land , therewith to revert to
iWj said sons and daughters in equal proportion, upon the demise of my said
ather,
' Sixth. It is also my will and desire that, at the death of my wife, Victoria
jllizabeth Mansfield, or at any time when she may arrange to relinquish her
310 ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS,
life interest in the above mentioned homestead, the same may revert to my
above named children, or to the lawful heirs of each.
And lastly. I nominate and appoint as the executors of this, my last will
and testament, my wife, Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield, and my eldest son, Sidney
H. Mansfield.
I»further direct that my debts and necessary funeral expenses shall be paid
from moneys now on deposit in the Savings Bank of Bellevue, the residue of
such moneys to revert to my wife, Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield, for her use for-
ever.
^In witness whereof, I, Charles Mansfield, to this my last will and testament,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this fourth day of April, eighteen hundred
and seventy-two.
Charles Mansfield.
Signed, and declared by Charles Mansfield, as and for his last will and tes-
ment, in the presence of us, who, at his request, and in his presence, and in
the presence of each other, have subscribed our names hereunto as witnesses
thereof. Peter A. Schenck, Dubuque, Iowa,
Frank E. Dent, Bellevue, Iowa.
CODICIL.
Whereas I, Charles Mansfield, did, on the fourth day of April, one thousand
■eight hundred and seventy-two, make my last will and testament, I do now, by
this writing, add this codicil to my said will, to be taken as a part thereof.
Whereas, by the dispensation of Providence^ my daughter, Anna Louise,
has deceased, November fifth, eighteen hundred and seventy-three ; and whereas,
a son has been born to me, which son is now christened Richard Albert Mans-
field, I give and bequeath unto him my gold watch, and all right, interest and
title in lands and bank stock and chattels bequeathed to my deceased daughter,
Anna Louise, in the body of this will.
In witness whereof, I hereunto place my hand and seal, this tenth day of
March, eighteen hundred and seventy-five. Charles Mansfield.
Signed, sealed, published and declared to us by the testator, Charles Mans-
field, as and for a codicil to be annexed to his last will and testament. And
we, at his request, and in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have
subscribed our names as witnesses thereto, at the date hereof.
Frank E. Dent, Bellevue, Iowa,
John C. Shay, Bellevue, Iowa. j,,
{Form No. 1.)
SATISFACTION OF MORTGAGE.
State of Iowa, 1
County, J
I, , of the County of , State of Iowa, do hereby acknowledge
that a certain Indenture of , bearing date the day of , A. !)•
18 — , made and executed by and , his wife, to said "^
•the following described Real Estate, in the County -of , and State of
Iowa, to-wit : (here insert description) and filed for record in the office of ||
Recorder of the County of , and State of Iowa, on the day of — j
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. 311
A. D. 18 — , at o'clock . M. ; and recorded in Book of Mortgage
Eecords, on page , is redeemed, paid off, satisfied and discharged in full.
. [seal.]
State of Iowa, 1
County, J
Be it Remembered, That on this day of , A. D. 18 — , before
me the undersigned, a in and for said county, personally appeared ,
to me personally known to be the identical person who executed the above
(satisfaction of mortgage) as grantor, and acknowledged signature
thereto to be voluntary act and deed.
Witness my hand and seal, the day and year last above
written. .
ONE FORM OF REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE.
Know all Men by these Presents : That , of County, and
State of , in consideration of dollars, in hand paid by of
County, and State of , do hereby sell and convey unto the said
the following described premises, situated in the County , and State of
, to wit : (here insert description,) and — — do hereby covenant with the
said that lawfully seized of said premises, that they are free from
incumbrance, that have good right and lawful authority to sell and convey
the same ; and do hereby covenant to warrant and defend the same against
the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever. To be void upon condition that
the said shall pay the full amount of principal and interest at the time
therein specified, of certain promissory note for the sum of dollars.
One note for $ , due , 18 — , with interest annually at per cent.
One note for $ , due , 18 — , with interest annually at per cent.
One note for $ , due , 18 — , with interest annually at per cent.
One note for $ , due , 18 — , with interest annually at per cent.
And the said Mortgagor agrees to pay all taxes that may be levied upon the
above described premises. It is also agreed by the Mortgagor that if it becomes
necessary to foreclose this mortgage, a reasonable amount shall be allowed as an
attorney's fee for foreclosing. And the said hereby relinquishes all her
right of dower and homestead in and to the above described premises.
Signed to day of , A. D. 18—.
[Acknowledge as in Form No. 1.]
SECOND FORM OF REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE.
This Indenture, made and executed by and between of the
county of and State of , part of the first part, and of the
county of and State of party of the second part, Witnesseth, that the
said part of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of dollars,
paid by the said party of the second part, the receipt of which is hereby
feknowledged, ha ye granted and sold, and do by these presents, grant, bargain,
PU, convey and confirm, unto the said party of the second part, heirs and
312 ABSTXIACT OP IOWA STATE LAWS.
assigns forever, the certain tract or parcel of real estate situated in the county
of and State of , described as follows, to-wit :
(ITej-e insert description.)
The said part of the first part represent to and covenant with the part of
the second part, that he have good right to sell and convey said premises,
that they are free from encumbrance and that he will warrant and defend
them against the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever, and do expressly
hereby release all rights of dower in and to said premises, and relinquish and
convey all rights of homestead therein.
This Instrument is made, executed and delivered upon the following con-
ditions, to-wit :
First. Said first part agree to pay said or order •
Second. Said first part further agree as is stipulated in said note, that if
he shall fail to pay any of said interest when due, it shall bear interest at the
rate of ten per cent, per annum, from the time the same becomes due, and this
mortgage shall stand as security for the same.
Third. Said first part fiirther 'agree that he will pay all taxes and
assessments levied upon said real estate before the same become delinquent, and
if not paid the holder of this mortgage may declare the whole sum of money
herein secured due and collectable at once, or he may elect to pay such taxes or
assessments, and be entitled to interest on the same at the rate of ten per cent.
per annum, and this mortgage shall stand as security for the amount so paid.
Fourth. Said first part further agree that if he fail to pay any of said
money, either principal or interest, within days after the same becomes
due ; or fail to conform or comply with any of the foregoing conditions or agree-
ments, the whole sum herein secured shall become due and payable at once, and
this mortgage may thereupon be foreclosed immediately for the whole of said
money, interest and costs.
Fifth. Saidpafft further agree that inthe event ofthe non-payment of either
principal, interest or taxes when due, and upon the filing of a bill of foreclosure
of this mortgage, an attbrney's fee of dollars shall become due and pay-
able, and shall be by the court taxed, and this mortgage shall stand as security
therefor, and the same shall be included in the decree of foreclosure and shall
be made by the SheriflF on general or special execution with the other money,
interest and costs, and the contract embodied in this mortgage and the note
described herein, shall in all respects be governed, constructed and adjudged
by the laws of , where the same is made. The foregoing conditions
being performed, this conveyance to be void, otherwise of full force and, virtue.
[Acknowledge as in form No. 1.]
FORM OF LEASE.
This Article of Agreement, Made and entered into on this day ol
A. D. 187-, by and between ■ — , of the county of
State of Iowa, of the first part, and , of the county
and State of Iowa, ofthe second part, witnesseth that the said party of the first
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. uj.3
part has this day leased unto the party of the second part the following described
premises, to wit :
[Here insert description.']
for the term of from and after the — day of , A. D. 187-, &%
the rent of dollars, to be paid as follows, to wit :
[Here insert Terms.']
And it is further agreed that if any rent shall be due and unpaid, or if
default be made in any of the covenants herein contained, it shall then be law-
ful for the said party of the first part to re-enter the said premises, or to destrain
for such rent; or he may recover possession thereof, by action of forcible entry
and detainer, notwithstanding the provision of Section 8,612 of the Code of
1873 ; or he may use any or all of said remedies.
And the said party of the second part agrees to pay to the party of the first
part the rent as above stated, except when said premises are untenantable by
reason of fire, or from any other cause than the carelessness of the party of the
second part, or persons family, or in employ, or by superior force
and inevitable necessity. And the said party of the second part covenants
that will use the said premises as a , and for no other purposes
whatever ; and that especially will not use said premises, or permit the
same to be used, fisr any unlawful business or purpose whatever ; that will
not sell, assign, underlet or relinquish said premises without the written consent
of the lessor, under penalty of a forfeiture of all rights under this lease, at
the election of the party of the first part ; and that will use all due care
and diligence in guarding said property, with the buildings, gates, fences, trees,
vines, shrubbery, etc., from damage by fire, and the depredations of animals;
that will keep buildings, gates, fences, etc., in as good .repair as they now
are, or may at any time be placed by the lessor, damages by superior force,
inevitable necessity, or fire from any other cause than from the carelessness of
the lessee, or persons of family, or in employ, excepted ; and that
at the expiration of this lease, or upon a breach by said lessee of any of the said
covenants herein contained, will, without further notice of any kind, c;uit
and surrender the possession and occupancy of said premises in as good condi-
tion as reasonable use, natural wear and decay thereof will permit, damages by
fire as aforesaid, superior force, or inevitable necessity, only excepted.
In witness whereof, the said parties have subscribed their names on the date
first above written.
In presence of
FORM OF NOTE.
— , 18—.
On or before the — day of , 18 — , for value received, I promise to
pay or order, dollars, with interest from date until paid,
at ten per cent, per annum, payable annually, at . Unpaid interest
Shall bear interest at ten per cent, per annum. On failure to pay interest
^ithin days after due, the whole sum, principal and interest, shall become
due at once.
U
ABSTRACT OP IOWA STATE LAWS.
CHATTEL MORTGAGE.
Know all Men by these Presents : That of County, and
State of in consideration of dollars, in hand paid by , of .
County and State of do hereby sell and convey unto the said the
following described personal property, now in the possession of in the
county and State of , to wit :
l^Here insert Description.^
And do hereby warrant the title of said property, and that it is free from
any incumbrance or lien. The only right or interest retained by grantor in
and to said property being the right of redemption as herein provided. This
conveyance to be void upon condition that the said grantor shall pay to said
grantee, or his assigns, the full amount of principal and interest at the time
therein specified, of certain promissory notes of even date herewith, for
the sum of dollars.
One note for $ , due , 18 — , with interest annually at per cent
One note for $ , due , 18 — , with interest annually at per cent..
One note for $ , due , 18 — , with interest annually at per cent..
One note for $ , due , 18 — , with interest annually at per cent.
The grantor to pay all taxes on said property, and if at any time any part
or portion of said notes should be due and unpaid, said grantee may proceed by
sale or foreclosure to collect and pay himself the unpaid balance of said notes,,
whether due or not, the grantor to pay all necessary expense of such foreclosure,
including f Attorney's fees, and whatever remains after paying off said
notes and expenses, to be paid over to said grantor.
Signed the day of ■ , 18 — . .
[Acknowledged as in form No. 1.] .
WARRANTY DEED.
Know all Men by these Presents : That of County and
State of , in consideration of the sum of Dollars, in hand paid by
of , County and State of , do hereby sell and convey unto
the said and to heirs and assigns, the following described premises,,
situated in the County of , State of Iowa, to- wit :
[^Here insert description.']
And I do hereby covenant with the said that — lawfully seized in fee
simple, of said premises, that they are free from incumbrance ; that — ha good
right and lawful authority to sell the same, and — do Jiereby covenant to war-
rant and defend the said premises and appurtenances thereto belonging, against
the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever ; and the said hereby re^
linquishes all her right of dower and of homestead in and to the above describw
premises.
Signed the day of , A. D. 18 — .
IN presence of
[Acknowledged aa in Form No. 1.]
ABSTRACT Of IOWA STATE LAWS. 315
QUIT-CLAIM DEED.
Know all Men by these Presents : That , of County,
State of , in consideration of the sum of dollars, to — in hand
paid by , of County, State of , the receipt whereof — do
hereby acknowledge,have bargained, sold and quit-clainoied, and by these presents
do bargain, sell and quit-claim unto the said and to — heirs and assigns
forever, all — right, title, interest, estate, claim and demand, both at law and
in equity, and as well in possession as in expectancy, of, in and to the following
described premises, to wit : [here insert description] with all and singular the
hereditaments and appurtenances thereto belonging.
Signed this day of , A. D. 18 — .
Signed in Presence of
[Acknowledged as in form No. 1.]
BOND FOR DEED.
Know all Men by these Presents: That of County,
and State of am held and firmly bound unto of County, and
State of , in the sum of Dollars, to be paid to the said r, his
executors or assigns, for which payment well and truly to be made, I bind myself
firmly by these presents. Signed the day of A. D. 18 — .
The condition of this obligation is such, that if the said obligee shall pay to
said obligor, or his assigns, the full amount of principal and interest at the time
therein specified, of — certain promissory note of even date herewith, for the
sum of Dollars,
One note for $- , due , 18 — , with interest annually at — per cent.
One note for $ , due , 18 — , with interest annually at — per cent.
One note for $ , due , 18 — , with interest annually at — per cent.
and pay all taxes accruing upon the lands herein described, then said obligor
shall convey to the said obligee, or his assigns, that certain tract or parcel of
real estate, situated in the County of and State of Iowa, described as fol-
lows, to wit : [here insert description,] by a Warranty Deed, with the usual
covenants, duly executed and acknowledged.
f If said obligee should fail to make the payments as above stipulated, or any
part thereof, as the same becomes due, said obligor may at his option, by notice
to the obligee terminate his liability under the bond and resume the posses-
sion and absolute control of said premises, time being the essence of this
agreement.
On the fulfillment of the above conditions this obligation to become void,
otherwise to remain in full force and virtue ; unless terminated by the obligor
as above stipulated.
[Acknowledge as in form No. 1.]
818 ABSTRACT OP IOWA STATE LAWS.
CHARITABLE, SCIENTIFIC AND RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS.
Any three or more persons of full age, citizens of the United States,
a majority of whom shall be citizens of this State, who desire to associate
themselves for benevolent, charitable, scientific, religious or missionary pur-
poses, may make, sign and acknowledge, before any officer authorized to take
the acknowledgments of deeds in this State, and have recorded in the office of
the Recorder of the county in which the business of such society is to be con-
ducted, a certificate in writing, in which shall be stated the name or title by
which such society shall be known, the particular business and objects of such
society, the number of Trustees, Directors or Managers to conduct the same, and
the names of the Trustees, Directors or Managers of such society for the first
year of its existence.
Upon filing for record the certificate, as aforesaid, the persons who shall
have signed and acknowledged such certificate, and their associates and success-
ors, shall, by virtue hereof, be a body politic and corporate by the name
stated in such certificate, and by that they and their successors shall and may
have succession, and shall be persons capable of suing and being sued, and may
have and use a common seal, which they may alter or change at pleasure ; and
they and their successors, by their corporate name, shall be capable of taking,
receiving, purchasing and holding real and personal estate, and of making by-
laws for the management of its afiairs, not inconsistent with law.
The society so incorporated may, annually or oftener, elect from its members
its Trustees, Directors or Managers at such time and place, and in such manner
as may be specified in its by-laws, who shall have the control and management
of the afiairs and funds of the society, a majority of whom shall be a quorum
for the transaction of business, and whenever any vacancy shall happen among
such Trustees, Directors or Managers, by death, resignation or neglect to serve,
such vacancy shall be filled in such manner as shall be provided by the by-laws!
of such society. When the body corporate consists of the Trustees, Directors or
Managers of any benevolent, charitable, literary, scientific, religious or mis-
sionary institution, which is or may be established in the State, and which is or
may be under the patronage, control, direction or supervision of any synod, con-
ference, association or other ecclesiastical body in such State, established
agreeably to the laws thereof, such ecclesiastical body may nominate and
appoint such Trustees, Directors or Managers, according to usages of the appoint-
ing body, and may fill any vacancy which may occur among such Trustees,
Directors or Managers ; and when any such institution may be under the
patronage, control, direction or supervision of two or more of such synods, con-
ferences, associations or other ecclesiastical bodies, such bodies may severally
nominate and appoint such proportion of such Trustees, Directors or Managers
as shall be agreed upon by those bodies immediately concerned. And any
vacancy occurring among such appointees last named, shall be filled by the
synod, conference, association or body having appointed the last incumbent.
In case any election of Trustees, Directors or Managers shall not be made
on the day designated by the by-laws, said society for that cause shall not be
dissolved, but such election may take place on any other day directed by such
by-laws.
' Any corporation formed under this chapter shall be capable of taking, hold-
ing or receiving property by virtue of any devise or bequest contained in any
last will or testament of any person whatsoever ; but no person leaving a wfei
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. 317
child or parent, shall devise or bequeath to such institution or corporation more
than one-fourth of his estate after the payment of his debts, and such device or
bequest shall be valid only to the extent of such one-fourth.
Any corporation in this State of an academical character, the memberships
of which shall consist of lay members and pastors of churches, delegates to any
synod, conference or council holding its annual meetings alternately in this and
one or more adjoining States, may hold its annual meetings for the election of
officers and the transaction of business in any adjoining State to this, at such
place therein as the said synod, conference or council shall hold its annual meet-
ings ; and the elections so held and business so transacted shall be as legal and
binding as if held and transacted at the place of business of the corporation in
this State.
The provisions of this chapter shall not extend or apply to any association
or individual who shall, in the certificate filed with the Recorder, use or specify
a name or style the same as that of any previously existing incorporated society
in the county.
The Trustees, Directors or stockholders of any existing benevolent, char-
itable, scientific, missionary or religious corporation, may, by conforming to the
requirements of Section 1095 of this chapter, re-incorporate themselves or con-
tinue their existing corporate powers, and all the property and effects of such
existing corporation shall vest in and belong to the corporation so re-incorporated
or continued.
INTOXICATING LIQUORS.
No intoxicating liquors (alcohol, spirituous and vinous liquors), except wine
manufactured from grapes, currants or other fruit grown in the State, shall be
manufactured or sold, except for mechanical, medicinal, culinary or sacramental
purposes ; and even such sale is limited as follows :
Any citizen of the State, except hotel keepers, keepers of saloons, eating
houses, grocery keepers and confectioners, is permitted to buy and sell, within
the county of his residence, such liquors for such mechanical, etc., purposes
only, provided he shall obtain the consent of the Board of Supervisors. In
order to get that consent, he must get a certificate from a majority of the elec-
tors of the town or township or ward in which he desires to sell, that he is of
good moral character, and a proper person to sell such liquors.
If the Board of Supervisors grant him permission to sell such liquors, he
must give bonds, and shall not sell such liquors at a greater profit than thirty-
three per cent, on the cost of the same. Any person having a permit to sell,
shall make, on the last Saturday of every month, a return in writing to the
Auditor of the county, showing the kind and quantity of the liquors purchased
by him since the date of his last report, the price paid, and the amount of
freights paid on the same ; also the kind and quantity of liquors sold by him
since the date of his last report ; to whom sold ; for what purpose and at what
price ; also the kind and quantity of liquors on hand ; which report shall be
sworn to by the person having the permit, and shall be kept by the Auditor,
subject at all times to the inspection of the public.
No person shall sell or give away any intoxicating liquors, including wine or
beer, to any minor, for any purpose whatever, except upon written order of
parent, guardian or family physician ; or sell the same to an intoxicated person
or a person in the habit of becoming intoxicated.
•318 ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
Any person who shall mix any intoxicating liquor with any beer, wine or
•cider, by him sold, and shall sell or keep for sale, as a beverage, such mixture,
shall be punished as for sale of intoxicating liquor.
But nothing in the chapter containing the laws governing the sale or pro-
hibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors, shall be construed to forbid the sale by
the importer thertof of foreign intoxicating liquor, imported under the author-
ity of the laws of the United States, regarding the importation of such liquors,
and in accordance with such laws ; provided that such liquor, at the time of the
sale by the importer, remains in the original casks or packages in which it was
by him imported, and in quantities not less than the quantities in which the
laws of the United States require such liquors to be imported, and is sold by
him in such original casks or packages, and in said quantities only.
All payment or compensation for intoxicating liquor sold in violation of the
laws of this State, whether such payments or compensation be in money, goods,
lands, labor, or anything else whatsoever, shall be held to havebeen received in viola-
tion of law and equity and good conscience, and to have been received upon a
valid promise and agreement of the receiver, in consideration of the receipt
thereof, to pay on demand, to the person furnishing such consideration, the
amount of the money on the just value of the goods or other things.
All sales, transfers, conveyances, mortgages, liens, attachments, pledges and
securities of every kind, which, either in whole or in part, shall have been made
on account of intoxicating liquors sold contrary to law, shall be utterly null and
void.
Negotiable paper in the hands of holders thereof, in good faith, for valuable
consideration, without notice of any illegality in its inception or transfer, how-
ever, shall not be affepted by the above provisions. Neither shall the holder of
land or other property who may have taken the same in good faith, without
notice of any defect in the title of the person from whom the same was
taken, growing out of a violation of the liquor law, be affected by the above
provision.
Every wife, child, parent, guardian, employer, or other person, who shall be
injured in person or property or means of support, by an intoxicated person, or
in consequence of the intoxication, has a right of action against any person who
shall, by selling intoxicating liquors, cause the intoxication of such person, for
all damages actually sustained as well as exemplary damages.
For any damages recovered, the personal and real property (except home-
stead, as now provided) of the person against whom the damages are recovered,
as well as the premises or property, personal or real, occupied and used by him,
with consent and knowledge of owner, either for manufacturing or selling intox-
icating liquors contrary to law, shall be liable.
The only other exemption, besides the homestead, from this sweeping liability)
is that the defendant may have enough for the support of his family for six
months, to be determined by the Township Trustee.
No ale, wine, beer or other malt or vinous liquors shall be sold within two
miles of the corporate limits of any municipal corporation, except at wholesale, '
for the purpose of shipment to places outside of such corporation and such two-
mile limits. The power of the corporation to prohibit or license sale of liquors
not prohibited by law is extended over the two miles.
No ale, wine, beer or other malt or vinous liquors shall be sold on the day
on which any election is held under the laws of this State, within two miles of
the place where said election is held ', except only that any person holding a
permit may sell upon the prescription of a practicing physician.
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS. 319(
SUGGESTIONS TO THOSE PURCHASING BOOKS BY SUBSCRIP-
TION.
The business of publishing books by subseription, having so often been
brought into disrepute by agents making representations and declarations not
authorized by the publisher, in order to prevent that as much as possible, and
that there may be more general knowledge of the relation such agents bear to
their principal, and the law governing such cases, the following statement is.
made:
A subscription is in the nature of a contract of mutual promises, by which
the subscriber agrees to pay a certain sum for the work described ; the consid-
eration is concurrent that the publisher shall publish the book named, and
deliver the same, for which the subscriber is to pay the price named. The
nature and character of the work is described by the prospectus and sample
:ihoton. These should be carefully examined before subscribing, as they are
the basis and consideration of the promise to pay, and not the too often exag-
gerated statements of the agent, who is merely employed to solicit subscriptions,
for which he is usually paid a eomfnission for each subscriber, and has no
authority to change or alter the conditions upon which the subscriptions are
authorized to be made by the publisher. Should the agent assume to agree tO'
make the subscription conditional or modify or change the agreement of the
publisher, as set out by the prospectus and sample, in order to bind the princi-
pal, the subscriber should see that such condition or changes are stated over or
in connection with his signature, so that the publisher may have notice of the
same.
All persons making contracts in reference to matters of this kind, or any
other business, should remember that the law as written is, that they can not be
altered, varied or rescinded verbally, but if done at all, must be done in writing.
It is therefore important that all persons contemplating subscribing should
distinctly understand that all talk before or after the subscription is made, is not
admissible as evidence, and is no part of the contract.
Persons employed to solicit subscriptions are known to the trade as can-
vassers. They are agents appointed to do a particular business in a prescribed
mode, and have no authority to do it any other way to the prejudice of their
principal, nor can they bind their principal in any other matter. They can not
collect money, or agree that payment may be made in anything else but money.
They can not extend the time of payment beyond the time of delivery, nor bind
their principal for the payment of expenses incurred in their business.
n, would save a great deal of trouble, and often serious loss, if persons,
before signing their names to any subscription book, or any written instrument,
would examine carefully what it is ; if they can not read themselves call on
some one disinterested who can.
STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE OF IOWA (CENSUS OF 1875.)
COtTNTIES.
No. of
Acres
of Im-
proved
Land.
No. of
Acres
Unim-
proved
Land.
No. of
Acres
under
Culti-
vation
In 1874.
Spring 'Wlieat.
■Winter ■Wheat.
Indian Corn.
Oats.
Value of
Proriucte
of Farm
lA
Dollars.
No. of
Acres.
No. of
Bushels
Harv't'd
No. of
Acres.
No. of
Bushels
Harv't'd
No. of
Acres.
No. of
Bushels
Harv't'd
No. of
Acres.
No. of
Bushels
Harv't'd
Appanoose
Alamakee
Audubon
161059
134767
21146
65459
83182
33118
297618
156987
149498
145967
213025
19056
37059
64638
110864
58038
248869
52980
212291
299856
96504
68065
98694
26996
160938
115751
187831
143665
472029
15770
182435
9989
147098
179504
69859
115907
146089
59940
87259
128831
29114
115823
94848
10462
63966
182080
7292
191M1
193290
241021
278881
208907
167389
208125
31660
183832
108952
15872
281118
151007
126384
232398
199669
141512
161998
102215
223735
62242
178945
104683
83626
18490
207689
21928
124630
208989
156782
58283
18517
18400
235615
148649
53180
89824
31836
102861
266182
67005
153674
147766
194265
24614C
44179
48927
225176
97238
17689
85516
15020»
161083
156821
23819
43735
55680
37034
53911
71810
68908
47001
150881
71418
39919
28974
45304
283414
41417
309895
151908
57337
94772
309744
60487
"iieooa
87172
98561
58165
62305
29850
57765
25686
32130
98156
43U46
198832
47926
49838
47220
39980
36906
171048
337451
•341615
39936
50249
9494
89357
142401
71257
179752
63298
66979
98999
48793
78692
59767
31884:
62649
52922
70176
122490
82779
53604
188709
78206
47552
56278
48832
60607
32070
81406
66B4:
86572
419489
48697
175471
51912
82225
68829
19128
4387<
8982(
867394
47201
285515
90222
33216
99528
66795
167178
181670
67097
46957
6666S
61744
80625
828S7
63491
1^188
64352
66265
27010
239408
108642
124877
104810
181256
16T240
33375
45412
92785
45262
1664&5
48648
173622
■■■74164
39159
78808
26618
131597
95275
146244
97618
161357
11961
114625
8387
110708
138768
65590
103039
135108
52328
76892
97765
27013
61871
72287
9005
52060
110831
6514
158488
142401
193019
216949
140684
126590
149672
28835
188580
88857
12766
175656
100066
■ 94133
1508()8
153214
99837
lSt979
91730
117303
39844
129699
86026
26484
14661
140450
19219
90679
171583
115484
4437S
16679
60373
185742
99387
47230
83515
24179
19442
214941
45826
113268
117689
168737
259469
83097
32157
157884
70910
12421
289S7
135178
9606
61880
6376
17947
27550
15514
99406
82506
67907
48878
89361
64291
17481
81693
40123
24000
40467
28199
86883
68683
40162
26756
17968
11040
6878
8211
49240
10615
60401
6701
29256
3911
62067
60779
81096
13229
67384
19391
27489
38464
12046
86115
23948
4889
20676
15026
SIOS
48410
43616
45306
79926
36090
16237
33278
10798
10851
13954
8132
52178
»,5-64
65634
34362
45136
24386
37553
11638
69895
16334
32376
1381
14904
8769
87686
7434
83369
57312
22689
33628
860E
10926
47698
26658
22029
22996
Ild56
16446
97013
10586
7465
10876
42175
112175
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41646
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17368
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937639
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1343666
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113396
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25822
445848
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863670
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2069U1
976607
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393574
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20902
682803
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294682
180220
48815
670247
650000
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1107170
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10833
1964
97
174
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64871
2432S
9225
26474
80360
7888
83244
46161
83685
28754
56592
48831
8797
9469
- 40582
17957
78224
9512
37948
89297
16321
16014
89066
10666
62127
60484
67118
102924
66160
3183
67652
2197
26462
37091
24066
73845
40176
783037
88902
41304
9998
9916
44720
2067
20441
62672
2301
62518
63962
77142
100217
65423
66061
75697
9781
59863
47022
2645
91778
49642
11274
83776
84630
59648
69494
45575
67699
21677
64760
39251
6379
2510
77497
8981
47258
86748
71386
10097
6641
35613
69071
51273
17674
6780
8662
48260
73251
24063
60211
65625
80280
27185
14647
3580
78265
28713
1874
10089
67035
2385243
905920
394655
969777
1402428
228231
S328921
1695762
1270878
1026641
1939690
1811260
180120
315216
1901062
648653
2845921
266443
1471263
3061338
614279
560041
1689260
8511-20
2116669
1763140
1702891
2307938
1690335
44455
2484893
14273
642448
1296480
768983
1703985
1482582
783027
1669134
1379961
297381
807912
1620192
67899
670731
2416670
108465
2713830
1666618
3158178
4525889
1909534
1696610
8327282
119777
2190306
190-2530
10396
8439923
2184658
41U61
8768-.'09
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1683976
2963630
1738916
2808256
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4227
4145
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10210
3462
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6108
13393
465
11756
23652
17760
15267
18260
14005
15682
5148
11817
12665
8477
22670
6792
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.6646
10987
6528
3-4')
■ia:j
:36n
231 1
1321 '
53'/
8n;
1390
12183
2541
6273
11416
9763
4161
2979
9118
16915
11273
2254
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8085
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6127
18596
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8391
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8072
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518571
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401948
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319071
521156
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532239
464821
446128
447603
27867
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History of Mills County.
INTRODUCTION.
How a nation grows; how from central points its population spreads
itself and forms new political communities; what may be the incentives
that prompt to removal, and the outcome of all attempts to turn to man's
advantage the wilderness; all present to the interested person, fruitful
themes for reflection. They, too, present the peculiarity of becoming
ever more interesting, the more they are studied; and the longer they are
critically viewed the more replete with suggestion are they found to be.
History, as such, cannot reproduce the life of a people in all the infinite
variety of its details ; it must be content with exhibiting the development
of that life as a whole. The doings and dealings, the thoughts and
imaginings of the individual, however strongly they may reflect the char-
acteristics of the national mind, form no part of history. While it may be
argued, and correctly, that the life of the individual is intimately bound up
in that of the state or nation, and that the former must frequently be
noticed in describing the latter, it may be argued, on the other hand, that
the nation exists only through the unit}' of its individual members, and
that it is not the exact counterpart of individual views, but the results of a
harmonious and intelligent combination of opinions — often originally
directly at variance with each other. No department of human action
or thought could long remain unaffected when opposing interests clash.
Change — certain far-reaching, radical — is written plainly on the face of
opposition — a change that affects not the individual, or a class of indi-
viduals, but the united whole. It is this feature that renders history pos-
sible— that places it far beyond the scope of mere biography, that admits
of those broad, deep, generalizations which men call laws, and which are
the very foundation stones of the philosophy of history, and without which
there can be no intelligent comprehension of the development and sequence
of events, and the results to which they lead.
What is true of the state is equally true of its separate parts. There
are no true laws that are of limited application. To be truly philosophi-
1
322 HISTORY OF MCLLS COUNTY.
cal deductions they should be general enough to warrant broad inferences
and specific enough to apply to the minutiae of the smallest political sub-
division. While, it is true, the history of a single county — embracing, as
it does, but a limited territory and a meager population — may present
none of those grander laws in obedience to which nations exist and flour-
ish, and by which their power is felt, nevertheless, those principles which
make history possible, are found in every community, and find a harbor
in ever}' heart. Then there is the added fact, that the history of the
county comes nearer to the individual life and'character of its citizens than
does that of the state, or of the nation of which the state forms a part.
The spread of population merely, the political progress of a people and
the military annals, are a part only of our history, and that part which is
most easily discerned. The American of the present day wants to know
how his ancestors lived, how they looked, what clothes they wore, on what
they fed, what were their daily tasks and conversation, and how life dealt
with them. This is the most difficult part of history to reproduce accurately,
but it is after all that which gives us the clearest and most vivid insight into
the spirit of the past. This important element should never be overlooked,
for in no other manner can the intellectual growth of the people, the ame-
lioration of manners, the changes in habits and customs, the advance in
science and art, the progress of invention, the relation of classes, the in-
crease of prosperity, or the want of it, the moral condition of society, and
the every-day life of the people be understood and made to subserve the
interests of the present. The events that are recorded are such as occurred
at our very doors, were compassed by men whom we know, and which
affect our individual interests for woe or for weal. It is not only while
these events are fresh in the memory that one may form accurate estimates
of their relative importance, and be impartial and candid in forming his
judgments; but he may also from present circumstances which have an
origin in remote times, and which are historical in the largest, fullest, truest
sense, freed from myth, or conjecture, or uncertain tradition, read the prom-
ise of the future. It is beyond doubt true that those most closely identified
with great or sudden revolutions in opinion or in government are least
competent to decide on their value; they make history; the student of after
years, decides, the correctness of their theories, or the justice of their cause,
and decides, too, under circumstances which preclude the bias of partisan
feeling. There is that entire originality of work, that subtlety of thought,
that carefulness of observation, that catholicity of views, that honest, kind,
perhaps keen criticism of events and men, in the work of those who write
years after events have transpired, which they who lived at the time, and
contributed to them, are unable to exercise.
The history of a county exhibits a much more limited series of facts in
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY . 323
their proper connection, of which, indeed, each individual one is interest-
ing in its proper place — doubly interesting, perhaps, because it marks the
progress of thinking, toiling men, in our very presence; men who have
lived in the same moral and social atmosphere, struggled for the same
ends for which we have struggled, acquired their experience and reputa-
tion in the same manner, and exhibited the same loves and hates, the same
proclivities and sympathies. This is the purely biographical element of
history — that element which opens to us the sources of human activity,
and enables us to read how far and in what manner the views of individ-
uals became impressed on public hfe and morals. It enables us to know
the kind of men who become leaders, to note the conditions and results of
their successes or defeats. This is the part of history directly afiecting
the individual man, for from it does he select his type of character, of
thought, and of conduct. The remark of Plutarch is most applicable to
the realization of individual hopes and wishes, for it depicts the true con-
ditions of success.
Says he: "Whenever we begin an enterprise, or take possession of a
charge, or experience a calamity, we place before our eyes the example
of the greatest men of our own or of by-gone ages, and we ask ourselves
how Plato or Epaminondas, Lycurgus or Agesilaus, would have acted.
Looking into these personages as into a faithful mirror, we can remedy
our defects in. word or deed. Whenever any perplexity arrives, or any
passion disturbs the mind, the student of philosophy pictures to himself
some of those who have been celebrated for their virtue, and the recol-
lection sustains his tottering steps and prevents his fall." Such inspiring
examples as these are the kind that have given to the world names in
every walk of life that will never die.
NAME AND POSITION.
The county of Mills is so named in memory of Frederick Mills, a brave
young officer, of Burlington, Iowa, who was kiUed in one of the battles of
the Mexican war. Foremost in the conflict he was seen, among the first
to fall. The battle-field was searched and researched by his comrades,
but his body was never found. The heroic bravery of young Mills, and
the mysterious disappearance of his remains excited general interest and
sympathy, and when the county came to be organized, the tragic story
of the gallant officer readily suggested a name, and thus will the memory
of Frederick Mills be perpetuated, when monuments of marble have
yielded to the ravages of time.
The county to which the name of Mills is given, lies in the extreme
west of the second tier, with the Missouri river for its western boundary.
The counties bounding it are Pottawattamie on the north, Montgomery
32i HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
t
on the east, and Fremont on the south. It comprises two hundred
eighty-eight thousand acres, or about four hundred forty square milesi^
thus classing it among the smallest counties in the state. From the nor-
thern to the southern boundary it is but eighteen miles, and m its widest
part about twenty-four miles from west to east. . Its western boundary is
irregular, rendered so by the sinuous course of the great river which
there bounds it.
DKAINA,GE AND SURFACE CHARACTERS.
The general dip of the county — averaging two feet to the mile — as
indeed of the remaining portions of southwestern Iowa, is a little west of
south, its surface waters finding their way to the Missouri — ^the "Big
Muddy." The entire eastern portion of the county is drained by the
Nishnabotna, along the valley of which some beautiful scenery is to be
found, and which enters the county in section three, Anderson township,
and leaves it in section thirty -two. White Cloud township. The central por-
tions of the county are drained by Silver creek, entering it in section six,
Ingraham township, and discharging its waters into the Nishnabotna, in
section sixteen, White Cloud township. Indian Creek drains the greater
portion of the township of that name, entering on section twenty-five,
from Montgomery county, its water being thus tributary to the Nishna-
botna. There are numerous other small streams, many of them dry the
greater portion of the year, in the east and central parts of the county.
West of Silver Creek the most considerable stream in the county is Keg
Creek * which enters the county on sections three of Ingraham and five
of Oak township. It pursues a very sinuous course, sometimes doublinff
on itself before it passes through the blufTs and reaches the bottom land
along the Missouri. It approaches the course of the latter river in sec-
tion seven of Lyons township, and after a course of six miles in the
county, finally leaves it to enter Fremont county on section thirty-tvW) of
the same township. The most considerable tributary to Keg creek is
Pony creek, which rises in section two of Oak township and empties its
waters in section sixteen of Platteville township. Its course is nearly a
straight one from north to south, Mosquito Creek, in the extreme north-
west, is a tributary to the Missouri and drains the greater portion of the
small township of St. Marys, flowing in a course which is almost circular.
There remains but one other stream of any importance, Wahbonsie Creeki
which leaves this to enter Fremont county on section thirty-six of Lyons
*This stream, on old maps of the county and state is called " Five Barrel Creek," taking
that name from the circumstance of so many half barrels of whisky having been found
by the United States dragoons, buried in its banks near the present town of Qlenwofffl.
They h^d been secreted there by persons carrying on a contraband trade with the Indians.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 325
township, having flowed in a southerly, course from its place of rising
just west of Hillsdale. The name is given it in memory of a celebrated
chieftain of the Pottawattamies, an account of whose legal trials may be
elsewhere found. The drainage of the Missouri consists almost entirely
of small creeks and ravines — the latter yearly growing deeper and larger
-r-through which the waters of the upland regions reach its flood plain,
and in which they, are lost, none of them flowing through the land in the
ordinary manner of streams of running water, but reaching the Missouri
by percolation through the earth. The heavily wooded sections are on
the west third of the county, while the streams of the eastern side are
less heavily wooded, and partake more of the true character of prairie
Streams.
The surface of the county is uneven, gently undulating with hills and
valle5'S, such as is characteristic of rolling prairie. Here, as in every
other part of the world, there is a most intimate connection between the
configuration of the surface and the geological structure of any particular
district, and it will be shown in the chapter devoted to the geology of this
county that every peculiarity in its topography is due to the nature of the
underlying strata, modified by those agencies which are to-day operating
to change the entire aspect of Nature. Nowhere in this county are there
oninences of material height, nor is it true that its several water-shgds
are marked by distinct ridges, easily recognized. The county is situated
on the western slope of the great divide between the " Big Muddy " and
the " Father of Waters," and though so near the formei", it has still a
much higher elevation than the counties along the Mississippi— the differ-
ence being two hundred and sixty-three feet above the level of low water
in the last named river. A most striking feature in the topography of
this county is the region of -prairies — a term first applied by the early
French settlers, and now almost universally adopted, to designate natural
grass lands.* The prairie occupies the whole of the higher portion of
*The following by Capt. Basil Hall, an intelligent English traveler, Is highly descriptive
of the prairie:
" The charm of a prairie consists in its extension, its green, flo wery carpet, its undulat-
ing surface and the spirt of forest whereby it is surrounded ; the latter being of all others,
the most significant and expressive, since it characterizes the landscape and defines the
form and'boundary of the plain. If the prairie is littje its greatest beauty consists in the
vicinity of the encompassing edge of forests, which may be compared to the shores of a
lake, being intersected with many deep inward bends, as so many inlets, and, at intervals,
projecting very far, not unlike a promontory, or protruding arm of land. These projec-
tions sometimes so closely approach each other, that the traveler passing through between
them, may be said to walk in the midst of an allej' overshadowed by the forest, before he
enters again upon another broad prairie. Where the plain is extensive the delineations of
Idle forests in-the far background appear as would a mi«ty coast at some distance upon the
ocean The eye sometimes surveys the green prairie without discovering on the illimitable
plain a tree or bush or any object, save the wilderness- of flower and grass, while on other
326 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
the county, with here and there the exception of an isolated group of
trees, standing like an island in the midst of the ocean.
In ascending from the level of a river to the high land in its vicinity, we
first cross the "bottom land" or "bottom," the portion of the valley which
is level, -and being but little elevated above the surface of the stream is
usually liable to overflow, especially at the time of the spring freshets.
These bottom lands are almost always heavily timbered and with a vari-
ety of trees, among which the elm, linden, black walnut, black and burr
oak, poplar and ash are the most common. The breadth of the bottom
may be variable, in some places from six to eight miles, and in others
occasions the view is enlivened by tiie groves, dispersed like islands over the plain, or by a
solitary tree rising above the vcilderoess. The resemblance to the sea, which some of these
prairies exhibited, was really most striking. I had heard of this before, but always sup-
posed the account exaggerated. There is one spot in particular, near the middle of Grand
Prairie, if I recollect rightly, where the ground happened to be of the rolling character,
above alluded to, and where, excepting in the article ot color, and that was not widely dif-
ferent from the tinge of some seas, the similarity was so striking that I almost forgot where
I was. This deception was heightened by a circumstance which I had often heard men
tioned, but the farce of which perhaps none but a seaman could fully estimate; I mean the
appearance of the distant isolated trees as they gradually rose above tte horizon, or receded
from our view.
"In spring, when the young grass has just clothed the soil with a soddy carpet of
the most delicate green, especially when the sun, rising behind a distant elevation of the
ground, its rays reflected by myriads ot dew-drops, a more pleasing and more eye-beneflt-
ting view cannot be imagined. You see the fallow deer quietly feeding on the herbage;
the bee flies humming through the air; the wolf, with lowered tail, sneaks away to its dis-
tant lair, with the timorous pace of a creature only too conscious of having disturbed the
peace of Nature ; prairie-fowls, either in entire tribes, like our own domestic fowls, or in
couples, cover the surface; the males rambling, and, like turkeys or peacocks, inflating
their plumage, make the air resound with a drawled, loud, and melancholy cry, resembling
the cooing of a wood-pigeon, or still more, the sound produced by rapidly rubbing a tam-
bourine with the finger.
************
"On turning from the verdant plain to the forests or groups of high-grown timber, the
eye, at the said season, will find them clad also in the most lively colors. The rich under
and brushwood stands out in full blossom. The andromedas, the dog-wood, the wood-
apple, the wild plum and cherry, grow exuberantly in tlie rich soil, and the invisible blos-
som of the wild vine impregnates the air with its delicious perfume. The variety of the wild
fruit-trees, and of blooming bushes is so great, and so immense, the abundance of the
blossoms they are covered with, that the branches seem to break down, under their weight.
"The delightful aspect of the prairie, its amenities, and the absence of that sombre awe
inspired by forests, contribute to forcing away that sentiment of loneliness which usually
steals upon the mind of the solitary wanderer ia the wilderness, for although he espies no
habitation, and sees no human being, and knows himself to be far off from any settlement
of man, he can scarcely defend himself from believing that he is traveling llirough a land-
scape embellished by human art. The flowers are so delicate and elegant as apparently to
be distributed for mere ornament over the plain ; the groves and groups pf trees seem to be
dispersed over the prairie to enliven the landscape, and we can scarcely get rid of the
impression invading our imagination of the whole scene being flung out and created for
the satiafaction of the sentiment of beauty in refined man."
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 327
again with hardly more than room for the stream itself to pass between
the bluffs. These latter are usually met with just after leaving the bot-
tom land, and rise on either hand from one hundred to two hundred and
fifty feet. The bluffs which border the broad flood-plain or bottom land
of the Missouri river along all that part of its course which forms the
western boundary of Iowa, are so peculiar in character and appearance,
that they cannot fail to attract the attention of every one who sees them
for the first time. Their strangely and beautifully I'ounded summits, oc-
casionally mingled with sharply-cut ridges, smooth and abruptly retreat-
ing slopes, and the entire absence of rocky ledges, except in rare instances,
where they appear only at their base, cause them to present a marked con-
trast with those of the Mississippi and other rivers of the eastern part of
the state where rocky ledges support and compose the greater part of
their bulk. From the mouth of the Big Sioux to the southern boundary
of the state, these bluff's present a continuous, serrated and buttressed front
to the flood-plain of the great river, from which they rise abruptly to a
maximum height in different parts of the line, varying from one hundred to
little less than three hundred feet. Although the front they present is so
definite and continuous, it is nevertheless frequently and deeply cleft, not
only by the tributaries of the great river, but also by small creeks and
short ravines that drain the surface-water from the up-lands beyond, in
which the bluffy character is soon lost. Sometimes the bluff-range, de-
parting a little from the general direct line, presents a full crescentic front
to the plain with an arc of several miles in length. At these places their
peculiar outlines are shown in an interesting manner, and the form and
arrangement of the numerous rounded prominences presents views of
impressive beauty as they stretch away in the distance, or form bold curves
in the line of hills ; while the broad flood-plain of the Missouri river, level
as a floor, stretches miles away to the westward to meet the turbid stream
near the line of bluffs which borders the western, as those of Iowa do the
eastern side. Trees often fill the sides of the deeper ravines or skirt their
bases, but usually their only covering is a growth of wild grasses and an-
nnal plants; and, as the mound-like peaks and rounded ridges jut over
each other, or diverge in various directions, while they reach upward to
the upland, the setting sun throws strange and weird shadows across
them, producing a scene quite in keeping with that wonderful history of
the past of which they form a part.
The wealth of Mills county is due to the prevalence of the deposit
known as the "bluff deposit," and which covers its entire surface. The
origin and nature of this material may be fully learned from the geological
history of the county. It forms, however, one of the richest of the rich
soils for which Iowa is so famous. Analyses of its composition show it
328 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
to have a very small per ceiitage of clay, and a very great per centage of
purely silicious material. The county is peculiarly adapted to the growth
of those cereals and fruits that contribute to the maintenance of man, and
well deserves its appellation of "the garden of Iowa." Its fertility is suffi-
ciently well indicated by the rank, luxuriant growth of prairie grass, and
the strength of most of the common wild plants. For centuries the earth
has been giving of its substance to the nourishment of plant life — but the
return it has gleaned only adds to its powers. The humus — soil contain-
ing the remains of vegetation — seems almost endowed, not only with the
life-sustaining but a life-producing principle. The broad acres of Mills
were not subjected to the wonderful changes which have passed over their
face without a purpose, and that purpose is sufficiently clear to need no
comment. For ages the earth has brought its increase, and for ages more
the process of growth and decay may go on, without destroying the fer-
tility of this wonderful soil.
The nature of the soils of a given district is sufficiently distinct to ad-
mit of a kind of rude classification, which serves the double purpose of
nomenclature, and indicates their value. To two of the three classes into
which they are usually divided — namely, drift, bluff, and alluvial — the soil
of Mills county belongs, and to the two last named. As has been said,
the bluff deposit or soil covers the surface of the entire county to a depth
varying from five feet to one hundred feet. In the " bottom " lands, how-
ever, is to be found the so-called "alluvium," a soil, which, from thenature
of its origin, is probably the very richest material known. This latter is
the residue or fine sedimentary matter left by the waters of a stream
when at its highest flood. Rushing down declivities the waters of both
the ancient and modern streams wore away their soft embankments, car-
rying the material thus derived to the lower lands, depositing them at all'
points where the waters were comparatively at rest. These constitute
the "flat " or " bottom land," — the present flood plains of the county's
rivers. Beneath this bluff deposit, the probable origin of which will be ,
indicated further on, is found the " drift," a most fertile material, the dis-
cussion of the origin of which also properly belongs to the chapter on
geology. Not only will the ph3'sical peculiarities of these two formations
serve to distmguish them, but the different characters of their vegetations
will make an excellent criterion. The^ora of the deeply wooded valleys
will be found to differ in many essential points from that of the prairies,
each of which is characteristic. This feature is a most noticeable one in
Mills county, especially on its western side, which is infinitely diversified
with hills and valleys strangely and confusedly mingled together in the
wildest manner. Riding west from Glenwood toward the Missouri bot-
tom, many valleys are crossed and hills surmounted — valleys and hills that
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 329
were formed bj- great streams that raged through these narrow passes
ages ago — and the wonderful and rapid changes in vegetation, from a
prairie to a woodland flora, is a sufficiently plain indication of the changes
in the formations on Svhich they flourish. This remarkable adaptability
to certain plants in particular regions, whereas in others their very exist-
ence is critical, has induced a vast amount of speculation and experiment
as to the adaptability of Iowa soils for the growth of forest trees. What
is true of this great state as a whole, is true of the county of Mills. ^ Dr.
White's admirable summary of discussions on this much mooted point,
has demonstrated that notwithstanding the fact that the distance from the
northern to the southern limits of the state is more than three degrees of
latitude, in consequence of the slight difference in surface elevation, and
the great degree of uniformity in the character of the soil, there is a strik-
ing uniformity in the character of the native vegetation; for the same rea-
sons also there is an equal uniformity in the adaptability of the soil and
cEmate to the production of cultivated crops. There are indeed, many
species of indigenous plants restricted to certain parts of the state, and
others that are found only in habitats rendered congenial by moisture, dry-
ness, barrenness, unusual fertility, etc., as the case may be; yet these are
only exceptions to the general uniformity throughout the state, of all indi-
genous vegetation, including the forest trees. The subject of the distri-
btition of indigenous vegetation is a very suggestive and interesting one
MI all its bearings, but especially when applied to the growth of forest
trees, it becomes one of unusual practical importance to every citizen of
Iowa. The great importance which attaches to this part of the subject is
apparent from the fact that the wood of forest trees for f\iel, no less than
for other purposes, is an indispensable element in the prosperity, and even
the inhabitation of any country, not to mention the beneficial effects of
forests upon the climate, the beautifying and adornment of its landscapes,
and the shading and sheltering of its homes. Dr. White continues: " If
there is really an unfitness of prairie soil for the growth of forest trees,
then at least one-third of our state is worthless indeed. But this is not
the case, for personal observation in all parts of the state, extending
through a period of thirty years, has established a knowledge of the fact
that all varieties of our indigenous forest trees will grow thriftily ufon all
varieties of our soil; even those whose most , congenial habitat is ufon the
alluvial soil of our river valleys, or upon the r tigged slopes of the valley
sides.
As has been previously indicated, this county is remarkably well drained;
on the east by the Nishnabotna, and west by the numerous small streams,
the waters of which ultimately find their way to the Missouri. The char-
acter of these streams is determined by the nature of the surface over
330 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
which they flow. The clear, sparkling rills and the dancing blue waves
of New England streams are all wanting in the waters of Mills. These
latter flow throughout their entire courses in this county, in narrow,
sinuous, ditch-like depressions in their flood plains, and over the materials
previously mentioned as " bluff"" and "alluvial." This is the cause of their
excessive muddiness. Notwithstanding the fact that the beds of the Nish-
nabotnas dip in the direction of their courses at the average rate of 2.68
feet per mile, their sinuosity is so great, and the specific gravity of their
waters so largely increased by reason of the finely comminuted material
held in suspension, that they are excessively sluggish, and it would seem
decidedly inappropriate to dignify them with the title of river. Yet there
are times when it would seem that in their rage, during heavy rains or the
floods of spring, they defy the power of the very hills to withstand them.
Then are they seen in their full force and in all their destructiveness ; then,
if at all, can be appreciated the mighty eroding power of water, that
power which shall ultimately level the mountains, and carry away the
lands to be swallowed up in the dark recesses of the sea. Observing one
of these streams at high flood, no one will longer wonder how they be-
come such an important factor in earth sculpture, and how the deep valleys
and lofty bluffs of Mills county came to be as they are. On the extreme ,
west of the county flows the Missouri, to-day as patiently rolling its earth-
laden waters onward to the sea as when it. first began the great work of
digging its own valley. Grand, silent, majestic, it sweeps ever onward in
its course, as quietly now as hundreds of centuries ago when its waters
expanded scores of miles to the east and west, forming a great inland sea,
the bottom of which was the surface of Mills county. " The only dis-
cussion of this remarkable river that can be given in this report must
relate alone to the character of the stream and its valley along that part of
its course which goes to form the western boundary of Mills county. We
have no information of the amount of water anually flowing past the state
of Iowa in this great river, because no detailed hydrographic survey of it
has been made along our border.
" It is, however, one of the muddiest streams on the globe, and its waters
are known to be very turbid far toward its source. Two collections of
its water have been made from its channel at Council Bluffs, and the solid
contents determined by Prof. Emery. One parcel was collected at low
water, on November 9, 1868, and the other on July 5, 1868, when the
river was just bank-full. The amount of sediment filtered out of the water
in both instances was as follows: Low water, 462 grains in one liter=52
grains in one gallon; high water, 5.672 grains in one liter=404 grains in
one gallon, from which it is readily seen that the amount of suspended
sediment at times of high water is more than twelve times as great as it
is at low water." — White.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 331
A further discussion of the history of the Missouri is reserved , for
another page.
There are within the limits of this county no bodies of water which could
be properly designated as lakes. There is, however, a single one popu-
larly called a lake, situated in sections 34 and 35 of Lyons township —
Lake Wahbonsie.* This lake— or pond — lies partly in Fremont county,,
and is at the best not a very conspicuous feature. It differs widely from
the clear blue waters of Lakes Ontario or Superior, and can nowhere be.
easily approached by reason of the dense growth of flags and marsh
grass which grow even to the water's edge. It is properly a fluviatile
lake, owing its existence to the change which has occurred in the course
of the Missouri, and of the ancient bed of which it is a relict. The broad
bottom land of the Missouri has been caused by the vibration of the great
stream from side to side during which it alternately occupied and aban-
doned all portions of it successively. During the last of these recessions
to the westward the waters formed a bar or natural dike, and within
this was imprisoned the waters, at first forming a " bayou " or pond.
Annually overflowing its banks the supply of water was kept up until, in
the course of time, from the circumjacent hills in times of flood caused
by melting snow or storms the water supply was maintained. Resting,
as Lake Wahbonsie does, upon alluvial material, there can be no reasona-
ble doubt but that such has been its history. The time is not far distant
whein the lake, which 'has shrunk very largely from its former size, will
cease to be ; its site will be one vast slough, and, perhaps, in some distant
day, where now its waters rest will be found fields of waving grain. It
marks, to-day, where once the Missouri ran, and as an index to certain
wonderful changes now occurring in the physical aspect of Nature is not
without interest and value. The lake has no outlet, its waters being dissi-
pated both by evaporation and by percolation through the soil.
Climate is one of those most important things about which men inquire
least. Few realize the fact that all the changes in wind and storm, rain
and drouth take place in obedience to fixed laws. It is important to every
resident of the county to know at least their effects, even though they
take little interest in the laws themselves. Climatic extremes in this
county are few. The winters are not excessively cold, and the summers
are not intolerably hot. Heavy falls of snow are of extremely rare occur-
rence, and the annual fall of rain is somewhat less than that of the east-
ern portions of the state in the same latitude. The prevailing winds dur-
ing the winter are from the northwest, and ate rarely of that bitterly cold '
♦There seems to be no generally recognized — at least none has been adopted — way of
spelling this name. Like all proper names it is purely arbitrary. Among the various
orthographies may be mentioned " Wahboncey," " Wahaboncey," "Wahabonsy," and as
will be seen from an interesting legal document on another page " Waubonchey."
332
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
nature which residents in the northern portion of the state denote the
^'blizzard." In the spring the character of the winds suddenly changes
to that of a healthful and mellow nature. They then change their quar-
ter, blowing from a southernly direction until the late fall months, when
again they blow from the north. There never have been made any
meteorological observations extending through a sufficient length of time
from which may be gathered the statistics of the climatic conditions of
the county since its settleinent and organization. It differs but immateri-
ally, however, from the conditions at Council Bluffs, where observations
have been made through a long series of years, in pursuance of a plan
devised by the general government, dating back to 1819. The following
table of mean temperatures for each season, compiled from data gathered
at the last named place^ ranging from the year 1820 to 1843 inclusive, will
aid in forming a general conclusion on the climate of this county:
Latitude 41 degrees, 30 minutes
Longitude 95 " 48 «
Elevation, in feet 135j0
Mean spring temperature 49.3
Mean summer " 74.7
Mean autumn " 51.4
Mean winter " 21.7
The year 49.3
From this table it will be seen that the mean temperature for the year
is exactly that of the spring.
A series of observations extending oyer a period of nineteen years,,
(1850-69), on the direction of the prevailing winds,, give the following
interesting facts:
-^'-^- ^ — ' ~ — "^ — - — ^^-^ — '■' ^— — -^ — — "
Direction
CO
i
i
Spring
Summer
19.0
, 15.3
' 17.3
17.0
19.9
23.1
19.5
14.4
22.2
53.1
25.1
24.1
28.8
18.0
Autumn
9,9.2
Winter
*
37.8
Year
17.5,
19.0
26.2
28i
From this table it will be seen that for three hundred and sixty days
•of the year there are perceptible winds blowing in the county. To rightly
estimate their value as climatic modifiers, there must be considered many
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 333
important factors, such as the distribution of heat through their agency,
the distribution of moisture, and their force, questions into which it is not
the purpose of this sketch to enter. They are of the greatest benefit to
the sanitary condition of the county, as they prevent the accumulation of
malaria which arises from the decay of the rich masses of vegetation with
which the prairies are covered. Another agent, active in preventing the
origination and spread of disease by absorbing large quantities of noxious
gasses, is the annual fall of rain, which for a period of twenty year^
(1850-69) gave the following in inches :
t
Winter, total 117.29; mean 5.86-
Spring " 237.11; mean 11.85
Summer " .■ 278.06; mean 13.90
Fall « 216.93; mean 10.8a
From which it will be seen that both the total and mean fall in summer
exceeds that of either the other three seasons. The deductions from these
statistics, that the climate is a healthful one, is further strengthened by the
general elevation of the greater part of the surface of the county. In all
elevated lands the air is invigorating and bracing at all seasons, under the
same conditions that prevail elsewhere. The human race has not only-
degenerated by dwelling in low, unhealthy places, but it is again and
again decimated by the pestilences generated in them. As Dr. Farr well
■remarks, " it is destroyed now periodically by five pestilences — Cholera,
remittent fever, yellow fever, glandular plagues and influenza. The ori-
gin or chief seat of the first is the Delta of the Ganges. Of the second,
the African and other tropical coasts. Of the third, the low west coasst
around the Gulf of Mexico, or the Delta of the Mississippi, and the West
India Islands. Of the fourth, the Delta of the Nile and the low sea-side
cities of the Mediterranean. Of the generating field of influenza nothing
certain is known ; but ******
"The history of the nations on the Mediterranean, on the plains of the
Euphrates and the Tigris, the Deltas of the Indus and the Ganges, and
the rivers of China, exhibit this great fact: the gradual descent of races
from the highlands, their establishment on the coasts in cities, sustained
and refreshed for a season by immigration from the interior, their degra-
dation in successive generations under the influence of the unhealthy earth,
and their final ruin, effacement or subjugation by new races of conquerors.
The causes that destroy individual men, lay cities waste, which, in their
Hature, are immortal, and silently undermine eternal empires.
"On the highlands men feel the loftiest emotions. Every tradition places
their origin there. The first nations worshipped there; high on the Indian
Caucasus, on Olympus, and on other lofty mountains the Indians and the
334 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
•Greeks imagined the abodes of their highest gods, while they peopled the
low, underground regions, the grave-land of mortality, with infernal dei-
ties. Their myths have a deep signification. Man feels his immortality
in the hills." * While this may not be considered as bearing directly on
the climate of Mills county, it is nevertheless a cognate theme. These
are the things which have no little influence on mental and physical organ-
ization, and through them modify all the conditions of national develop-
ment. Health and intelligence, intelligence and good morals, good mor-
als and excellent government are sisters three without which neither nations
nor men may live and prosper; while it is true there are no highlands
proper in this county, its whole surface is sufficiently elevated to outgen-
eral disease and stay the ravages of pestilence.
GEOLOGY.
[The geological history of Mills county is one of peculiar interest, and
aflFords some very suggestive facts relative to its past vicissitudes. It
extends in point of time over many thousands of years, and embraces
periods of repose, and periods of remarkable change. Its history, cli-
matologically, has been one of deep interest, and embraces changes so
radical and so directly at variance with one another as to be almost
incredible. There have been long ages when it basked under a torrid sun,
and then these ages gave place to others equally as remarkable for polar
frosts. Life, in all the variety and luxuriance of a tropical climate, gave
place to the desert wastes of an arctic zone. Nor were these changes
sudden. They are there, stamped in the very rocks at your door, and
limned upon the landscape of your valleys, not as great and far-reaching
catastrophes, but as gradual transitions, indisputably marked as such by
the fossil forms that roll out from the rock you crush, or see traced with
a delicacy no draughtsman can imitate. There have been times when
Old Ocean, heedless of his doings, dashed against the rocky barrier that
dared dispute his sway, or rolled in solemn, conscious might above its high-
est point; times when a beautiful and varied j?ora thrived on its surface;
and times when there was naught save a waste of desert matter. We strike
our pick in the shales on the hillside, and behold! there in the coal that
gives us warmth and drives our engines, are the fairy forms that made
the fern paradise of the coal period — beautiful arguments, those, of
changes that thousands of years, as we measure time, would not com-
pass. In presenting the following principal facts in the geology of Mills
* P. xciv., Report of Wm. Farr, Esq., to the Registrar-General of England, 1853.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 335
county, enoug;h only of the lithological characters of the various rock
strata have been given to enable the interested reader to identify them.
Many points of interest from a geological standpoint have necessaril}-^ been
omitted ; their introduction would have unduly lengthened the chapter,
and scarcely possessed any general interest. To trace, briefly, the changes
that have occurred, and to note their probable causes, are the main pur-
poses of this sketch.
The surface of the count}' is entirely covered with the deposit before
referred to as the " bluff deposit," but perhaps more correctly the loess.
It lies next above the drift and varies in depth, in different parts of the
county, from five to one hundred feet. In appearance the deposit is pecu-
liarly characteristic, presenting substantially the same features in what-
soever part of the globe it is found. Its material is of a slightly j^ellow-
ish ash color, except where darkened by decaying vegetation, very fine
and silicious but not sandy, " not very cohesive and not at all plastic."
Along the Missouri bottom the formation is exposed in the most favorable
manner for study. Those bold, high escarpments stand out as monu-
ments— not very endurable, to be sure — to mark the great changes that
have occurred in the surface features of this county. Mixed throughout
this material are to be found various species of land and fresh water shells
that seem to furnish the clue to a solution of the problem concerning its
origin. Relative to this point, it is sufficient for present purposes to sim-
ply indicate the more prominent points in the theories broached, of which
there are two principal ones. The first, and, to speak within bounds, a
most novel one, is the theory of Baron von Richthofen. The Baron's
theory, based principally upon the study of the loess of China, is substan-
tially this: " that loess, certainly in China, and probably in all continents,
is a sub-aerial deposit collected on dry grassy areas by the action of fierce
winds. For the formation of such a region he supposes a central undrained
elevated area, from which nearly all moisture is excluded by surrounding
mountain chains."*
To this theory is opposed what is called the sub-aqueous theory, which
the reader will at once notice is diametrically opposite to that of the Baron.
Without entering into the details of the various arguments advanced by
those who maintain the last named theory, it is sufficient to say that the
lacustrine origin of the loess is now a quite generally conceded point. Such
an origin involves radical changes in our conceptions of the physical aspect
of the county. We must conceive the present level of the land to be some-
what lowered, the waters of the Missouri barred on their way to the ocean,
spreading eastward and westward until they assumed the proportions of
a great inland sea, two hundred or more miles- in length. Far away to
I
*Prof. J. E. Todd, ia Proc. A. A. A. S. , Vol . XXVII, 1878.
336 • HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
the northwest the upper Missouri is plowing its way through the land,
wearing away its boundaries and hurrying onward with them to the com-
paratively quiet waters below. The depression of the land meant also
the northward extension of the Gulf of Mexico, which, then as now, became
the final recipient of the waters of the Missouri. In the great Lake
Missouri the finely comminuted material held in suspension by its waters
was deposited as a blanket of silt over the bottom of the lake — the former
surface of the land. Then came those giant throes which lifted again the
partiklly submerged continent, hurled the encroaching waves of the ocean
back to their former dominion, and allowed the waters of the ancient
Lake Missouri to gradually reach the sea. Then began a period of ero-
sion, not yet ended, by means of which the great river has plowed out its
present valley through the land. The abrading process still continues on
a scale so enormous as to excite our wonder, and it is the immediate cause
that renders so treacherous and uncertain the navigation of the stream,
Through sediment of its own deposition in centuries far back in the his-
tory of time the river is cutting its way, changing its channel ever and
anon, and carrying in its turbid waters much of the land of Mills to make
fertile the broad acres along its lower course.
The lake the river formed in that far off past was not a lake of an hour,
nor one of a season of floods, but for centuries reigned where now the
farmer guides his plow. It contained life-forms, many of which, or
closely allied ones, are living to-day. Among them flourished shells of
the genera Physa, Limno-physa, Planorbis, and perhaps Ancylus. These
are found throughout the Loess mingled with land shells of the genera
Mesodon, Succinea, Zonites and others. Prof. J. E. Todd, in the Proceed-
ings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vol.
XXVII, reports twenty-seven species from the Loess of Fremont county.
Prof. Samuel Aughey reports a list of one hundred and twenty-three, of
which seventy-eight at least are incorrectly determined. Not more than
forty-five of all the forms he has listed in his " Sketches of the Physical
Geography and Geology of Nebraska," p. 287, can possibly stand. Is it
questioned how came these land shells here.'' They were brought dowfl
by floods from the higher and wooded sections forming the boundaries ©f
the lake, and at length sinking to the bottom were covered with silt in a
manner similar to that which entombed their allied brethren of the fresh
water forms. These remains are in themselves almost conclusive proof
of the fresh water origin of the Loess, and help to solve some of the
questions of the surface geology of Mills.
Immediately beneath the Loess is found the Drift, though rarely seen
in Mills county, and then only in deep railroad cuts or in the valleys of
those strearns which have eroded their courses to a great depth. The
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 337
term " drift," as it is commonly employed in geology, " includes the sand,
gravel, clay and boulders occurring over some parts of the continents,
which are without stratification or order of arrangement, and have been
transported from places in high latitudes by some agency which (1) could
carry masses of rock hundreds of tons in weight, and which (2) was not
always dependent for motion on the slopes of the surface." {Hall.) This
agency was ice, either in the form of an extensive glacier or detached
masses called icebergs. The whole surface of North America, to the
thirty-ninth parallel, bears evidence of the denuding and transforming
power of this agency. This it was which rounded, in part, these hills,
partially filled old valleys or dug out new ones, and which left at our very
doors these masses of rock — large and small — or buried them in the hill-
side, to excite our wonder and cause us to speculate as to their origin.
They were brought hither from some northern locality where the material
from which they were derived may be found in situ. Often there are
found, in the valleys of the deeper streams, and in " land-slides " along
the "bluffs" on the Missouri* bottom large masses of Sioux Quartzite,
and rocks of other kinds, from points still farther to the northward . The
general direction of the glacial movement was southward. In section 16,
tp. 71, r. 43 west, are found " two distinct sets of scratches upon the same
surface and crossing each other," showing that the movement of the
glacier changed while passing over this rock— which is one of the series
of the upper coal measure limestone. The "one set has a direction south,
twenty degrees east, and the other, south, fifty-one degrees east."
The exposures of the drift in the county are quite inconsiderable and
always local. It is nowhere the surface soil, and i§ to be seen only in the
deepest valleys or at the base of the loess along the bluffs. It is occasion-
ally seen along the course of the Nishnabotna, and frequently exposed in the
numerous ravines in the vicinity of Glenwood, and indeed wherever there
are deeply eroded valleys among the bluffs. Where it appears it is seen to
be a compound of clay and gravel, with occasional beds of sand, and is
deposited without regularity — being what is technically termed unmodi-
fied drift. It usually contains many small and well-worn pieces of gneiss,
porphyry, hornblende, and other primary rocks, together with occasional
small fragments of limestone, sandstone, and bits of slate, all of which are
of much older ages, and have been transported from points more or less
remote from their present locality. The bluffs along the Mississippi are
* In Shea's " Discovery of the Mississippi Valley," there is a note on this word, to the
effect that " Pekitanoui," or Muddy Water, prevailed until Marest's time (1713), about
which period it veas called " Missouri," from the fact that a tribe of Indians known as Mis-
souris inhabited the country at its mouth, the same country being now embraced within
the limits of St. Louis county, Missouri.
2
338 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
almost entirely composed of the drift, a most striking difference between
them and those along the Missouri, which are, superficially at least, com-
posed of the loess.
There being no rocks of Permian, Triassic, or Jurassic age in this
county, or indeed in the state, the series next met with belong to another
period of geological time,older far than any yet considered — the lower Creta-
ceous. They are the Nishnabotna sandstones and are named for the
river along whose course they appear, and where they have been studied.
Lithologically, the formation is a course-grained, friable, and ferruginous
sandstone. The presence of a very large amount of oxide of iron gives
the rock a sombre and displeasing color which, were it fitted in other
respects, would greatly lessen its value for building purposes. In the north-
eastern part of this county it has, however, been quite extensively quar-
ried, and being of somewhat better quality than the same formation in
other sections, makes a fair building stone. It has little- economic value.
There is, nevertheless, a fact that should not be overlooked. It lies uncon-
formably upon the rocks of the upper coal-measures, and does not partake
of the dips of the older formations, but has one of its own — to the north
of westward.* The formation, being at the surface during the glacial
epoch, suffered a most extensive denudation, but this is the very feature
that has added value to it, for the sand thus derived has contributed
greatly to the mellowness and warmth of the soil, and largely increased
its productiveness.
Of the Coal measures, which lie next below the Cretaceous in Iowa,
only the Upper Coal measure strata have been exposed in this county, and,
as would be naturally inferred, the thickness of the superincumbent loess
and drift negatives the probability of either numerous or extensive out-
crops. There is so Httle difference in the geological and physical features
of this and Fremont counties that the following accountf of the Coal
measures of the latter will be of exact application here. There is, in ad-
dition, the fact that no section of the measures indicated has ever been
made in this county, so complete as that which here follows:
♦White's Geology of Iowa, 1870; vol. 1, page 385.
fWhlte's '' Geology of Iowa, 1870, Vol. I, pp. 357 et seq. Frequent all usion to this sur-
vey is made necessary from the fact that no other has ever been made of the western por-
tion of the state. The survey of Dr. Hall was confined to the eastern portions, and to the
Des Moines river valley, while the still older one of Dr. Owen was a merely preliminary
reconnoisance . Dr. White's work was unfortunately brought to an end by legislative folly
before the survey could be completed. Often condemned as inaccurate, it should be re-
membered, in justice to Dr. White, that he was compelled to publish his work before com-
pletion, and without the possibility of verifying his deductions. Future surveys will dem-
onstrate the general correctness of most of his views as to the area and geography of ft'
coal formations, and should his suggestions now be followed, money being spent in fruitless
search for coal would be saved for more politic and rational purposes. R. E. 0.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 339
"None [of the coal-measure strata] have been found in the valleys of either of the Nish-
nabotnas, and, with the exception of a slight one in the valley of Walnut creek, the only
exposures are to be found at distant intervals along the base of the bluffs that border the
Missouri river flood-plain. They usually extend only a few feet in height above the level
of the plain, and are then lost from sight beneath the bluff deposit, or the slight interven-
ing accumulation of drift; but in the northwestern part of the county a few exposures
reach considerable height above the general level of the flood-plain.
On the land of John Wilson, section 23, township 70, range 43, there are some fine ex-
posures of upper coal-measure strata, which reach the greatest aggregate thickness of any
yet known within the state, westward from Madison county. It is, therefore, a locality of
great interest and importance in the study of that formation in southwestern Iowa. The
Strata observed there are represented by the following:
SECTION NEAR WILTON's
Ko. 29— Yellowish gray, impure limestone, in thin layers 2 feet.
No. 28 — Limestone in two layers, with a three-inch marly parting 2% "
Ko. 37— Yellowish shaly marl 1^^ "
No. 26 — Black carbonaceous shale IJ^ "
Ko. 35 — Bluish clayey shale IJ^ "
Ko. 24 — Black carbonaceous shale 1 "
No. 38 —Bluish, marly shale, with numerous fossils IJ.^ "
No. 33— Impure coal 10-13 "
Ko. 21 — Light bluish, fossiliferous, shaly clay 2 "
Ko. 20 — Compact, bluish limestone with shaly partings 4 "
• Ko. 19 — Marly clay, with calcareous concretions 6
Ko. 18 — Light gray limestone , 4 "
No. 17— Unexposed ■ 6 "
No. 16 — Compact limestone X% "
No. 15 — Light yellowish indurated marl 4 "
No. 14 — Yellowish silicious limestone with flinty concretions 2}^
Ko. 13 — Yellowish, marly shale, with concretions of impure limestone 3 "
Ko. 12 — Compact limestone 1 "
No. 11— Yellowish marly shale 2 "
Ko. 10 — Gray limestone in thick layers 8 "
No. 9— Bluish clayey shale 1% "
Ko. 8 — Yellowish silicious limestone ^
Ko. 7 — Compact gray limestone, with marly partings 16 "
No. 6— Bluish, shaly clay 1% "
Ko. 5 — Compact layer of limestone % "
Ko. 4^Bluish, shaly clay 2i^ "
Ko. 3— Compact, bluish limestone 2 "
Ko. 2 — Bluish clayey shale 4 "
No. 1 — Pine grained, micac,eous sandstone 1 "
Total 80 10-12 ft.
The lowest member of the foregoing section, No. 1, is only a few feet above the general
level of the flood-plain, and many of the other members appear successively above it in
the face of the bluff that fronts the flood-plain near Mr. Wilson's residence, while the
higher members are found in the bed and banks of a small rivulet that comes down from
the uplands through the bluffs at this point. Along the-base of the blufts above this point,
B8 far as the north boundary line of the county, frequent exposures areseen of strata which
are equivalent to a large part of those that constitute the lower half of the section at Wil-
340 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
son's. Southward from Wilson's, along the. base of the bluffs, several exposures of the
lowest members of that section are seen at long intervals, always holding about the same
relative position above the level of the flood-plain, all the way to the town of Hamburg, in
the southwestern part of the county. The fine-grained micaseous sandstone of No. 1, of
the foregoing section, is seen at the village of Plum Hollow, a couple of miles below Mr,
Wilson's, and also at Hamburg, and several intermediate points. A few strata were found
I'esting upon it at all these points, but none were observed beneath it. It is therefore strati-
graphically the lowest stratum found in southwestern Iowa, if we except the lowest strata
of Madison and Decatur counties. It is regarded as equivalent with No. 1 of the section
in the valley of the Tarkio,in Page county; with No. 2 of the section at Winterset, in Madi-
son county, and witli No. 2 of the section at Davis' Mills, in Decatur county. It will thus
be seen that the lowest stratum exposed in Fremont county is regarded as equivalent with
strata that further eastward are known to be near the base of the Upper coal-measures. It
is, of course, inferred that that stratum is also near the base of the same formation, unless
those beneath it have thickened very greatly in their westward extention.
No doubt is entertained that the thin bed of impure coal represented by No. 22, of the
section at Wilson's, is identical with the bed of coal that has been opened at various points
along the valley of the Nodaway, from the center of Adams county to the southern bound-
ary of the state. The horizon of this coal is referred to near the base ol the series of lime-
stone strata exposed near Winterset, in Madison county. If this reference is correct, it
will be seen that there is a greater aggregate thickness of limestone strata in Fremont
county, beneath the horizon named, than there is in Madison county, which seems plainly
to indicate a thickening of the strata of the upper coal measures to the westward."
There is, therefore, no probability that workable beds of coal will be
found in this county, at a point near enough to the surface to make min-'
ing profitable. In the deeper ravines and gullies the strata may be reached
by deep mining, but at many hundreds of feet. In borings made some
years ago in the vicinity of Nebraska City, the drill is said to have pene-
trated four hundred feet, and then only reached the middle coal-measures,
which must first be pierced before the coal-bearing strata are reached,
in this State, the base of the lower coal-measures. Wood must continue to
be the main reliance for fuel until transportation rates have been so reduced
as to make the introduction of coal from other portions of the state econ-
omical.
Hence among the mineral resources of this county, coal cannot be inclu-
ded, but is effectually settled in the negative by the reasons and facts
above adduced. The only available material of an economical nature,
aside from the fertile soil, are the limestone out crops along the Missouri
bottom, in southwest part of the county, and a few minor exposures of
fair building material, above referred to as the Nishnabotna sandstone,
in the extreme northeast and along Farm Creek. The fertility and rich-
ness of the soil is absolutely inexhaustible from an agricultural point of view
for many feet down, or, in other words, throughout the entire loess for-
mation. That it, together with the occasional good deposits of clay
which are found at the base of the bluffs, may be successfully used in
the manufacture of an excellent quality of brick, is sufficiently attested
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 341
by the numerous fine dwelling and business houses in the county, con-
structed of native brick. It will always be true of Mills county that its
wealth is in its broad acres, as being so well adapted to agriculture,
rather than in any hidden sources of mineral wealth. The crack of the
whip rather than the hum of wheels, the sturdy arm of the farmer rather
than the pick of the miner must be its almost sole reliance.
Thus briefly has been given all that is definite^ known of the geology
of this county. It presents many features of interest, and promises to
abundantly reward any person willing to complete a minute survey of its
domain.
A word as to the forms of life found imbedded in the rocks of the
county. The fossils characteristic of the Upper Coal-measure strata may
be obtained at every point — where the rocks are exposed, and these
exposures promise a rich harvest to the student of ancient life, as well as
to the mere curiosity hunter. Here are found the now extinct and
remarkable trilobites (Phillifsid) — a genus of fossil crustaceans allied to
the modern "horse-shoe crab" of the Atlantic coast ; and a very beautiful
and curious form of coral (Camfofhyllum torquium), a silent witness to a
once tropical climate. Among the articulates are found several species of
Producius, once classed — and still by many — with the mollusca, but now
beginning to be recognized as closely allied to the worms. Others of the
brachiopods are Chonetes granulifera and C. glabra. Among the "flowers
of the carboniferous world" were crinoids — stemmed echinoderms — of
which the living Pentacrinus asteria of the West Indian seas is a type;
not flowers 'at all, though popularly called "stone lilies," but an animal.
These all point to a time when the ocean covered the county and the rocks
in which they are found were being formed. They are full of instruction
for those who will carefuU}' study them.*
NATURAL HISTORY.f
The natural history of this county is almost the exact counterpart of that
of all prairie countries. While its forms of life present an infinite diversi-
ty, only a few of the many are found to be predominant. With the single
exception of the insects, the birds will be found most numerously repre-
' *The remains of a Jl/dsiodora were found during the course of an excavation for a rail-
road cutting near Malvern in 1876. Some of the coata, the sacrum, atlas, and a portion of
the tmk were found, and are now in the museum of Tabor College. Other remains are
scattered among various families in the vicinity of that city which should be gathered and
placed in some permanent place to insure their keeping. They have a value infinitely
greater than that of being merely "curious" or relicts.
t Exclusive of the fishes and insects.
342 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
sented. The time was, however, when the larger forms of life abounded;
when the deer, the elk, and the buffalo made these prairies their home.
The coming of the white man, attended by all the circumstances of prog^
ress, has driven these larger forms from the county, and now the smaller
kind alone retain a footing.
There is no record of any attempt at any time made to determine the
relation of iUnt flora andyiauna of this county to the rest of the state. Prof.
J. E. Todd, of Tabor College, has, however, done a large amount of local
work, which has extended into the southern part of Mills county, and in
his specialties, geology and botany, has published much valuable informa-
tion. In no counties but those in the eastern portion of the state has such
a work been done, and there chiefly in the interests of science and by pri-
vate individuals. It is to be hoped that the time is not far distant when
the state will order and sustain to completion an mtelligent and exhaus-
tive survey of her great domain— a survey the value of which will become
more and more apparent with the growth of years. Twice has the state
instituted a geological survey, and twice has it failed to support the saraq,
and brought both to a close while yet their work was in its infancy. All
that is valuable, all that is best known of its natural resources has been
contributed by the pens and at the expense of men in private life. The
following resume of the natural history of the county "is by no means a
complete representation of its forms, and is to be considered only as indic-
ative of the nature of its resources, both animal and vegetable. In the
lists following, as much information has been incorporated as is consistent
with a simple catalogue of forms. This is especially true of the trees an4
shrubs. It is manifestly impossible to give either descriptions or life-his-
tories of many species in a work of this nature. For the sake of insuritig
accuracy in the reader, both scientific and common names are given.
AVID^— BIRDS.*
TUEDID^— Thbtjshes.
1. Turdus migratorius, Linn — Robin. Common.
* In the following catalogue the general arrangement of Coues' "Birds of the North-
west," is adopted as being the one most consistent with the great mass of observed facts,
aod is the one approved by the leading ornithologists of the country. The arrangement is
by families. A few species are included which have not been observed in the county but
are known to occur in the counties surrounding. Such are marked with an asterisk (*)■
Species doubtfully referred to the county are indicated by a question mark (?). Many of
the following list have not been observed in this county, but are admitted from the fact
that they are known in the state, and on the authority of the work above mentioned, which
places them here.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 348
2. Turdus naevius, Gmelin — Varied Thrush. Abundant.
3. Turdus mustellinus Gmelin — Wood thrush.
4. Turdus fallasii. Cab — Hermit thrush, common.
5. Turdus Sivainsonii, Cab — Swainson's thrush.
6. Mimus carolinensis, Cab — Cat bird, abundant.
7. (.^) Mimus folyglottus, Boie — Mocking bird, in Fremont and Deca-
tur counties.
8. Har^orhynchus rufus. Cab — Brown thrush, rare.
SA.XICOLIDjS; — Blub Birds and Stone-chats.
9. Sialia stalis, Haldeman — Blue bird, everywhere.
10. (.^) 5«fl//a OTe^'/cawff, Sw. — Western bluebird, beautiful.
PARID^— Titmice.
11. Parus airicafillus, Linn — Chickadee.
12. Parus atricapillus var. septenirionalis, Allen — Long-tailed Chick-
adee.
13. Lophofhanes bicolor, Bonap — Crested titmouse.
SYLVIID^— "Warblbks.
14. Regulus satra-pa, Licht — Golden-crested kinglet, common.
15. Regulus calendula, Licht, — Ruby-crested kinglet.
16. Palioftila coerulea, Sclat — Blue-gray gnat-catcher, rare.
CERTHIAD^— Creepers.
17. Certhia familiar is, Linn — Brown creeper.
SITTIDiE— Nuthatches.
18. Sitta carolinensis. Lath — White-breasted nuthatch.
19. Sitta canaaensis, Linn — Red-breasted nuthatch ; very rare.
TROGLODYTID^— Wrens.
20. Salpinctes obsoletus. Cab — Rock wren.
21. Anorthura hyemalis, Coues — Winter wren, pretty.
22. (.?) Telmatodytes j>alustris, 'Bonnit — Long-billed marsh wren.
23. (*) Cistothorns stellaris. Cab— Short-billed marsh wren.
24. {?) Thryothorus ludovtcianus, Bonap — Carolina wren; a "rollick-
ing" singer.
25. Thryothorus bewickii, Bonap — Bewick's wren ; an odd bird.
26. Troglodytes aedon, Vieill — House wren; pugnacious.
MOTACILLID^— Wag-tails.
27. Anthus ludovicianus, Licht — Tit-lark.
8YLVIC0LID.<E— WOOD-WARBLERSt
28. Mniotilta varia, Vieill — Black and white creeper. A " screeping "
songster.
•j-The warblers are exceedingly difficult to distinguish, and tlie observer may require
extended and painstaking observation to learn them all.
344 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
29. Parula americana, Bonap — Blue-yellow-backed warbler.
30. Prothonotaria citraea, Baird — Prothonotary warbler.
31. * HehnintJiofhaga rufcafilla, Baird — Nashville warbler.
32. Helmintho-phaga celata, Baird — Golden-crowned warbler.
33. ( ?)Helmi7ithcrphaga ftnus, Baird — Blue-winged yellow warbler.
34. ^Dendroeca striata, Baird — Black-poll warbler.
35. Dendroeca -palmarum. Baird — Merely a bird of passage.
36. Dendroeca finus, Wilson — ^Pine-creeping warbler ; a fall loiterer.
37. (^?)Dendroeca virens, Baird — Black-throated green warbler.
38. Dendroeca caerulescens, Baird — Black-throated blue warbler.
39. Dendroeca coronata, Gray — Yellow-crowned warbler.
40. Dendroeca blackburniae, Baird — Blackburnian warbler.
41. Dendroeca castanea, Baird — Bay-breasted warbler; very rare.
42. ( ?)Dendroeca fennsylvanica, Baird — Chestnut-sided warbler.
43. Dendroeca caerulea, Baird— Blue warbler.
44. Dendroeca aesiiva, Baird — Yellow warbler; everywhere.
45. Dendroeca maculosa, Baird — Black and yellow warbler.
46. Dendroeca discolor, Baird — Prairie warbler.
47. Dendroeca dominica, Baird — Yellow-throated warbler.
48. Seiurus aurocafillus, Swain — Golden-crowned wagtail.
49. (*) Seiurus noveboracensis, Nutt — New York water wagtail.
56. Seiurus ludovicianus, Baird — ^Long-billed water thrush ; rare.
51. (*) Geothlyfis trichas. Cab — Maryland yellow-throat.
52. Geothlyfis -Philadelphia, Baird — Mourning warbler.
53. OporornisJ'orniosus,^2avA — Kentucky warbler; common.
54. Myiodioctes pusillus, Bonap — Green black-capped warbler.
55. Myiodioctes canadensis, Cab — Canada warbler.
56. Setophaga ruticilla, Swain — Red start; abundant.
57. Icteria virens, Baird— Yellow-breasted chat.
TANAGRID^— Tanagers .
58. (*) Pyranga rubra, Vieill — Scarlet tanager; a gaudy foreigner.
59. Pyranga aestiva, Vieill — Summer red-bird.
HIRUNDINID^— Swallows-
60. Hirundo horreorum, Barton — Barn swallow.
61. Petrochelidon lunifrons, Sclater — Cliff swallow.
62. Tachycineta bicolor. Cab — White-bellied swallow ; very rare.
63. Prague -pur-purea, Boie — Purple martin.
64. Cotyle riparia, Boie — Bank swallow, sand martin; abundant.
65. ( ?) Stilgidopteryx serripennis, Baird — Rough-winged sand martin.
AMPELIDiE- Wax- WINGS.
16^ Ampelis cedrorum, Gray^ — Cedar bird wax-wing; common.
67. Amfehis garrulus, Linn — Northern wax-wing.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 345
VIREONID^— ViREos.
68. Vtreo gilvus, Bonap — Warbling vireo ; common.
69. Vtreo solitarius, Baird — Solitary vireo.
70. Vireo noveboracensis, Bonap — White-eyed vireo.
71. Vireo bellii, Audubon — Bell's vireo.
72. Vireo olivaceus, Bonap — -Red-eyed vireo.
73. (.'') Vireo fhiladel-phicus, Cass — Brotherly-love vireo; raree very-
where.
74. ( .^) Vireo jlavifrons, Baird — Yellow-throated vireo.
LANIID^— Shkikes.
75. Collurio borealis, Baird — Northern shrike ; butcher bird ; abundaot.
76. Collurio excubitorides, Coues — White-rumped shrike.
AL AUDI DiE— Larks.
77. Eremophila alfestris, Boie — Horned lark; very common.
FRINGILLID^— Sparrows.
78. {f^Hes-peri-phona vesiierttna, Bonap — Evening grosbeak.
79. Pinicola enucleator. Cab — Pine grosbeak; an occasional winter
visitant.
80. Carfodacus -purpureus. Gray — Purple finch.
81. Chrysomitris tristis, Cab — Yellow bird gold finch; a delicate bird.
82. Chrysomitris pinus, Bonap — Pine finch.
83. Curvirostra americana, Wilson — Red crossbill.
84. Curvirostra leucoptera, Wilson — White-winged crossbill.
85. Aegiothus linariq, Cab — Red poll linnet ; common; winter.
86. Plectrophanes nivalis, Meyer — Snow bunting; common.
87. Plectrophanes lapponicus, Kaup — Lapland bunting ; in winter only.
88. Plectrophanes pictus. Cab — Painted bunting; in winter only.
89. Plectrophanes ornatus, Temm — Black-bellied long spur; common.
90. Centronyx bairdii, Baird — Baird's sparrow.
91. Passerculus savanna, Bonap —Savanna sparrow.
92. Pooectes gramineus, Baird — Grass finch ; abundant ; shy.
93. Coturnicultis passerinus, Bonap — Yellow-winged sparrow.
94. Coturniculus henslowii, Bonap — Henslow's sparrow.
95. Melospiza melodia, Baird — 'Song sparrow.
96. Melospiza lincolnii, Baird — Lincoln's sparrow.
97. Melospiza palustris, Baird — Swamp sparrow.
98. Junco hyemalis, Sclat — Snow bird; very familiar and common.
99. Spizella monticola, Baird — Tree sparrow.
100. Spizella pussilla, Bonap — Field sparrow.
101. Spizella pallida, Bonap — Western field sparrow; abundant.
102. Spizella socialis, Bonap — Chipping sparrow.
103. Zonotrichia leucophrys, Swain — White-crowned Sparrow.
346 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
104. Zonotrichia albicollis, Bonap— White-throated sparrow.
105. Zouotrichia querula, Gamb — Harris' sparrow.
106. Zonotrichia intermedia, Ridgway — Ridgway's sparrow.
107. Chondestes grammaca, Bonap^Lark sparrow ; a wary bird.
108. Passerella iliaca, Swain — Fox-colored sparrow.
109. Eusfiza americana, Bonap —Black .throated bunting.
110. Goniafhea ludoviciana, Cab — Rose-breasted grosbeak.
111. Goniafhea ccerulea, Swain — Blue Grosbeak.
112. Cyanoi-piza cyanea, Baird — Indigo bird; a welcome visitant.
113. Cardinalis vtrs^inianus, Bonap — Cardinal bird.
114. Pifilo erythrofhthalmus, Vieill — Chewink.
115. (.'') Pipilo maculatus var arcticus, Coues-Arctic spotted towhee;
rare.
ICTERIDiE — Blackbirds avd Okioles.
116. Doltchonyx oryzivorus^^^NdSn — 'QcAioXva^; not rare.
117. Molothrus fecorus,Swa\n — Cow blackbird.
118. AgeloRus -phoenicus, Vieill — Red-winged blackbird; a noisy fellow.
119. Xanthocephalus icterocefhalus, Baird — Yellow-headed blackbird.
120. Sturnella magna, Swain — Meadow lark ; a cheerful songster.
121. Icterus sfurius, Bonap — Orchard oriole; not common, very bril-
liant.
122. Icterus baltimore, Daud — Baltimore oriole ; hang nest.
123. {?) Icterus bullockii, Bonap — Bullock's oriole.
124. Scoleop/iagus /errugineus, Swain — Rusty grackle.
125. Scoleofhagus cyanoce-phalus. Cab — Blue-headed grackle.
126. ^iscalus furfureus,, lAchX. — Crow blackbird; everybody knows
him!
CORVID^— Crows and Jatb.
127. Corvus corax, Linn — Raven; not common.
128. Corvus americanus, Aud — Crow; acts like some men.
129. Pica hudsonica, Bonap — Magpie.
130. Cyanurus cristatus, Swain — Blue jay ; brilliant and saucy. See
note to this species.
TYRANNIDiE— Tyrant Flycatchers-
131. Tyrannus carolincnsis, Temm — King bird; abundant, saucy.
132. Tyrannus verticalis,Say— Kvk.ansas flycatcher.
133. Myiarchus crinitus, Cab — ^Great-crested flycatcher.
134. Sayornts fuscus, Baird — Bridge pewee; rare.
135. Contofus borealis, Baird — Olive sided pewee; common.
136. (.?) Contapus virens. Cab— Wood pewee.
137. Empidonax jlaviventris, Baird — Yellow-bellied flycatcher; com-
mon.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 347
138. Emfidonax trailUi, Baird— Traill's flycatcher.
139. Emfidonax minimus, Baird — -Least flycatcher.
140. (.?) Emfidonax acadicus, Baird — Acadian fljxatcher.
CAPRIMULGID^— GOATSDOKEBS.
141. Antrostomus vociferus, Bonap — Whipporwill ; a night songster.
142. -4m/^05^ciw«5 wM^te//«V, Cass — Nuttall's whipporwill; rare.
143. Chordeiles virginianus, Bonap — Night-hawk, bull-bat, pisk ; abun-
dant.
CYPSELID^— Swifts.
144. Choetura felagica,^a\rd Chimney swift; abundant.
TROCHILID^— Humming Birds.
145. 7Vo(;^«7«5 co&i^m, Linn— Humming-bird; the only species.
ALCEDINI^— Kingfishers.
146. Ceryle alcyon, Boie — Kingfisher; an interesting bird.
CUCULID^— C0CKOOS.
147. Coccygus ergtharofhtlmhnus, Bonap-Black-billed cuckoo [ *^^'"<i
148. Coccyg us americanus, Bonap —Yellow-billed cuckoos. ( ®f P'
PICID^— WOODPKCKBBS
149. Picus villosus, Linn — Hairy woodpeeker.
150. Picus -pudescens, Linn — -Downy woodpecker.
151. S-phyraficus varius, BsiivA — Yellow flicker ; very common.
152. Hylotomus pileatus, Baird — Pileated woodpecker.
153. Centurus carolinus, Bonap — Red-bellied woodpecker; abundant
in winter.
154. Melanerfes erythrocefhalus, Swain — Red-headed woodpecker;
abundant.
\hhColaftes auratus, Swain — Golden-winged woodpecker; often con-
founded with 151.
ARID.iE — Parroquets.
156. ' Conurus carolinensis, Kuhl — Carolina parroquet.
STRIGID^— Owls.
156. Strix Jlammea, Schl. — Barn owl; common.
157. Bubo virginianus, Bonap — Great horned owl; common.
158. Scofs asio, Bonap — Screech owl; noisy and familiar.
159. Otus vulgaris, Flam. — Long-eared owl; a visitor.
160. Brackyoius -palustris, Bom.^ — Short-eared owl; rare.
(]) A residentof Decatur county told me that he had several times seen a flock of parrots
in the southern part of the county, on a tall, dead cottonwood tree, known to the neigh-
boring people as the " parrot-tree " from its having Ijeen frequented at intervals by the
same flock for several years. — Trippe. Old residents state that it once was common here,
and it is now occasionally seen. It is not known to nest in this county.
348 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
161. Syrnium nebulosum, Boie — Barred owl; common.
162. ( ?)Syrnium cinereum, Aud — Great gray owl.
163. Nyctea scandiacca, Newt — A wanderer in this county.
164. (^f)Nyctale albt/rons, Cassin — Kirkland's owl;, very doubtful.
FALCONIDJi;— Hawks.
165. Falco communis, Gmelin — Duck hawk.
166. Falco columbarius, Linn — Pigeon hawk; abundant.
167. Falco richardsonii, Ridgw — American merlin.
168. Falco s-parverius, Linn — Sparrow hawk.
169. {?')Astur atricafillus, Bonap — Gos-hawk.
170. Acciptter yuscus, Bonap — Sharp-shinned hawk ; rare?
171. Acci-piter cooferii. Gray — Chicken hawk: common.
172. Buteo borealis, Vieill — Red-tailed hawk.
173. Buteo lineatus, Jardine — Red-shouldered hawk.
174. ( .'') Buteo pennsylvanicus, Bonap — Broad-winged hawk.
175. Archibuteo lagofus, Gray — Rough-legged hawk.
176. JVauclerus furcatus. Vigors — Swallow-tailed hawk.
177. Circus hudsonius, YieSi — Marsh hawk; common.
178. {?')Aquila chrysaetos, Linn — Golden eagle; perhaps occasional.
179. . HalicBtus leucocephalus. Say — White-headed eagle.
180. Pandion halicBtus, Cuv — Osprey; fish-hawk; common on the
Missouri.
CATHARTID^— Vultures.
181. Cathartes aura, Illiger — Turkey buzzard.
COLUMBID^— Pigeons.
182. Ectopistes migratoria, Swain — Wild pigeon.
183. Zenoedura carolinensis, Bonap — Carolina dove.
TETRAONID^— Grouse.
184. Pediocoetes phasinellus, Linn — Sharp-tailed grouse.
185. Cupidonia cupido. Bair A — ^Prairie hen; hardly common."
186. Bonasa umbellus, Steph. — Ruffed grouse; common.
PERDICID^— Partridges.
187. Ortyx virginianus, Bonap — Quail, bob-white ; a cheerful little
fellow, becoming scarce.
MELEAGRID^— Turkeys.
188. Meleagris gallopavo,!^^^ — Wild turkey; occasionally.
CI-IARADRIID^— Plovers.
189. Ckai adrius virginicus, Bork — Golden plover.
190. j^gialitis vocifera, Bork — Kildee plover.
(3) This species is still subjected to wanton destruction notwithstanding tlie legislation in
its behalf.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 34^
191. yEgialitis meloda, Cab — Piping plover; a monotonous songster.
192. ^gialitis semipalmata. Cab — Ring plover.
193. Sguatarola helvetica, Brehm — Black-bellied plover.
RECURVIROSTRID^— AvocETS.
194. Hecurvirostra a?nericana, (Jivn.&\m — Avocet; awkward.
195. Himantofus nigricollis, Vieill — Black-necked stilt.
PHALAROPODID^.
196. Steganofus wilsonii, Coues — Wilson's Phalarope; common.
197. {?) Lobifeshyferboreus, Cuv — Northern Phalarope.
198. Phalaraptisfulicarius, Bonap — Red Phalarope.
SCOLOPACIDiE— Snipes and Sandpipers.
199. Philohela minor, Grdij — Woodcock; fine game bird.
200. Gallinago wilsonii, Bonap — Wilson's snipe.
201. Macrorham^hus griseus. Leach — Red-breasted snipe.
202. Tringa canutus, Linn — Robin-snipe.
203. Tringaminuiilla, Vieill— L,e3LSt sandpiper; common.
204. (.^) Tringa bairdii, Coues — Baird's sandpiper.
20^. Tringa maculata, Vieill— Jack snipe ; abundant.
206. * Tringa americana, Cass — American Dunlin.
207. Ereunetes -pusillus, Czs,% — Semi-palmated sandpiper; rare.
208. (.'') Microfalatna himantofus, Baird — ^Stilt sand-piper.
209. Tetanus semi-fahnatus, Temm — Willit.
210. Tetanus melanoleucus, Vieill — Tell-tale, tattler; noisy.
211. Tetanus jlavifes, Vieill — Lesser yellow shanks.
212. * Totanus solitarius, Aud — Wood-tattler ; well named.
213. Tringoides maculatus. Gray — Spotted sand-piper.
214. Limosajedoa, Ord — Marbled Godwit; common.
215. JLimosa hudsenica, Swain — Hudsonian Godwit.
216. Numenius longirostris, Wilson — Long-billed curlew.
217. JV^menius hudsonica, Lathrop— Hudsonian curlew.
218. (?) Numenius borealis. Lath — Esquimaux curlew. Extremely
doubtful.
219. Tryngites rufescens. Cab — BufF-crested sand-piper.
TANTALIDjE— Ibises.
220. Tantalus loceulator,\Jam—^ood'^is. Common.
ARDE [D^— Herons.
521. Ardea herodias, Linn — Great blue heron.
222. (?) Ardea egretta, Gray, — Great white heron.
228. Ardea virescens, Linn— Green heron, poke.
224. Nycteardea grisea, Allen — Night heron. Now a rare bird.
225. Botaurus miner, Boie — American bittern.
226. Ardetta exilis, Gray — Little bittern. Common.
350 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
GRUID^— Ckanks.
227. Grus canadensis, Temm — Sand-hill crane. Abundant further
north.
228. Grus americana, Temm — White crane. Not common.
RALLID^— Rails.
229. ; ?) Rallus elegans, Aud — Marsh hen.
230. Rallus virginanus, Linn — Virginia Rail.
231. Porzana Carolina, Viell — Carolina rail.
332. Eulic.a americana, Gm^va. — Coot. Common.
233. (?) Galinula galeata, Bonap — Florida gallinule.
234 Gallinula martinica, Lath— Purple gillinule.
AKATID^— Ducks*
235. Cgynus americana. Sharp — American Swan.
236. Cygmis buccinator. Rich — Trumpeter.
237. Anser hyperboreus, Pallas — Snowy goose.
238. Branta canadensis. Gray — Canada goose.
239. Branta bernicla. Scop — Black brant.
240. Anas boschas^vcm. — Mallard.
241. Anas obscura, Gmelin — Dusky duck.
242. S^uerquedula discors, Stephens — Blue-winged teal.
243. ^uerquedula carolinensis, Stephens — Green-winged teal.
244. Spatula clypeata, Boie — Shoveler.
245. Chaulelasmus stre-perus. Gray — Gadwall.
246. Mareca americana, Stephens — Baldpate.
247. Aix sponsa, Boie — Wood duck.
248. Fuligula marila, Steph — Blue-bill, shuffler; abundant.
249. Fuhgulaaffinis, Eyton — Broad-bill; little. black-head.
250. Fuligula collaris, Bonap — Ring-necked duck.
251. Fuligula ferina, var. americana, Coues — Red-head.
252. Fuligula vallisnera, Steph — Canvas-back duck; not qpmmon.
253. Bucephala clangula, Coues — Golden eye. Rare\
254. Bucephala albeola, Baird — Butter ball.
255. Histrionicus torquatus, Bonap — Harlequin duck.
256. Erismatura rubida, Bonap — Ruddy duck.
257. Mergus merganser, Linn — Sheldrake.
258. Mergus serrator, Linn — Red-breasted merganser; common.
359. Mergus cucullatus, Linn — Hooded merganser.
PELECANID^— Pelicans.
260. Pelecanus trachyrhynchus. Lath — White pelican; occasional.
GRACULID^— CoEMOBANTS.
261. Gracrdus dilophus, Gray — Double-crested Cormorant.
*The ducks are fairly common, some species being abundant. Since they are, for tlie
most migratory, they are found in greatest numbers during the spring and fall.
Mostly birds
of passage.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTV. 351
LAEID^— Gtills nd Tbkns.
262. ( ?) Larus martnus, Lin — Black-backed Gull. 'i
263. Larus delawarensis, Ord — Ring-billed Gull. I
264. {}})Larus frankHni, Rich — Franklin's rosy Gull.
265. Gelochehdon anglica, Mont — Marsh Tern.
266. Sterna hirundo, Linn — Wilson's Tern.
267. Sterna atitillarum, Coues — Least Tern.
268. Hydrochelidon lariformis, Coues — Black Tern.
COLYMBID^— Loons and Grbbes.
269. Colymbus torqtiatus, Brunn — Loon ; a good diver !
270. Colymbus seftentrionalis, Linn — Red-throated Loon.
271. Podice-ps holbollii, Reinh — Red-necked Grebe.
272. Podiceps cornutus, 'Lz.ih. — Horned Grebe; common.
273. Podicefs cristatus, Lath^ — Crested Grebe; abundant.
274. Podilymbus fodicefs, Lawr — Carolina Grebe. Dabchick.
It will be observed from the above list that two hundred and seventy-
four different and distinctly defined species of birds occur in this county,
which are distributed among forty-five families and one hundred and sixty-
eight genera. The presence of so large a number — a certain per centum
of which are migratory, and though sometimes tarrying, are not, properly
speaking, residents of the county — is to be attributed to the extensive
wooded sections on its w^estern side, and to the fact that the valley of the
Missouri acts as a great highway along which many birds migrate to or
from high latitudes.
It would have been a matter of deep interest, and perhaps of abiding
value, to have introduced short notes illustrative of the habits and homes
of many species. The limits of a work of this nature will permit only a
brief extract or two from the highest living authorities on American birds,
which, it is hoped, may serve to interest some of the residents of this
county in the study of their wonderful and beautiful avi-fauna. In the fol-
lowing notes the figures refer to the numbers of the preceding list:
No. 16. — "I was walking in a narrow path through a hummock, which
lies back of the old fort at Miami, Florida, and had paused to observe a
female of this species, when I heard a low warbling which sounded like
the distant songs of some bird I had never heard. I listened attentively,^
but could make nothing of it, and advanced a few paces, when I heard it
more plainly. This time it appeared to come from above me, and looking
upward, I saw a male gnat-catcher hopping nimbly from limb to limb on
some small trees which skirted the woods. Although he was but a short
distance away, I was obliged to watch the motion of his little throat before
I became convinced that this music came from him. It was even so, and
nothing could be more appropriate to the delfcate marking and size of the
liny, fairy-like bird than the silvery warble which filled the air with sweet
362 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
continuous melody. I was completely surprised, for I never imagined
that any bird was capable of producing notes so soft and low, yet each
one was given with such distinctness that the ear could catch every part
of the wondrous and complicated song. I watched him for some time,
but he never ceased singing, save when he sprang into the air to catch
some passing insect. The female seemed to enjoy the musical efforts that
■^ere accomplished for her benefit, for she drew gradually nearer, until
she alighted upon the same tree with her mate. At this moment she took
alarm and flew a short distance, followed by her mate. As I walked
away I could hear the murmur of the love-song till it became indistin-
guishable from the gentle rustling of the leaves around." — Maynard.
No. 46. — "The pretty httle prairie warble was one of my earliest bird
acquaintances, and one I have always been fond of, on this and other
accounts. When we were shooting birds pretty much all the time we
could find, or "make," in spite of the college dons, in our early home at
Washington, Dr. Prentiss and I knew just where to look for it, and it did
not take long to get a few of the delicate birds, in their season. We were
generally back in time for recitation, and even if that performance went
lame in consequence, it did not seem much matter comparatively. The
inflection of the prairie warbler's notes was a much more agreeable theme
than that of a Greek verb, and I am still uncertain- whether it was not
quite as profitable. There was a little glade just by the college, border-
ing Rock Creek, closed in by high woods — a sloping, sandy field, run
waste with scattered cedars — where we could be sure of finding the war-
blers any day, from the 20th of April, for two or three weeks. Ten to
one we would not see the little creatures at first ; but presently, from the
very nearest juniper, would come the well-known sounds. A curious
song, if song it can be called — as much like a mouse complaining of the
tooth-ache as anything else I can liken it to — it is simply indescribable.,
Then perhaps the quaint performer would dart out into the air, turn a
somersault after a passing midge, get right side up, and into the shruh-
berj' again jin an instant; or if we kept still, with wide-open eyes, we
would see him perched on a spray, settling firmly on his legs, with his
beak straight up in the air, the throat swelling, and hear the curious
music again. After that would come the inevitable tragedy — for tragedy
it is, and I cannot, after picking up warm bloody little birds for years,
make anything else out of it, or learn to look on it with indifference."—
Coues.
No. 48. — "Speaking of music, and while I have a favorite author in
hand, let me reproduce another passage — not alone for its truth and
beauty, but because it tells something few know — something about the
voice of the golden-crowned thrush that I never knew myself till I found
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 353
it here, familiar as I thought I was with that pretty and dainty bird:
'Coming to a dryer and less mossy place in the woods, I am amused
with the golden-crowned thrush, which, however, is no thrush at all, but
a warbler, (the Seirus aurocafillus). He walks on the ground ahead of
me with such an easy, gliding motion, and with such»an unconscious, pre-
occupied air, jerking his head like a hen or partridge, now hurrying, now
slackening his pace, that I pause to observe him. If I 3it down, he pauses
to observe me, and extends his pretty ramblings on all sides, apparently
very much engrossed with his own affairs, but never losing sight of me.
Satisfied that I have no hostile intentions, the pretty pedestrian mounts a
limb a few feet from the ground, and gives me the benefit of one of his
musical performances, a sort of accelerating chant, commencing in a very
low key, which makes him seem at a very uncertain distance, he grows
louder and louder, until his body quakes and his chant runs into a shriek,
ringing in my ears with a peculiar sharpness. This lay maj' be repre-
sented thus: 'Teacher, ^mg/^er, TEACHER, TEACHER!'— the accent on
the first syllable, and each word uttered with increased force and shrillness.
No writer with whom I am acquainted gives him credit for more musical
ability than is displayed in this strain ; yet in this the half is not told. He
has a far rarer song, which he reserves for some nymph whom he meets in
the air. Mounting by easy flights to the top of the tallest tree, he launches
into the air with a sort of suspended, hovering flight,, like certain of the
finches, and bursts into a perfect ecstacy of song — ^clear, ringing, copious,
rivaling the gold finches in vivacity, and the linnets in melody. This
strain is one of the rarest fits of bird melody to be heard. Over the
woods, hid from view, the ecstatic singer warbles his finest strains. In the
song you instantly detect his relationship to the water-wagtail {Scuirus
noveboracensis) — erroneously called water-thrush — whose song is likewise
a sudden burst, full and ringing, and with a tone of youthful joyousness
in it, as if the bird had just had some unexpected good fortune. For nearly
two years this strain of the pretty walker was little more than a disem-
bodied voice to me, and I was puzzled by it as Thoreau was by his mys-
terious night warbler, which, by the way, I suspect was no new bird at
all, but one he was otherwise familiar with. The little bird himself . seems
disposed to keep the matter a secret, and improves every opportunity to
repeat before you his shrill, accelerating lay, as if this were quite enough,
and all he laid claim to. Still, I trust I am betraying no confidence in
making the matter public here. I think this is pre-eminently his love-
song, as I hear it oftenest about the mating season. I have caught half-
suppressed strains of it from two males chasing each other with fearful
speed through the forest." — Quoted by Coues.
No. 75. " In this manner he has more resemblance to the pies than to
3
Mi HISTORY OF MILLS CO^JNTY.
to. birds of prey, particularly in the habit of carrying off his; surplus ismi:,
as if to hoard it for future emergencies; with this difference, that crowcs,
jays, magpies, etc., conceal theirs at random, in holes anxi crevices, where,
gerha.ps, it is forgotten or never found again.;, while the butcher bird
sticks- his on thorns ^d bushes,, where it shrivels in the sun,., and sooit
becomes equally useless to the hoarder. Both- retain the same habits in:
confinement, whatever the food may be that, is presented to them. This
habit of the shrike, of seizing and impaling grasshoppersi and other
insects on thorns, has given rise to the opinion that he: places their eau-
casses there by way of bait, to allure small birds to themi,. while he himn
self lies in ambush to surprise and destroy them. In, this, however,, they
appear to allow him a greater portion of reason and contrivance,, than he
seems entitled to, or than other circumstances will, altogether warrant; fou
we find that he not only serves grasshoppers ini this manner, but even
small birds themselves, as those have assured me who have kept them in:
cages in this country, and amused themselves with their maneuvers. If
so, we might as well suppose the farmer to be inviting crows tO' his com;
when he hangs up their carcasses around it, as- the butcher birdi to be
decoying small birds* by a display of the dead bodies of their com-
rades!"— Wilson.
- N. 116. " The entire change of plumage which the male of this species
undergoes twice a year is none the less interesting because it is so w«iii
known a fact in its economy. When the bird reaches the middle districtsv
which is usually not until May, the males, as a rule, are already in nearly
perfect breeding attire,, but in the vast majority of instances still show
touches of yellowish on the belly and legSi At this period: they are very
conspicuous,, associated in flocks sometimes great in extent, moving rest-
lessly about the meadows and orchards, overflowing with glad music;
Their numbers seem out of all proportion to that of. the females,, butthat
is probably due to the silent and more retiring ways of the latter sex. Tkey
really pass through, in the vernal migration, quite rapidly,, though they da
not appear to be all in a hurry, as we: see them day by day.. Ttey
throw themselves in a field, scatter on the ground, feeding, and at the
slightest alarm, or in mere wantoness, suddenly fly en masse to the near-
est tree, fence,, or bush, and begin to sing, producing an indescribable medl-
ley, hushed in an instant, only to be resumed; Sometimes they sin^ as
merrily, though with less concerted action, while they are rambling in ths
grass. Their day-time leisure for song and food is easily explained; for
they migrate at this season, almost entirely by night. Every nighl in
*This passage of Wilson's, written in 1808, must now be considerably modified in- tie
light of advanced knowledge. None better than farmers know the habits and manners of
the butcher bird, and whether the parallel instituted by Wilson is a true one each) will
. decide for himself.
HISTORY or MILES COUNTY. 355
early May as we walk the streets, we' can' hear tlie mellow metallic clmk-
ing cominfT down through the darkness, from birds passing high over-
head and sounding clearer in the stillness. By the middle of May they
have all passed; a few, it is stated, linger tO' breed south of New England,
but the main body passes on, spreading over that portion^ of the Union
and the neighboring British provinces, occupying in pairs- almost every
meadow. The change of plumage with the finishing of the duties of
reproduction is rapid and complete before the return movement is^ made,
ajlthough this takes place in August. As far north at least as Maryland,
I never saw or heard of a decidedly black individual, among the millions
that repass the state late in the summer and during September. The
males are, indeed, distinguishable by their superior size and a sort of dif-
ftiseness of tawny coloration, not quite like the cleaner and lighter pat-
tern of the females, aside from the black traces that frequently persist;
But the difference is not great. They are now songless — who ever heard
Bobolink music in the fall? — they have a comfortable, self'-satisfied chink.
Befitting such fat and abandoned gourmands as they are, thronging in
countlfess hoards the wild rice tracts and the grainfields.,loafing and invit-
ing their souls. So they go until the first cold snap, that sends them into
winter quarters at once= — chiefly in the West Indies, but also much further
south. They have successively filled the role of bobolink, reed-bird, rice-
Biird and butter-bird. As soon as the season relaxes once more, in March,
tftey will re-enter the United States and do it all over again." — Coioes.
No. 117. "It does not appear that the cow-bird ever attempts to take
forcible possesion of a nest. She watches her chance while the owners
are away, slips in by stealth and leaves the evidence of her unfriendly
visit to be discovered on their return, in the shape of the ominous ^%^.
The parents hold anxious consultation in this emergency', as their sorrow-
ful cries and disturbed actions plainly indicate. If their nest was empty
before, they generally desert it, and their courage in giving up a cozy
Rome results in one cow-bird the less. Sometimes, even after there is an
«gg of their own in the nest, they have nerve enough to let it go, rather
Dhan assume the hateful task of incubating- the strange one. But if the
femalte has already laid one or two eggs, the pair generally settle into the
reluctant conviction that there is no help for it; they quiet down after a
while and things go on as if nothing had happened. Not always, how-
ever, will'they diesert even an empty nest; some birds have discovered a
way out of the difficulty — it is the most ingenious device imaginable, and
the more we think about it the more astonishing it seems. They build a
two-story nest, leaving the obnoxious &^g in the basement. I want no
Better proof that birds possess a fkculty indistinguishable, so far as it goes,
from human reason; and' such a case as this bears impressively upon the
356 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
general question of the difference between reason and that faculty we
designate by the vague and misleading term "instinct." The evidence
has accumulated till it has become conclusive, that the difference is one of
degree, not of kind — that instinct is a lower order of reason — the arrest
in brutes, at a certain stage, of a faculty reaching higher development in
man. Instinct, in the ill-considered current sense of the term, could never
lead a summer yellow-bird up to building a two-story nest to let a cow-
bird's eggs addle below. Snch 'instinct' is merely force of habit, inher-
ited or acquired — a sum of tendencies operating unknowingly and uni-
formly upon the same recurring circumstances, devoid of conscious
design, lacking recognized precision, totally inadequate to the require-
ments of the first special emergency. What bird, possessed of only such
a faculty as this, could build a two-story nest to get rid of an objectionable
deposit in the original single-story fabric? It argues as intelligent a design
as was ever indicated in the erection of a building by a human being. ^N6
question of inherited tendency enters here; and if it did, the issue would
be only set back a step no nearer determination, for there must have been
an original double nest, the result of an original idea. Nor is this won-
derful forethought very rarely exhibited; considering what proportion the
double nests discovered bear to the ordinary ones brought to our notice,
among the millions annually constructed, we can easily believe that the
ingenious device is in fact a frequent resort of the birds plagued by the
cow-bunting. And how can we sufficiently admire the perseverance and
energy of a bird which, having once safely shut up the terrible egg in her
cellar, and then having found another one violating her premises, forth-
with built a third story ? She deserved better of fate than that her house
should at last be despoiled by a naturalist. This was a summer yellow-
bird, to whom the price of passing thus into history must have seemed
hard." — Coues.
No. 130. — "All jays make their share of noise in the world, they fret
and scold about trifles, quarrel over anything, and keep everything in a
foment when they are about. The particular kind we are now talking
about is nowise behind his fellows in these respects — a stranger to mod-
esty and forbearance, and the many gentle qualities that charm us in some
little birds and endear them to us ; he is a regular filibuster, ready for any
sort of adventure that promises sport or spoil, even if spiced with danger.
Sometimes he prowls about alone, but oftener has a band of choice spirits
with him, who keep each other in countenance, (for our jay is a coward at
heart, like other bullies), and share the plunder on the usual terms in such
cases, of each one taking all he can get. Once I had a chance of seeing
a band of these guerrillas on a raid ; they went at it in good style, but
came off very badly indeed. A vagabond troop made a descent upon a
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 357
bush clump, where, probably, they expected to find eggs to suck, or at
any rate a chance for mischief and amusement. To their intense joy,
they surpi-ised a little owl quietly digesting his grasshoppers, with both
eyes shut. Here was a lark! and a chance to wipe out a part of the score
that the jays keep against the owls for injuries received, time out of mind.
In the tumult that ensued, the little birds scurried off, the woodpeckers
overhead stopped tapping to look on, and a snake that was basking in a
sunny spot concluded to crawl into his hole. The jays lunged furiously
at their enemy, who sat helpless; bewildered by the sudden onslaught,
trying to look as big as possible, with his wings set for bucklers and his
bill snapping; meanwhile twisting his head till I thought he would wring
it ofi, trying to look all ways at once. The jays, emboldened by par-
tial success, grew more impudent, till their victim made a break through
their ranks and flapped into the heart of a neighboring juniper, hoping to
be protected by the tough, thick foliage. The jays went trooping after,
and I hardly know how the fight would have ended had I not thought it
time to take a hand in the game mj'self . I secured the owl first, it being
the interesting Pygmy Owl, {Glaucidium), and then shot four of the jays
before they made up their minds to be off. The collecter has no better
chance to enrich his cabinet than when the birds are quarreling, and so it
has been with the third party in a difficulty, ever since the monkey divided
cheese for the two cats." — Coues.
No. 226. — "Mudie speaks as follows of the European bittern's voice:
'Anon a burst of savage laughter breaks upon you, gratingly loud, and
so unwonted and odd that it sounds as if the voices of a bull and a horse
were combined ; the former breaking down his bellow to suit the neigh of
the latter, in mocking you from the sky;' ' when the bittern booms and
bleats overhead, one certainly fegls as if the earth were shaking.' < * *
* Chaucer speaks as follows in The Wife of Bath's Tale :
'And as a bitore bumbleth in tbe mire,
She laid hire mooth into the water doun,
Bewray me not, thou water, with they soun',
Quod she. to the I tell it, and no mo,
Min husband hath long asses eras two.'
Another notion was that the bill was put inside a reed to increase the
sound; the truth is, of course, that the bird uses no means to produce its
bellow but its own organs of voice. Our own bittern has no rude roar,
but, as its name in most parts of the country denotes, makes a noise very
much like driving a stake with an axe. It has also a hollow croak at the
moment of alarm." — Endicott.
No. 232 — " In the southwest, where the coots are apparently resident,
I frequently observed them, and they are probably more abundant than
358 HISTORY OF MIL-LS COUNTY..
one might suppose, for like their allies, the rails, they are 'naturally rnuclj
withdrawn from general observation bydheir habits, and .by the intricate
character of their resorts. While steaming alopiig .the Colorado river .in
September, coots 'frequently appeared for a moment in places where the
banks were fringed with reeds; to croak a note at sight of the boat, and
then paddle out of sight again. The most satisfactory observations -I ever
made upon them was at a point on the Mojave river in California, where
the stream became a broken chain of reedy lagoon, alternating with half-
submerged tracks of oozy marsh, grown up to short crisp grass. Therf
were great numbers of ducks here in October, along with hutchins and
snow geese, herons and a variety of small waders. While wading abautj
waist-deep, in default of any more elegant or less fatiguing method of
duck shooting, I continually -heard the gabbling of the coots among the
rushes, where they were disporting in flocks of a dozen or more, aad
noisy enough to be quite troublesome, since I was in urgent need of more
desirable game for the table. But with all their clamor and apparent
heedlessness they were shy birds, and it was only iby strategem that after
receiving all the wildfowl I desired, I go an opportunity of watching them
at my leisure. Standing motionless just within the edge of a clump flif
reeds bordering an open space, and perfectly concealed, I could see .the
birds, after what appeared to be a council as to the expediency of -their
proposed move, come out of the rushes on the other side, examining
silently .at first and glancing steadily around to make suretbe coast was
clear before commencing their gambols. They swam with ease aiad
grace; the head now drawn back and held back upright over their plum|)
bodies, that floated lightly and changed their course at a movement .of
their broad paddles, now stretched out to iull length as the birds .huruied
about, throwing off the ripples from their half-submei;ged breast^ .cross-
ing and re-crossing each others path in wanton sport, or attracted by same
delicacy floating at a little distance; they, were a gay and careless a crew
as one could wish to see, yet not altogether given to sport, for on the
slightest movement on m}' part their suspicions were aroused, and off
they scurried into the inpenetrable masses of vegetation that effectually
hid them from view and precluded pursuit." — Coues.
No. 247. — " No sooner has the female completed her set of eggs than
she is abandoned by her mate, who now joins others, which form 'them-
selves into considerable flocks, and thus remain apart till the young are
able to fly, when old and young of both sexes come 'together, and so
remain until the commencing of the next breeding season. In all the
nests I have examined I have been rather surprised to find a quantity of
feathers belonging to- birds of other species, even those of the domesfic
fowls and particularly those of the wild grouse and wild turkey, on com-
.HISTORY ©F MILLS COUNTY. 3S9
ing on a nest with Kggs covered over with feathers and down, lalthongh
quite out of sight, in the depth of a woodpecker's or squirrel's hole. On
the contrary, when -the nest was plajced on the broken branch of a tree, it
could easily be observed from the ground, on account of the feathers, dead
sticks and withered grass about it; if the nest^is placed immediately over
the water, the young, the mom.ent they are hatched, scramble to the
mouth of the hole, launch into the air with their little wings and feet
spread out, and drop into their favorite element; but whenever their
birth-place is some distance irom it, the mother carries them to it one by
one in her bill, holding them so as not to injure their yet tender frame.
On several occasions, however, when the hole was twenty, thirty or more
yards from a bayou or other .piece of water, I observed that the mother
suffered the young to fall on the grass and dried leaves beneath the tree,
and afterward led them directly to the nearest edge of the next pool or
creek. At this early age the young answer to their parent 's calls with a
mellow pee, pee pee-e, often and rapidly repeated. The call of the mother
at such time is low, soft and prolonged, resembling the skylarks' pe-ee,
fe-ee. The watch-note of the male,. which resembles hoe ^ek, is never
tittered by the female; indeed, the male himself seldom uses it unless
alarmed by some uncommon sound, or the sight of a distant enemy, .or
wiien intent on calling passing birds of his own specAds."— Audubon.
PLANTS *
WOODY PLANTS AND VINES.
Negundo aceroides, box eilder, common; handsome.
^ercus rubra, red oak, common ; excellent fuel.
^ercus nigra, black oak, abundant; valuable; medicinal; bark .as-
tringent.
^ercus falustris, ^in oak, rare; a course grained variety.
'^uercus castanea, chesnut oak, fairly common.
.^ercus macrocarj>a, burr oak, very common.
* It is manifestly impossible to preseat the reader with anything like a complete list of
the county^ iflantfi, since their nomenclature alone would require a volume of greater pro-
portions than this. Three classes only have been given, the arboreous and shrubby— with
a few climbing plants — and the medicinal, the latter including only the most common and
heal known varieties. It is a peculiarity of all science that many forms— small in them-
selves—rejoice in a nomenclature the length of which is altogether disproportionate to
their size. Yet, such is the looseness with which popular names are used that identifica-
tion is simply an impossibility, unless recourse is had to the proper botanical nomencla-
ture— which is a sufficient apology for the introduction of these technical names. — R. E. 0.
360 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
^uercus imbricaria, laurel oak; rare, valuable only for f ueh
^ercus fhellos, ( ?) willow oak ; valuable for fuel.
^ercus tinctoria, yellow bark oak ; very rare ; bark astringent.
Ulmus americus„ white elm, common in bottoms.
Ulmus/ulva, sli'p^ery elm, common; bark medicinal; demulcent.
Ulmus alata, winged elm, doubtful very, more eastern.
Acer rubrum, red maple, rare ; valuable in cabinet work.
Acer dasycar^um, white maple, very common.
Acer saccharinum, hard maple, cultivated ; valuable for sugar and fuel.
Salix tristis, {?) glaucous willow, common.
Salix lucida, shinning willow, very common.
Salix -petiolaris, petioled willow, very common.
Salix nigra, black willow, very rare.
Salix longifolia, long-leaved willow, very common.
Salix Candida, (F) white willow, medicinal; astringent.
Salix humilis, prairie willow, not common.
Pofulus tremuloides, aspen, cultivated.
Pcypulus angulata, water poplar, not common; a large tree.
Pofulus monilifera, cottonwood, abundant; tall and large.
Platanus occidentalism sycamore, common along streams; "the largest
though not the tallest tree in the American forest; conspicuous by its
whiteness.
Tilia amertcana, basswood, linn, common ; large.
Juglans nigra, black walnut, valuable in the arts. .
yuglans cinerea, buternut, rare; medicinal; cathartic.
Carya alba, shell-bark hickory, common; valuable.
Carya glabra, pignut hickory, abundant; fruit bitter.
Carya amara, bitternut, valuable for fuel; common.
Betula nigra, red birch, a stately tree; mild tonic; common.
Fraxinus americana, white ash, common ; valuable.
Fraxinus viridis, green ash, rare.
Fraxinus sambucifolia, black ash, abundant ; valuable for rails.
Liriodendron tuli-pifera, tulip tree, valuable substitute for pine; very
large; bark medicinal; diaphoretic.
Gymnocladus canadensis, coflTee tree, rare ; fruit peculiar.
Glediischia triacanthus, honey locust, not rare; wood heavj'.
Carfinus americana, hornbeam, doubtfully referred to the county.
Alnus incana, black alder, common.
Alnus serrulata, smooth alder, doubtful; rare, if at all.
Cprnusflorida, cornel, abundant; very pretty; bark medicinal; a decided
roborant.
Cornus faniculata, panicled dogwood, common ; flowers white.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 361
Rhus toxicodendron, poison ivy, danpferous; easily recognized.
Rhus glabra, sumac, common; poisonous.
7?^M5 rarf/caws, three-leaved ivy, rare; poisonous.
Robinia ^seudacacia,\oc\xst, fragrant; valuable; common.
Sambucus canadensis, elderberry, iahhf common; edible; medicinal; see
below.
Corylus americana, hazel-nut, very abundant; edible.
S'pircB cBtomentosa, hackberry, common.
Sfircea salicifolia, meadow sweet, very common.
Morus rubra, mulberry, common ; edible.
Ostrya virginica, ironwood, common along bottoms; heavy.
Rhamnus catharticus, perhaps lanceolatus, buckthorn, common; medi-
cinal.
Crataegus totnentosa, blackthorn, common ; very tough.
Crataegus coccinea, whitethorn, abundant.
Craoegus viridis, red haw, everywhere ; a misnomer.
Amelanchier candensis, service berry, common ; edible ; several varie-
ties.
Prunus americana, wild plum, abundant; edible.
Cerasus -pennsylvanica, wild red cherry, common; edible.
Cerasus virginica, choke cherry, abundant ; insipid.
Cerasus serotina, black cherry, common ; edible, but bitter.
Aesculus gl6,bra, buckeye, occasional; fetid.
Asimina triloba, pawpaw, common; edible.
Rosa lucida, wild rose ; everywhere ; pretty.
Rosa setigua, early wild rose, prairies ; beautiful.
Pyrus ioensis, wild crab appple, abundant; fruit useless unless preserved.
Ribes rotundifolium, smooth gooseberry, common ; edible.
Ribes cynosbati, prickly gooseberry, abundant; edible.
Ribes jloridum, wild black currant, common ; fruit insipid.
JLonicera jlava, wild honeysuckle, hillsides, common.
Lonicera grata (.^), American woodbine; elegant, often cultivated.
Amfelo'psis quinquefolia, Virginia creeper, common ; harmless.
Xanthoxylum, americanum, prickly ash, common ; medicinal.
Vitis cordifolia, frost grape, common; edible.
Vitis aestivalis, river bank grape, abundant ; edible.
Ceanothus americanus, Jersey tea; abundant on prairies.
•Ceanothus ovalis, red root, pernicious ; abundant.
Stafhylea trifolia, bladdernut ; rare.
Amorpha canescens, lead plant ; abundant.
Viburnum lentago, black haw; common.
Shefherdia argentea ( f) buffalo berry ; fruit edible, scarlet, acid.
362 HISTORY OF MILLS CQU^TT-Y..
Cercis canadensis, xed hud, common,; .used for .djteing.
Amor-pha fruticosa, false ind^a.
Cephalanthus occidentalism .button ,bush.
Euonymus atro;pur.fiur.eus, wah.oo, .fairly common.
Juuiperus virginiana, cedar.*
Celtis crassifolia, hackberry (?) common.
Celastrus scandens, bittersweet.
Symfhoricarfus vulgaris, common nearly every wliiere ; perhaps two-
species.
Rubus occidcntalis, common.
Rubus villasus, rare, perhaps accidental; root-bark astringent.
Menis^ermum canadensis,, moonseed, iij woods.
Smilax rotundifolia? green briar; common; determination doubtful.
The preceding iist comprises all the trees, shrubs and woody climbing
plants known in the county. The major .part of them may be found along
the bottom lands of the principal streamsi, or along .the bluffs of the Mis-
souri river. It will be seen that the county is .well wooded with varieties
valuable both as fuel and in the arts. The varieties are many, but, as is
usual in wooded districts, a few kinds predominate. No attempt has
beeri made to discuss the relations of the jlora to that of the remainder of
the state, nor to point out the few species of plants peculiar to it. TJie
design has been to present a list — with brief .notes — =of the imore valuable
and large plants, and it is believed the county's resources, in this particu-
lar, are quite fully represented by the foregoing. catalogue.
There is, however, one feature .that cannot be passed without commEnt.
The_7for« of the county is distinctivelj' divided in that it. comprises species,
both of w-oodland.and prairie habitat, i. e., its .forms are found in either Ihe
one or the other location. .Associated with the trees and shrubs arcinnu-
merable herbs, such .as are commonly found in low or in wooded districts^
and are, in the main, distinct in habitat from the plants of the higher and
more exposed country. The prairie, on the other hand, is peculiarly rich
in that order of flowering plants known as the Compositae. JR-iding across
the country one may see thousands of. blossoms raising their brilliant
selves above "the grasses that would obscure their beauty. The golden
solidagos, the purple asters or the brilliant puccoons, {JLithosrpermuntY^t
with each other in claiming the attention of the passer-.by. In the more
moist places is to be seen the pretty penyroyal, {Hedeoma) and by its side-
blossoms the invaluable boneset (Eufaiorium). Who would recQgnize in
these brilliant white flowers, the nauseous mixtures our "grandames and
aunts" were wont to. prepare for us?
* Only /(PM«7 specimens of this species are known in this county. Tliey seem to bave
thrivedin the ravines and valleys of .the age immediately preceding .the deposition of "the-
loess. In Fremont county specimens have been found thirteen inches in diameter, k. e.o.
HISTORY OF MHjLSvCaUNiry.
To see tke prairie in all its beauty, it is jaeecUul that not one
trip, ,hut ,many, shauld -be made — and let tke occasion suit
the season. In the earlier summer the omnipresent "niggeiF-
head" — {Echinacea furjiurea)— lifts its form as defiantly ,and jauntily
withal as the "ox eye" daisy {Leucanthemum) for which the meadows .af
New England are so famous. Then, fc the valleys bloom the "ir.on-
vuttd&" {^VernoniaJ-ctfciculata) while on the prairies the '^rosin-weed,"
{Sil'phmm laciniatuni) lifts its cheerful golden face to nod knowingly at
you as you -pass by. Here, there, everywhere, some beautiful blossom
smiles at you, and awakens feelings in your heart that only a prairie^/fo
can. What wonder our fathers stopped here amid so much splendor — a
splendor withal that marked the igseat fertility of the virgin soil. From
early spring, when first appear the "Johnny jump-ups," ( Viola cttcuUuta)
and "Bird's foot violet," ;( Viola dd;pkinifdia) to late autumn, when the
last, aster and golden-rod succumb to Nature's inexorable laws, the prairie
forms the botanist's paradise. Inviting, did you say? Aye, more than
that; instructive in the highest sense, for , here some orders reach a devel-
opment unknown elsewhere ion the globe. Here one finds the .princes of
the flower a:ealm of Nature. -Cunningly, wisely, and fuU of a hidden
secret meaning, a thousand forms look up into the faces of pedestrians
who, with repressed curiosity, and not quite wilMngly tread them under
foot. Tliey.are leaves of the great folio, marginal notes on the pages of
the book of Nature, often and to many, and for a long period to every
one, hieirqglyphs wJioae deciphering would repay all the atequisite toil.
But very many of these plants have an infinitely greater value thanithat
conferred by their beauty. Does some astute utilitarian mutter to himself,
"Now you are getting sensible?" Wonder if he thinks -of this when
making grimaces at some unsavory decoction his physician has pre-
scribed ? Wonder if he would not xather look at than take them ? Enter-
ing largely into the category of imedacinal ;plants as do many of the forms
found in this county it is deemed a matter of interest to the general reader
to know their habitat, their abundance, and tl^eir -uses. The following
list is very far from exhaustive, dealing as it does with only some of the
most common or most easily recognized plants that possess a medicinal
value. Where practicable, the portion ot the plant which is used is indi
cated, together with the nature of its action physiologically.
CATALOGUE OF COMMON MEDICINAL PLANTS.
Parmelia ^arietina, common yellow wall lichen; tonic.
Adiantum -pedatum, maiden hair fern : common, astringent.
Veratum viride, white hellebore, common in swamps; poisonous; an
energetic irritant ; not safe.
364 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Mentha canadensis, spearmint; common stimulant and tonic.
Hedeoma fulegioides, pennyroyal; common; stimulant and carmina-
tive.
Vej'basctcm ithapsus, common mullein; emulcent, slightly narcotic. The
leaves are used.
Taraxacum dens-leonis, dandrfion; common; tonic and stomachic.
Eu-patortum ■perfoliatum, boneset, very abundant; emulcent, an
emetic.
Sanguinaria canandensis, blood root; abundant, diaphoretic.
Cassia marilandica, senna, common ; cathartic.
Oxalis stricta, abundant; an excellent refrigerant.
Linum usitatissimum,. flax, now naturalized ; an emollient and demul-
cent.
Cimicifuga racemosa, black snake root, only the root used; it is an
astringent, quite local and only in woodlands along the Missouri
"bluffs.
Tanacetum huronense, doubtful here ; tonic, leaves only.
Polygonum incarnatum, knot- weed, abundant; roots cathartic.
Datura stramoTiium, ]amestown-weed, abundant; leaves and seeds nar-
cotic.
Sambucus canadensis, common; the flowers are mildly, stimulant and
sudorific; the berries diuretic, and the inner bark is narcotic and
emetic.
Solidago missouriensts, common; the flowers reputed valuable in
wounds.
Gillenia stipulacea, American ipecac, leaves emetic.
Mertensia virginica, lung-wort ; the root said to be a valuable expec-
torant.
Acorus calamus, sweet flag, rare, the root ; tonic.
Scilia fraseri, squill, rare, the bulb; diuretic.
Arabia quinquefolia, ginseng, rare, the root ; tonic.
Marrubium vulgare, hoarhound ; a weak tonic.
Geranium maculata, crdinQshiW; root^ astringent.
Sabbatia angularis, American centaury: febrifuge and tonic.
Achillcea millefolium, milfoil, introduced; tonic.
Cannabis americana, American hemp; hypnotic.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 365
REPTILIA.*
TOADS, FROGS, SNAKES AND TURTLES.
In the number and variety of reptiles the county is equal to any in the
state. The dry prairies form congenial homes for the skinks (E. seften-
trionalis); its streams are the homes of several species of turtles and
batrachians, and its woods and fields shelter a large number of serpents..
Of all the latter that are here listed, only two species, the rattlesnake (C.
tergemina and C. horridus), are poisonous. While local and popular tra-
dition arms most of the remaining, and especially the " blowing-viper"
{Heterodon simus), with deadly powers, the fact is that without a single
exception they are perfectly harmless. In the economy of farming they
are beneficial, ridding the fields and gardens of many destructive forms.
Of all the varieties mentioned in the following lists the toads and turtles
are beyond a doubt the most beneficial to the farmer. -The first rid him
of many destructive insects ; the latter clear his streams from dead and
deleterious matters.
OPHIDIA — Sbbpbnts. \
Reptiles, not shielded with an epidermal covering of imbricated scales,
which is shed as a whole and replaced at regular intervals; mouth very
dilatable; the bones of the lower jaw separate from each other, only uni-
ted by ligaments ; limbs wanting or represented by small spurs on the
sides of the vent — a transverse slit. Various anatomical characters distin-
guish the snakes, but the elongated form and absence of limbs separate
them at once from all our other vertebrates, excepting the lizard Ofheo-
saurus, and this is not in any other respect, snake-like. — Jordan.
COLUBRID.iE— COL0BRINE snakes.
1. Heterodon flatyrhinus, blowing viper, perfectly harmless.
2. Heterodon simus, hog-nosed snake, innocent.
3. Tro^idonotus erythrogaster, red-bellied water snake.
4. " rhombifer, Holbrook's water snake.
5. " I grahami, Graham's snake.
6. Trofidoclonium kirtlandi, Kirtland's snake, pretty.
7. (.?) Storeria occifitomaculata, red-bellied snake, doubtful.
8. Eutmnia saurita, riband snake, handsome; small snake, rare.
9. " faireyi, Fairie's garter snake.
*The classification adopted is that of Jordan's Manual of Vertebrates, 2d edition. A
close and more extended survey may add a few more species to the list. Species with a
question mark preceding are of doubtful determination. Many of them have been identi-
fied through alcoholic specimens. R. E. C.
:5B6 HISTORY OP ivnLts county.
10. " proxima, Say's garter snake.
11. " radix, Hoy's garter snake; determination doubtful.
12. " s?>to&, striped' snake ; several varieties.
13. Pityofhis sayi, western pine snake, seventy inches long.
14. Coluber obsoletus, racer, one of the largest snakes.
15. " vnlfinus, fox snake.
16. " emorytj^mory^s snake.
17. Cycloph's cest'ivus, summer green snake, splendid.
18. Diadofhis functatus, ring-necked snake, also var amahilis.
19; (.^) " arnyi, Amy's ring-necked snake.
20. Ofhibolus sayi, king snake.
21. " doliatus, corn snake.
22. " /;'?flM^?</?/s, spotted addter, harmless.
^3. " ealfigasier, Kennicott's chain snake.
25. (.'') Virginia el'egans, ground- snake.
25. Gar-phophio-ps amcenus, ground' snake.
26. « ' vernus, worm snake, rare and local.
CROTALID^— Crotalid snakes.
(These snakes are both renowned for the deadliness of their venom.)
27. Crotalus horridus, rattlesnake; deadly; doubtful determination.
28. Cdudhona tergemina, ■pr^ir\&r^.ti\ts,n^k.e.^, abundant.
There isi much doubt that Crotalus horridtisis found here. The prairie
rattlesnake varies sO' wonderfully that it is not at all sure but that some
Iflcal' form, of that species is confounded, with the wood-rattlesnake, whikh,
is more eastern in^ its distribution,
BAITRACHIA.
Cold-blooded vertebrates, allied to the fishes, but differing in several
respects, notably in the absence of rayed fins, the limbs being usually
developed and functional, with the skeletal elements, of the limbs of rep-
tiles: toes usually without claws..
The batrachians undergo a more or less complete metamorphosisythe
young (" tadpoles") being aquatic and' fish-like, breathing by means of
external gills or branchias ; later in life lungs are developed and, with, one
exception, the gills; disappear; skin* naked and moist, (rarely having imbed-
ded scales)' and- used toi some extent as an organ of respiration; heart with
two auricles and a single ventricle; reproduction by means of eggs, which
are of comparatively small size; without hardi shell, developed in water or
in- moist situations, — fordmir.
RA.]SrrD^— Frogs.
Rana kalecina,,\eopsii'd frog; common.
" elamitans, green frog.
HISTORY OF- MlLtS COUNTY. SQf
JRana ccctesSiayta,.'bxA\ frog; "Veil noted' for' its rich bass notes."
" tem-poraria, wood frog';' variety.
HYLID^— Tree fbogs.
Hyla versicol'a, common tree toad.
(.^) Hyliz Pickeringii, Pickering's tree toad.
Acris gryllus, cricket frog,
(.'') Chorophilus sp.
BUFONID^ -Toads.
B'ufo lent'iginosus, American toad ; variable ; somewhat rare.
ELETHODONTIDi^— Salahandbes.
Memidactyliwm scutatuwi, four-toed salamander.
S'felerpes bUineatus., two-stripedi salaniander.
Speler^s. langieaudu&, cave salamander.
Sfeler-pes ruber-, red triton.
AMBLYSTOMIDiE— Ambltstomas.
Ambly stoma ofacutny.Q^zx^e. salamander; handsome.
Ambl/ystoma itgrinum, tiger saiaraander ; common.
Amblystoma microstamum,, small mouthed salamander.
Amblystoma ■punctaLiumi,.]ajT.ge. spotted salamander.
Menopoma alleghcmiensRy heU. bender ; common.
LAGERTILIA!— LizABDS.
0-pheosaurus ventralis, glass snake ; tail breaks into pieces when caught.
Cnemidophorus sexUneatus, six-lined lizard..
SCINCPD^— SitiNKs.
Eumeces fasciatus, blue-tailed lizard ; common.
Eumeces septenirionalts, northern skink ; common, everywhere in prai-
ries.
TESTUDmATA— TOETLES/
Cistudo clausa, common box turtle.
Cistiido ornata, northern) box turtle ; very abundant.
Malacoclemmys geograpMcus, vm.^ turtle.
Malacoclemmys pseudogeographicus, Le Sueur's map turtle.
Chrysemys picta, painted turtle. (Not seen. Possibly, in local tradi-
tion, confounded with the' elegant terrapim)'
Pseudemys imostii, yellow-bellied terrapin.,
Pseudemys elegans^. elegant terrapin; very common.
Chelydra serpentina, snapping turtle ;■ commoni
Gmester-ntmi pennsylvanicum, small mxid turtle ;"irr Wahbonsie lake.
Trionyx ferox, soft-shell' turtle.
As-pidonectes spinifer, in Missouri river.*
* Ye»te. Prof. J. E. Todd.
368 , HISTORY OF MfLLS COUNTY.
Few persons realize the numbers and beauty of many of these forms of
life which are usually considered either dangerous or disgusting. They
are often of surprising beauty and always instructive. Belonging, as they
do, to the .highest branch of animal life — the vertehrata — though to some
of its lower orders, they come to us revealing through their structure and
structural affinities that long line of ancestry through which the highest
orders have been evolved. They take us back, in thought, to those
remote periods of the world's history when birds, reptiles and fishes were
difficult of separation; when each comprised in their structure some of
the salient features of the others. While, perhaps, the structural resem-
blance of the modern forms is recondite or hidden to the casual observer,
by the aid of forms long since entombed in the rocks the competent stu-
dent not only detects, but places on them their proper value. It is said
that "there are sermons in stones," but with, perhaps, greater accuracy it
may be said there is history in bones.
MOLLUSCA.
In the streams of the county, and in its wooded districts as well, are
found some of those low forms of animal life that are rarely if ever seen
by a people dv/elling in prairie regions. These creatures are the mol-
lusks, numerous in individuals, but comparatively rare in species. In all
the perennial streams they find a congenial home. The species, of both
land and fresh-water shells found in the county, are as follows:
FRESH-WATER M0LLUSK8.
* Unio alatus. Say — The winged unio.
" rubiginosus. Lea — The ruddy unio.
" coccineus, Hild — The saffi"on unio.
" farvus, Barnes — The little unio.
" luteolus, Lam — The straw-colored unio.
" undulatus, Barnes — The wavy unio.
" fressus. Lea, the flat unio.
" ligamentinus, Barnes, the ligament unio.
" gibbosus, Barnes, the gibbous unio.
" ventricosus, Barnes, the inflated unio.
" rectus, Lamarck,, the straight unio.
" mississippiensis, Lea, the Mississippi unio.
Margaritana* com-planata, Barnes, the complanate clam.
" rugosa, Barnes, the rugose margaritana.
Anodonta danielsii, Lea, Daniel's anodon.
*Unio and Margaritana both mean pearl bearing. Most of the'moUusks in this list are
to be found without much labor or pains. The Unionea or "clam-shells" may be found in
every shallow place in the Missouri ; the others require a little more care in searching for
them.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 369
Anodonta grandis. Lay, the splendid anodon.
" ferussaciatia. Lea, Ferrussac's anodon.
" imbecillis. Say, the slight anodon.
S-phaeriuni striatinum, Lam., the striated globe-shell.
" occidentale, Prime, the western globe-shell.
" rhomboideum. Prime, (very rare) the rhomboid globe-shell.
Pisidium abditum, Prime, the hidden pea-shell.
Limnaea rejlexa. Say, the reflected river-snail.
" humilis. Say, the humble river-snail.
" decidiosa, Say, abundant.
Physa heterostro-pha. Say, the sinistral physa. Common, very.
" gyrina. Say, (var. last?), the tadpole physa.
Ancylus rivularis, Hald., the river limpet.
Planorbis trivolvis. Say, the three-whorled plane-shell.
" camfanulatus, Say, the little-bell-like plane-shell.
" farvtcs. Say, the little-plane-shell.
" lentus. Say, the smooth plane-shell.
Melaniho subsoUdus, Anth., the somewhat-solid black snail.
LAND MOLLUSKH.
These forms are very few, and none of them abundant. It is barely
possible that the great prairie fires of past years were the main agency in
reducing their numbers. These animals are to be sought in the woods,
in shady, moist ravines and may be taken in greatest abundance during
the warm rains of spring. They are easily prepared, and when properly
cleansed make most beautiful — though fragile — ornaments. Many of the
smallest kinds must be sought under chips and decayed vegetation, and
even then will be commonly overlooked.
Helix albolabris. Say, white-lipped snail-shell.
" frqfunda. Say, the deeply umbilicated snail-shell.
" aliernata, Say, the striped land-snail.
" hirsuta, Say, the hirsute snail-sheU.
" arboreus, Say, the tree-snail.
" fulchella. Mull, the beautiful whorled shell (minute).
" monodon, Rackett, the one-toothed snail.
" leaii. Ward, Lea's land-snail; variety of monodon?
" clausa, Lea, the closed (umbilicus) land snail.
Pupa pentadon, Say, the five-toothed pupa-shell (very small).
Vertigo ovata, Gould.
Many of these shells possess great beauty, but all lack the brilliant col-
oration of species that are found in tropical countries, or even in some
portions of North America. There are numerous highly colored varie-
4
370 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
ties on the West Coast, and some few found in the southern states. Only-
two of the above list attain any considerable size, the Helix albolabris,
and Helix fro/unda, which sometimes grow to one and a half inches in
diameter. Further investigation of all the shells of this county will
abundantly reward any interested person.
MA.MMALIA.
Time was when the prairies and woods of Mills county gave sustenance
and shelter to many interesting animals among the higher orders. The
buffalo {Bison americanus) once roamed here in countless numbers, and
even now, in the marshes and morasses along the river bottoms their
remains are frequently exposed. The American panther [Felis concolor),
once found a congenial home in its woods, but the coming of the white
man — who wages a merciless war on wild life of every sort — has driven
them to other and remote homes. The wolf {Canis lupus), is still occa-
sionally seen, skulking along the lowlands, the self-despised remnants of a
once numerous race. The fox {^Vulpes vulgaris), under its various names
of " red fox," "silver fox," and "black fox," occasionally enjoys a "square
meal" at the farmer's expense, and to the detriment of his hennery, but
hunted in revenge for his depredations and in desire for his pelt, he is
rapidly becoming extinct. One animal still flourishes, the enterprising
nature of which is not unfrequently wafted to us on the " stilly breezes of
night," to our disgust, and yet a most valuable companion to the farmer,
the skunk {Mephitis mefhitica). The French, perhaps, had sufficient
reason to name him " le enfant diabale^'' but he is a great entomologist, if
he does occasionally disgrace himself, and conducting his entomological
excursions by night, he i-ids the farmer of many a pest otherwise sadly
destructive. Notwithstanding that his scalp commands a bounty, the
industrious gopher {Geomys bursarius), piles his mounds of dirt here and
there, all unconscious of the legal care of which he is the recipient. In
addition to the animals above mentioned, there are in the county the fol-
lowing:
Putorius vison, common mink.
" ermineus, ermine.
" vulgaris, least weasel.
Procyon lotor, raccoon.
Vespertilio subulatus, little brown bat.
" noctivagans, black bat.
" fuscus, dusky bat.
" sp.
Atala-pha crepuscularis, twilight-bat; rare here.
" noveboracensis, common.
{?) Corynorhinus macrotis; not sure of this determination.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 371
Scmro-pterus volucella, flying squirrel; in Missouri bottom.
Sciurus mg-er,iox squirrel; common.
"^ carolinensis, gray squirrel; abundant.
" ludovicianus, common.
" kudsonius, chickaree, common, especially along the Nisnabotna
and Missouri.
Tamias striatus, chipmunk, in all wooded sections.
Sfermof Mills tridecemlineatus, striped gopher.
" franklinii, common.
Arctomys nionax, woodchuck.
Zapus kudsonius, jumping mouse, rare.
Hesperomys leuccrpus, deer mouse, everywhere.
Ochetodon humtlis, harvest mouse, local.
Arvicola riparius, meadow mouse.
" ' austerus, commonly confounded with the last.
Syna-ptomys cooperi. Cooper's mouse.
Castor fiber, beaver. *
Fiber zibethicus, muskrat.
Ercthizon ^orsa^ws, porcupine ; not seen, listed by tradition.
(.^) Lepus sylvaticus, hare, determination doubtful.
" , jack rabbit; rare.
This list comprises the major part of the mammalian fauna of the
county. Further study will correct it, perhaps, by the addition of a few
species. This simple enumeration of varieties may aid the future student
in the determination of the county's animal resources. The value of a
knowledge of the forms about one is sufficiently attested by the exper-
■ ience of men. Nevertheless, it is a fact, that may not be successfully
controverted, that the most common objects about people interest them the
least. Even in Great Britain, where nearly all of the time of men is con-
sumed in the attempt to earn a livelihood, more attention is paid to these
subjects than in this land of comparative leisure, abounding in forms to inter-
est and instruct. Jardine, one of the greatest ornithologists of the present
century, writing of the nature of the society in which Alexander Wilson,
the "Scottish bird-catcher," spent his infancy and early youth, says:
"The population of the manufacturing districts differs not essentially in its constitution
and character from the other parts of the community of Great Britain. It is composed of
men primarily devoted to the acquisition of independence. Activity and decision foma
a strong feature in their disposition, and stamp them with vivid impressions of the
worldly changes which may ultimately conduce to the loss or prosperity of their engage-
* Two specimens were trapped in the Nishnabotna river, in Fremont county, Decem-
ber 9, 1880. They were taken to Sidney and regarded as a great curiosity; hence it maybe
presumed the beaver is of extremely rare occurrence here. R. E. C.
372 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
ments. In Paisley,* the largest manufacturing town in Scotland, the middle and operative
classes in whose sphere the individual, about whom we are now interested chiefly moved,
are respectable and industrious — or idle, of restless disposition and preferring dissipalion
and revelry, according to the habits they had formed on their early entrance into the world.
The greater part of the employment in this important town is given out in pieces, which
permits the laborer to enjoy a greater portion of leisure than he could do by the more usual
method of working a fixed time. A little exertion and assiduity will allow him some
hours of relaxation, and the manner in which this is spent often bears a high influence on
the future prospects of the individual. Numerous clubs have at various times been insti-
tuted, to which most of the operatives resort and spend their leisure time, according to their
inclinations. In some, intemperance prevails, with the high and wrangling discussion ot
the affairs and conduct of their different masters, and the politics ot the day. What are
called liberal sentiments are promulgated; and with the assistance of the more radical
newspapers the foundation is laid for that jealousy ol the welfare of their superiors, and
discontentment with their own lot, which so often causes the distress of friends, and the
destruction of neighbor's property, and which, if It does not always bring themselves to
ruin, can never promote either their happiness or welfare. In others, though, to a certain
extent, the same courses are run, they are generally conducted with moderation — intemp-
erance is avoided — politics and literature are freely entered upon and keenly contested, and
the argument is conducted with a ready conviction to the truth, and more for the sake of
information, than the obstinate maintenance of any untenable opinion. Libraries of con-
siderable extent belong to some of these clubs; the taste for reading and study is gradually
increasing, and many of the more sedate members avail themselves of their privilege, to
advance their knowledge of some favorite subject, and occasionally launch into debates
with ardor and penetration, and talent, not often found so varied among this class of soci-
ety. Other sources of information and improvement also occupy the unemployed hours
of the more respectable operatives. The different branches of mechanics are eagerly pur-
sued, and often practically applied with such success as to raise the individual from depend-
ency to the higher ranks of society. Natural history is also studied, and the more inter-
esting works on the subject sought after and eagerly pursued ; and botany , or rather the culture
of flowers, forms one of the most favorite and universal recreations. Almost every one
possesses his flower-garden, and, as his taste directs, enters warmly into the culture of
what are called florist's plants — polyanthuses, ranunculi, anemohies, hyacinths, pinks and
carnations ; and as much pleasure is afforded, and emulation excited, in watching the suc-
cess of a favorite bulb or seedling, as could arise from an indulgence in more common,
but less innocent amusements. The naming of their flowers, too, is a matter of great
Importance, and serves to draw their attention to the history of the individuals whom thSy
wish to commemorate. "~-/Sj> W. Jardine^n Life ef Alex. Wilson.
Under influences such as these was Wilson born, influences which, if
they could find a harbor in each western heart, would soon result in ■'a
most intelligent and thoroughly informed class of men. It is in the hope
that some one, in whose hands this volutne may fall, will engage in the
study of this county's natural resources that these outlines have been
given, as well as that they may prove useful to those now directly inter-
ested.
*The place where Wilson was born, July 6, 1766.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 373
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN LOCUST.
(Oaloptenus spretus).
The first mention of the locust is in the Bible, and occurs in chapter X.,
of the book of Exodus, but is confined to a mere mention of their appear-
ance in Egypt as an affliction upon Pharaoh and his people for their treat-
ment of the Israehtes. The earliest account of the ravages of locusts,
descriptive of the terrible calamities they have caused to mankind, appears
in the book of Joel, chapter I. Omitting the figurative parts, the prophets
description is graphic and accurate:
"A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains; a great people and
a strong ; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more
after it, even to the years of manv generations. A fire devoureth before
them; and behind them a flame burneth; the land is as the garden of
Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and noth-
ing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of
horses; and as horse-men, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots
on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire
that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before
their face the people shall be much pained; all faces shall gather black-
ness. They shall run like mighty men ; they shall climb the wall like
men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall
not break their ranks. * * * They shall run to and fro in the city;
they shall run upon the wall; they shall climb upon the houses; they shall
enter at the windows like a thief." Whether this be over-drawn none
better know than those who resided in Mills county in those years when
the locusts were most destructive. The incessant buzz and noise which
their flight produces, the unavoidable destruction which is everywhere
going on, fill the beholder with both awe and wonder. Southey, in his
Thalaba, pictures most graphically the noise their approach occasions:
" Onward they come, a dark, continuous cloud
Of congregated myriads numberless,
The rushing of whose wings was as the sound
Of a broad river, headlong in its course
Plunged from a mountain summit, or the roar
Of a wild ocean in the autumn storm,
Shattering its billows on a shore of rocks! "
The first account after the statement of Joel, which, judging from the
account there given, was the first visitation known to the semi-civilized
Jews, is that of Ororius, who says that in the year 3800 certain regions in
North Africa were visited by monstrous swarms; the wind blew them
374: HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
into the sea, and the bodies washed ashore "stank more than the corpses
of a hundred thousand men." St. Augustine later mentions a locust
plague which occurred in the Kingdom of Masinissa, and resulting in a
famine and pestilence, caused the death of about 800,000 men. Accord-
ing to MoufFet, in 1478 the region about Venice was subjected to an inva-
sion and a resulting famine caused the death of 30,000 people.
The locusts of the New World present many features in common with
those of the Old World. They breed in the same enormous multitudes,,
enter upon the same migrations, and for the same reasons, are subjected
to essentially the same climatic conditions, and manifest the same destruc-
tiveriess.
The authentic records of the Rocky Mountain locust date back to 1818
and 181 9. In Neill's Histor}^ of Minnesota it is stated that in those years
the locusts "in vast hordes" appeared in Minnesota "eating everything in
their course, in some cases the ground being covered three or four
inches." While, doubtless, the state of Iowa was invaded simultaneously
with MinnejbOta, the visitation was probably not so general, and possibly
entirely confined to the northwestern counties. There is no tradition of a
general invasion of the state which dates back further than the year 1833.
The authority for a locust invasion in that year is the following, quoted in
the United States Entomological Commissioners' Report: "In regard to
the grasshopper raid of 1833, there was no white settlement here then,
but there is a part of a tribe of Indians living near the center of this state
and they used to hunt through here, and in some of their visits here in
1866, their chief, Johnny Green, who was a very old man, told the people
here that thirty-three years before that the grasshoppers came so thick
that the grass was all eaten off, and there was no grass for their ponies,
and the ground looked black, as if there had been a prairie fire. He also
said there had been no more grasshoppers till 1866, when he was speak-
ing. This chief was a very intelligent man, and was about one-half
white; but the Indians are very liable to exaggerate; I have forgotten the
name of the tribe of Indians, but think they were the Winnebagoes or
Pottawattamies."
Other locust years in Iowa were 1850, 1856, 1857, 1864-65, 1865, 1866,
1867, 1868, 1870-72, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877.
The most destructive year in Mills county was 1867. The young
unfledged locusts made sad ravages in that year upon the growing crops.
Again in 1875 was enormous damage done, not by locusts, hatched in the
county, as in the previous destructive invasion, but by great swarms com-
ing from the south. In this county in that year the damage is reported^as
fully twenty-five per cent.'
The visitations of the locust to this county, or the state will not be fre-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 375
quent. Nor can it ever become a permanent resident here. The labors
of the entomological commission previously referred to, have developed
the following general conclusions: The comparatively sudden change
from the attenuated and dry atmosphere of the elevated plains and plat-
eaus which constitute the permanent region to the more humid and low
prairie region of the Mississippi valley proper, is injurious to that species,
though its consequences are not manifest with the invading insects, except,
perhaps, in limiting their eastward progress. The first generation, how-
ever, hatched in the low, alluvial country, is more or less unhealthy, and
the insects do not breed here, but quit the country and-get back,as far as
they are able, to more congenial breeding grounds. If the weather be
particularly wet and cold they perish in immense numbers, and there is
even reason to believe that even the bulk of those which attain maturity
are intestate and perish without procreating, because the large majority
of those which drop on the return to Northwest contain no eggs. In the
sub-permanent region, or as we go west and northwest, the species prop-
agates, aud becomes localized more and more until we reach the country
where it is always found. Nothing is morecertain than that the species is
not autochthonous in Texas ; West Arkansas, Indian Territorj', West Mis-
souri, Kansas, Western Iowa, Nebraska, nor even Minnesota ; and when-
ever it over-runs any of those states, it sooner or later abandons them. We
may perhaps find, in addition to the comparatively sudden changes from
an attenuated and dry to a more dense and humid atmosphere, another
tangible barrier to the insects permanent multiplication in the more fer-
tile country to the southeast, in the lengthened summer season. As with
annual plants, so with insects (like the locust) which produce but one gen-
eration annually and whose active existence is bounded by the spring and
autumn frosts, the duration of active life is .proportioned to the length of
the growing season. Aside from the causes here enumerated by the
commission, may be mentioned the presence of a greater number of
invertebrate enemies in the shape of beetles and mites, both of which
attack and slay incredible numbers of locusts. During their visitatation
to Iowa in 1875-76 there were also found within them many larvae of a
kind of fly, the egg having been laid within the body of the locust by
adults of the fly indicated. Innumerable thousands were thus found dis-
eased and dying.
The injury to the agricultural interests of this county has been done;
ixid now bids fair to come the dawn of immunity from this scourge.
Thousands of dollars have been lost to its agricultural interests, but the
experience gained from past disaster will enable the farmer of the futufe,
should it ever become necessary, to successfully battle even greater hosts.
May the following unique description never again be recorded of this
376 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
beautiful "garden of Iowa:" " The farmer plows and plants. He culti-
vates in hope, watching his growing grain, in graceful, wave-like motion
wafted to and fro by the warm summer winds. The green begins to
golden ; the harvest is at hand. J03' lightens his labor as the fruit of past
toil is about to be realized. The day breaks with a smiling sun that sends
his ripening rays through laden orchards and promising fields. Kine and
stock of every sort are sleek with plenty, and all the earth seems glad.
The day grows. Suddenly the sun!s face is darkened, and clouds obscure
the sky. The joy of the morn gives way to ominous fear. The day
closes, and ravenous locust swarms have fallen upon the land. The mor-
row comes, and, ah! what a change it brings! The fertile land of prom-
ise and plenty has become a desolate waste, and old Sol, even at his
brightest, shines sadly through an atmosphere alive with myriads of
glittering insects." — Riley.
INDIAN AFFAIRS.
The Indian ! What crowds of memories, incidents aqd adventures come
trooping to the mind at the bare mention of that name, once fear-inspiring,
now commonplace and powerless. A name once so dreaded, and often
freighted with murder and rapine, is history's, as a momento of which but
a few outcast and hunted tribes alone remain.
The savage of Nature and he whom poets sing are different beings.
The latter, kingly in mien and sullenly morose in habit, animated by the
noblest of motives, engaging in chase or in war as fancy or necessity dic-
tated, disdaining peril and knowing no fear — such as he existed only in
the imagination of Cooper, or is painted in the verse of authors equally
gifted with him. The former, with passions unrestrained and by nature
treacherous, slothful, repulsive and unclean — such is the savage of Nature,
as unlike him celebrated in song as well he could be. Yet, there is some-
thing that calls for our sympathy in the history of this unfortunate race.
The same harrowing lust for gold which impelled Pizarro to the conquest
of the Incas, and Cortez to the destruction of the might}' empire of the
Montezumas, in a newer, and perhaps less revolting form, has driven the
red man from the homes in which his ancestors, for many generations^
past, have roamed at will, and left him — what? The inheritance of
extinction, and that alone. He was,- rather than is. "The only hope of
the perpetuity of his race seems now to center in the Choctaws, Chero-
kees. Creeks and Chickasaws of the Indian Territory. These nations,
numbering in the aggregate about eight thousand souls, have attained a
HISTORY OK MILLS COUNTY. 377
considerable degree of civilization; and with just and liberal dealing on
the part of the government the outlook for the future is not discouraging.
Most of the other Indian tribes seem to be rapidly approaching extinction.
Right or wrong, such is the logic of events. Whether the red man has
been justly deprived of the ownership of the New World will remain a
subject of debate; that he has been deprived, cannot be denied. "The
Saxon has come. His conquering foot has trodden the vast domain from
shore to shore. The weaker race has withdrawn from his presence and
his sword. By the majestic rivers and in the depths of the solitary woods
the feeble sons of the bow and arrow wiU be seen no more. Only their
names remain on hill, and stream, and mountain. The red man sinks and
falls. His eyes are to the west. To the prairies and forests, the hunting-
grounds of his ancestors, he says farewell. He is gone! The cypress
and the hemlock sing his requiem."
But whence did he come? This opens up a field of inquiry which has
engaged the attention of earnest students since the Indian was first known.
It seems to be a still mooted point whether he came from Asia, that
mythological " cradle of the race." Long ages anterior to the red man's
occupation of the land there lived and thrived other races — men who, in
that far off time built the mounds and made the implements that we now
so commonly find. Th6 evidence which exists shows that that ancient civil-
ization belonged to a great people, a people which covered a large part of
this continent and with whom the Indians of today have little or nothing
in common. Over the past of these strange people hangs a veil which it
yet remains for some Columbus or Pizarro to remove. In the valley of
the Ohio, that of the Mississippi, the prairies of Kansas and of Texas, "
the mysterious and inexplicable animal representations of Wisconsin, are
mounds, all of which contain relics which are the works of these primitive
people, of whom the later Indians retain not even a tradition. Suppose
that these latter were the lineal descendants of the mound builders — what
then? we have removed the difficulty, but a step back, and still man was.
There is no knowledge, revealed or human, that throws any light upon
the origin of the race of men, other than that which comes to us through
their structural affinities — that afforded by comparative anatomy. Con-
cerning the mound builders, there is nothing historical to enlighten us as
to what kind of men they were. They have left their works, and imple-
ments, some of them in this county, but tell us more than a few social or
domestic habits, and their distribution, they do not. They are a race
shrouded in mj^stery, affording us not even tfie argument deduced so
commonly from philology to determine their affinity to the present tribes
■of the far West.
With reference to a more complete account of the Indians who formerly
378 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
made this county their home, the reader is referred to a preceding page
of this volume — where will be found all the various treaties made either
by the territorial or general governments. It is sufRcient to state here
that the territory of which the county is now composed was once pos-
sessed by the low as,* a tribe of Indians at one time identified with the
Sacs, of the Rock River, but from whom they separated and formed a
band bv themselves. At an early day in the history of the Indians the
Sac and Fox races were distinct nations, the latter of whom lived almost
solely within the territory embraced by the river St. Lawrence. They
engaged in fierce wars with the famed Iroquois, by whom they were con-
quered and finally driven to the west. On reaching Illinois they formed
an alliance with the Sacs. With them were finally joined the Pottawat-
tamie Indians, all of whom were of the great family of the Algonquins.
This family, at the beginning of the seventeenth century numbered nearly
a quarter million souls, but their habits, their wars, and wasting diseases,
have reduced their numbersito a mere handful, a disheartened and reck-
less remnant of a once proud race. The original owners of this soil,
belonged, however to another family — the great race of the Dakotahs,
who were the possessors when first the known history of the territory
begins. The Sac and Fox Indians did hot come into the state to dwell'
until the close of the celebrated Black Hawkf war, when they were-
*There is some difference, of authority as to the origin and meaning of this name. A
tribe of Sac and Fox Indians, according to Le Claire, wandering in search of a home,
crossed the Mississippi at Rock Island. Finding a 'plan.e, which they admired and with
the appearance of which they were satisfied they exclaimed "Iowa! Iowa! this is the-
place." Hildreth says there is a tradition that a tribe of Indians left the parent hand of
the Omahas in a snow-storm, which presented the phenomena of "gray snow," by mingl-
ing the sands of the shore with the falling snow, and thereby sullying its purity. The-
Omaha's called them from this circumstance, "Py-ho-ja," gray snow. By dropping the j,.
or making it silent it becomes Py-ho-ia, which, by a little further corruption is trans-
formed into I-o-wa, accented on the second syllable, as was the custom of the Indians. The
meaning of the word as now generally accepted is drowsy or sleepy men,. R. E. C.
fThe last years of this great chieftain were filled with bitterness, if not with remorse. In
September, of 1836, Governor Dodge met a band of a thousand, chiefs, braves and war-
riors, just above the site of the city of Davenport. Black Hawk was present, but was not
allowed to participate in the deliberations. It was the last time the old chief visited the
vicinity. On this occasion he was dressed in the white man's style, having on an old black
frock coat, and a drab hat, with a cane, the very picture of disappointed ambition. Like
the withered oak of his native forest, torn and shattered by the lightning's blast, the winter
of age upon his brow, and his feeble tottering steps pressing the soil he so much loved, he-
stood, a representative, a noble relic of his once powerful tribe, in meditative, dismal
silence. What thrilling recollections, what heartstirring scenes, must have passed through^
the mind of the aged patriarch of three-score years, and what deep emotions must have-
filled his soul, as he reflected upon the past, and desired to unburden his crowded memory
of the wrongs of his people toward him. But he was not allowed to speak. He had made
a mis-step in the great drama of life. He was a fallen chieftain. His proud nature would
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 379
unable longer to resist the advance of the white man. In 1842 was made
a treaty in accordance with the provisions of which the Sac and Fox and
Pottawattamies ceded to the general government the western portion of
the State of Iowa, and "their right of title and interest therein." The
parties to the treaty were, as has been said on a preceding page, Gover-
nor Chambers, of Iowa Territory, nn the part of the government, and
Chiefs Keokuk, Appanoose and Panassa, among others, in behalf of the
red men. In the spring of 184fi the Indians finally retired to Kansas, and
here the history of their connection with Iowa soil finally ends.
Attention has been previouslv called to Wahbonsie lake as having been
named from Wahbonsie, a chief of the Pottawattamies, \who formerly
resided with a band of that tribe on the borders of the lake, and was con-
sidered its owner. With these Indians, and with Wahbonsie in particu-
lar, Major Cooper, one of the first white settlers or residents of the adjoin-
ing county of Fremont, carried on an extensive trading business, which,
if not always of the most legitimate character, was most profitable.
When the final treaty, in 1842, was made, ceding these lands to the gov-
ernment, Wahbonsie was one of the few who lingered after nearly all the
others had departed for their Kansas homes. During his continued
sojourn it appears he contracted certain debts, which he evinced no dis-
position to pay, and, after the manner of many white men, prepared to
leave without settlement. Among some of the oldest records pre-
served was found the following document, showing how the fated Wah-
bonsie became entangled in the meshes of the law. The Hitchcock
noticed was the successor to Major Cooper, and the man who first
brought any slaves to Iowa soil. It will be observed that the document
was issued by authority of the State of Missouri, to which that portion
of Fremont county in which Austin, its first capital was situated belonged.
State of Missouri, I
COTJNTT OF AtOHINSON, j
Before me, James Cummings, a justice of the peace, of the county aforesaid, this daj
personally came Rufus Hitchcock, who being duly sworn sayeth that Waubonchey justly
owes him twenty -two dollars, and that said Waubonchey is a leaving the county without
paying him or leaving property for him, and that he wants a writ of attachment against
. the goods, chatties, monies of Waubonchey and further sayeth not, this November 14, 1846.
Rupi,s Hitchcock.
Sworn to and subscribed to before me this 14th day of November, 1846.
Jamks Cummings,
Justice of the Peace.
not allow him to yield, and take a lowly seat in the councils of his people ; and so he stood
the silent observer of the final contract that tore him from the last foothold on the hunting
grounds ot his fathers. The saddened memory of years struggled for utterance, but the
great chieftain smothered it with stoical indifference. He died on the Des Moines Riverr
October 3, 1839, three years after this treaty.
380 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
COUNTY ORGANIZATION.
With regard to the origin of the division of individual states into county
and township organizations, which in an important measure should have
the power and opportunity of their own business and governing them-
selves, under the approval of, and subject to the state and general gov-
ernment of which they each formed a part, we quote from Elijah M.
Haines, who is considered good authority on the subject.
In his " Laws of Illinois, Relative to Township Organizations," he says
the county system
" Originated witU Virginia, whose early settlers soon became large-landed proprietors,
aristocratic in feeling, living apart in almost baronial magnificence on their own estates^
and owning the laboring part of the population. Thus the materials for a town were not
at hand, the voters being thinly distributed over a great area.
" The county organization, where a few influential men managed the whole business of
the community, retaining their places almost at their pleasure, scarcely responsible at all,
■except in name, and permitted to conduct the county concerns as their Ideas or wishes
might direct, was moreover consonant with their recollections or traditions of the judicial
and social dignities of the landed aristocracy of England, in descent from whom the Vir-
ginia gentlemen felt so much pride. In 1723 eight counties were organized in Virginia,
and the system extending throughout the state, spread into all the southern states, and
some, of the northern states ; unless we except the nearly similar division into 'districts'
in South Carolina, and that into ' parishes ' in Louisiana, frora the French laws.
" Illinois, which with its vast additional territory, became a county' of Virginia, on its
■conquest by Gen. George Rogers Clark, retained the county organization, which was form-
ally extended over the state by the constitution of 1848. Under this system, as in other
states adopting it, most local business was transacted by those commissioners in each coun-
ty, who constituted a county court, with quarterly sessions.
" During the period ending with the constitution of 1847, a large portion of the slate
had become filled with a population of New England birth or character, dally growing
more and more compact and dissatisfied with the comparatively arbitrary and inefficient
county system. It was maintained by thepeople that the heavily populated districts would
always control the election of the commissioners to the disadvantage of the more thinly
populated sections — in short that under that system, 'equal and exact justice' to all parts
of the county could not be secured. The township system had its origin in Massachusetts
and dates back to 1635. The first legal enactment concerning this system provided that,
' whereas, particular towns have many things which concern only themselves, and the
ordering of their own affairs, and disposing of business in their own town,' therefore, 'the
freemen of every town, or the majority part of them, shall only have power to dispose of
their own lands and woods, with all the appurtenances of said town, to grant lots, and to
make such orders as may concern the well-ordering of iheir own towns, not repugnant to
the laws and orders established by the general court."
"They might also (says Mr. Haines) impose fines of not more than twenty shillings, and
' choose their own particular oflicers, as constables, surveyors for the highways, and the
like.' Evidently this enactment relieved the general court of a mass of municipal details,
without any danger to the power of that body in controlling general measures of public,
policy. Probably also a demand from the freemen of the towns was felt for the control of
their own home concerns.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 381
" The New England colonies were first governed by a ' general court,' or legislature,
composed of a governor and a small council, whicli court consisted of the most influential
inhabitants, and possessed and exercised both legislative and judicial powers, which were
limited only by the wisdom of the holders. They made laws, ordered their execution by
officers, tried and decided civil and criminal cases, enacted all manner of municipal regu-
lations, and, in fact, did all the public business of the colony. Similar provisions for
the incorporation of towns were made in the first constitution of Connecticut, adopted in
1839 ; and the plan of township organization, as experience proved its remarkable economy,
efficiency, and adaptations to the requirements of a free and intelligent people, became
universal throughout New England, and went westward with the emigrants from New
England into New York, Ohio, and other western states."
The separate organization of the county was affected by an election
held on the first Monday in August, 1851 . The organizing sheriff
appointed by the General Assembly at its session immediately preceeding>
was W. W. Noyes. The election resulted in the choice of William Smith,
county judge; W. W. Noyes, * county clerk; James Hardy, sheriff and
assessor; C. W. Folles, recorder and treasurer; L. T. Coons, prosecuting
attorney; Dan Clark, school-fund commissioner; W. E. Dean, coroner,
and William Spencer, surveyor. In view of the importance of this first
election and the fact that little has hitherto been known concerning the
county's earlier history it has been deemed best to transcribe the certifi-
cates of election for each of the officials most prominent in its early his-
tory. These records had long been lost, but care in overhauling a mass
of " rubbish " brought to light these valuable facts.
State op Iowa, )
Mills County, j '
At an election holden in the said county, on the first Monday in August, 1851, William
Smith was elected to the office of Judge of the above county for the term of four years from
that day and until his successor is elected and qualified, and he has been qualified by tak-
ing the oath of office as required by law.
[seal.] W. W. Noyks, Clm-k.
Enow allmen by these presents:
That I, William Smith, do solemnly swear that I will truly perform the office of judge
in and for the county of Mills ; that I will support the constitution of the United States
and that of the State of Iowa, and that without fear, favor, affection or hope of reward, I
will to the best of my knowledge and ability administer justice according to the law equally
to the rich and poor.
William Smith.
Mills County, ) Sworn to and subscribed before me this 18th day of August, 1851.
State of Iowa, V W. W. Noyes, J. P.
Aug. 18, 1851 ) Organizing Slieriff.
* Eesigned December 9, 1851, office filled by the appointment of J. B. McCabe, Decem-
ber 10, 1851, "until the next election," (April, 1853).
382 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
State of Iowa, |
MiKLS County. ) '
At an election holden in the said county on the first Monday of August, 1851, W. W.
iToyes* was elected to the office of clerk of the above county for the term of two years from
that day, and until his successor is elected and qualified, and he wag qualified by giving
jind taking the oath required by law.
WitjIjIam Smith.
County Judge,
Similar returns were made for C. W. Tolles, recorder and treasurer;
Dan Clark,, school fund commissioner and James Hardy, sheriff' and
assessor.
It appears from the records that Judge William Smith resigned at the
expiration of his first year of service, and was suceeded by Judge Hiram
P. Bennett, who was elected " on the first Monday in August, A. D.
1852, for the term of three years," presumably to fill out the unexpired
term of Judge Smith. There seems also to have been a second change
in the clerk of the district court, for the election of Mr. Bennett was cer-
tified by William A. Scott, but the certificate bears no date beyond the
one mentioned as the date on which the election had been holden. Still
another change occurred before the election of the following year, and
Judge Bennett appointed William Snuffin to fill the vacancy occasioned
by the resignation of Mr. Scott.
The various officei-s elected did not take possession of their respective
offices — which they were supposed to have done, though each individual
cared for his papers at his own residence — on the same day, nor did they
qualify and present their bonds at the same date. W. W. Noyes qualified
August 18, 1851, and gave bonds in the sum of five thousand dollars, with
James Hardy, John Sivers and Joseph W. Coolidge as bondsmen. L. T.
Coon, qualified on the same day, filing a bond for five thpusand dollars,
with W. W. Noyes, and William Dalley, as sureties. William E. Dean
qualified on that date, also, giving his bond, without security, for five
thousand dollars. The next person to qualify was Dan Clark, August
23, 1851, giving a bond of ten thousand dollars, with the name of John
B. Wilson, as bondsman. On the 30th of the same month James
Hardy^ qualified, and gave his individual bond for a like amount. On the
following day, the 31st, C. W. Tolles qualified and gave a bond for seven
thousand five hundred dollars, with the names of Abraham Burger and
Joseph W. Coolidge as securities. One other bond was filed, that of
William W. Spencer, as surveyor, in the penal sum of one thousand dol-
*Statb of Iowa, I
MJLL8 County ( °°'
James B. McCabe was appointed clerk of the election until April election to fill the vacancy of W. W.
Noyes, resigned, and until Ms successor is elected and qualified by giving and taking the oath of offlco
as required by law. William Smith ,
Dec. 10, 1851. County Judge.
HISTORY OF MII.LS COUNTY. 383
lars, with 'Squire Eggleston and W. C. Matthews as bondsmen. This
bond bears no date whatever. It is endorsed on the back:
ThU bottd excepted,
William Smith,
County Judge.
As indeed were all of the bonds mentioned. The officers having dul}'
taken the oath of office and filed their bond in a sufficiently large sum
" as required by law," the county was duly organized and became an
independent political entity. From that day on the population and wealth
of the county grew together. As the range and importance of its business
increased the need of a proper depository for important papers and docu-
ments became more urgent. As has elsewhere been said, even the courts
of justice had no abiding place, and it was not until 1857 that the present
court-house building was erected and the county officials could be said to
have a home.
The earliest records of the county court go back only to June, 1862.
All prior to that seem. to have been lost. The following is a Uterally cor-
rect copy of the very first proceeding which exists. The officers of the
court were : William Smith, Judge ; Achilles Rogers, Clerk ; J. S. Sharp,
Prosecuting Attorney, and James Hardy, Sheriff.
County Court, Mills county, Iowa, June Term, A. D. 1851*
June 7 — Present, William Smith, county judge, and the following^proceedings were had
and done as follows, to- wit :
Upon the application of James O'Neil and others for the location of a road from Platte-
ville, via Coonville and Lewistown, in the direction of Indiantown, it is ordered that Sam-
uel Martin he and is hereby appointed commissioner tojview and report on the propriety
of said location, his services to commence on the tenth day of June, 1853, and to report
within thirty days.
June 8 — Ordered that Achilles Rogers be and is hereby appointed clerk of the district
court for Mills county, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of J. B. McCabe.
The said Rogers having given oflScial bond, with approved security, and taken the oath
of office, entered upon the duties of his office
June 18 — In the absence of the county judge the prosecuting attorney J' L. Sharp, acting
as county judge, it is ordered (hat the following named persons be summoned to act as
grand jurors at the July term of the district court, to be holden' at the town ot Coonville
on the 19th day of July, 1853, as follows, to-wit :
From West Liberty township — Benjamin Lambert, John Windom, George Liston and
0. N. Tyson.
Silver Creek township — Daniel Lewis and James McCoy.
Council Bluffs township— Daniel Hemford .
Rawles township — Wm. Kesterson, Ezekiel Lambert and Lawfence Rains,
Platteville township — Christian Clapper, Cobble, John Williamson and Dan
Clark.
♦Evidently meant for 1852.
\
384 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
And it IS further ordered that the following named persons be summoned to serve as petit
grand jurors at the July term of the district court, to be holden at the town of Gleawoo(J,
on the 19th day of July, A. D. 1852, as follows, to-wit-
West Liberty township — John Chandler, Elijah Ballon, George Micklewait "and Solomon
Cox.
Platteville township— Jefferson Martin, James O'Neil, David :Moody and David DifB
baugh.
Rawles Township— P. A.. Hooper, Jonathan Kerns, Luke Rawson and L. An-
thony .
Council Bluffs township— James Blair.
Silver Creek township — L. J. Hull and A. B. Bickmore.
THE DISTRICT COURTS.
The first district court held in the county was by Judge James Sloan,*
elected April 7, 1821.
The court convened in October of that year at CoonviUe, (now Glen-
wood). There was then no court house in which to transact the legal
business of the county so recourse was had to private dwellings or even
to stores. For some unknown reason — perhaps the religious faith of
Judge Sloan, who was a Mormon — a great hostility had been originated
toward him, and when he came to convene court it was declared he should
not proceed. The store house in which court had usually been held
being denied his honor, Mr. J. W. Coolidge oflfered his store to the
judge and the attorneys, which offer was accepted and the court was
*Judge Sloan was a native of Ireland, and had been admitted to the bar but the year pre-
vious to his election. On the records of the first term of the district court of Fremont
county, which then belonged to the fifth judicial district and over which William McKay
presided, appears the following:
" James Sloan produces in court his declaration of his intention to become a citizen of
the United States of America, and also produced satisfactory evidence to the court that
said James Sloan has resided in the United States for more than five years, and within
the state of Iowa for more than one year last passed, and it further appearing to the satis-
faction of the court that during. that time he has behaved as a man of good moral charac-
ter, attached to the principles of the constitution of the United States, and well dis-
posed to the good order and happiness of the same. Thereopon the said James Sloan
came into open court, and was duly sworn to support the constitution of the United States,
and that he doth absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to
every foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignly whatsoever, and particularly. Queen of
Victoria, present Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, whereof he was before a subject.
Now at this lime comes James Sloan and produces in court a licensg from the supreme
court of the state of Iowa, to practice as an attorney and counselor at law, whereupon the
said James Sloan came into open court, and was duly sworn to support the constitution of
the state of Iowa, and that he would faithfully demean himself as an attorney and coun-
selor at law to the best of his abilities."
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 385
duly convened. When the judge and the court attaches reached the
point of opening the session, threats, both loud and numerous, were
made, and declarations were rife that he should not open court. He
calmly but firmly insisted, and ordered the sherift', James Hardy, to pro-
claim the court in session, which that official at once proceeded to do.
Immediately thereafter Judge Sloan adjourned the court, and thus ended
the first session.*
There are no records but one of the district court in existence from the
time of the first holding until the October term, 1853.
The single document, or record, alluded to has reference to the first
case of divorce in the county, and is the following:
Samuel Mabtin, J
»s. >■ ss. — Bill for Divorce.
Maby Mabtin, )
To the Honorable District Court of Mills County:
Tour Petisioner Samuel M^tin by his Solisitor A. 0. Ford humbly represents that on
the twenty ninth day of March A. D. 1837 in the State of Illinois in the County of Sangi-
mon your Petisioner inter married with one Mary Bragg whome your Petisioner pray may
be made a party Defendant to this his'bill of complaint and that your petisioner with the
Defendant subsequently Moved to this State and while your Petisioner lived with the de-
fendant as man and wife that they had born unto them three children (to witt) Susan Aijn
Martin, William J. Martin, and John A. Martin and that on the tenth day of September
last past the defendant wilfully and without cause or provocation deserted your petisioner
and also that the said defendant did at several times while living with your Petisioner
commit the crime of adultery and your Petisioner also represents that he was and is and
has been for the last six months a resident of this state and that this aplication is not made
through fear or restraint or out of any levity but in sincerity and truth and for the causes
set forth in this his bill of Complaint your Petisioner humbly asks the court in view of
the premises herein spesefied that the said marriage may be dissolved and a Decree of
Divorce adjudged and that the guardianship of said Susan Ann Martin William J. Martin
and John A. Martin may be adjudged and Decreed to your petisioner states that the fore-
going complaint is true and pray the judgment of this court and that the said Marriage be
desolved And a Divorce Decreed in accordance with the Code in such cases made and pro-
vided.
Samuel Martin.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 31st day of October A. D. 1851.
W. W. NoYBS, Clerk .
♦Tradition awards to James Sloan's court the usual amount of " backwoods " incidents.
It is related of him that a very modest member of the bar politely attempted to enlighten
his understanding upon some statutory provision, opening the code and oflEering to read
therefrom, when to his chagrin and mortification, he was met by the stern rebuke of his
honor — " Sit down sir, down to h 1 with your cud, the court has the law in its
head." There is a great difiference of opinion among those who knew Judge Sloan as to
his ability and fitness for the judicial bench. At all events he was illiterate, though
prompt and decisive in rendering his judgments.
5
386 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
The suit was continued, and finally adjusted by the granting of the
decree to the petitioner in the October term, ] 853. In that year occurs
the first entry in the court minute book or record, the petition just quoted
having been obtained from the " valuable box in the cellar."
District Court, Mills county, October term, 1853.
At an adjourned term of the district court of said county begun and held at Glenwood,
on the ]7th day of October, A, D. 1853, pursuant to notice given in accordance with tlie
code of Iowa, there were present . Hoc. Samuel H. Riddle, judge; Wm. SnuiBn, clerk;
George Hepner, prosecuting attorney, and John Haynie, sheriff, when the following pro-
ceedings were had and done, viz :
On motion of A. C. Ford it is ordered that D. W. Price be and is hereby enrolled as an
attorney and counsellor in this court.
On motion of H. P. Bennett, Mr. Geo. Hepner was appointed prosecuting attorney, pro
tern. The court was then adjourned until half past one o'clock p. m.
Court was opened again pursuant to adjournment and the sheriff ordered to summons
fifteen grand jurors.
The case of State of Iowa against WTieatley Mickelwait, was called, and adjourned till
to-morrow.
The sheriff returned into court with the following grand jurors, viz : John B. Wilson,
Philip Miller, Jesse A. Painter, H. P. Allison, Wm. Davis, C. W. Tolles, jr., J.W. Coolidge.
Thompson Blair, Wm. Jessup, Edward Gilliland, W. W. Greene, Stephen Miles, James L.
.'Shields, A. McAlpine and James L. Burger, of which Joseph W. Coolidge was appointed
foreman of the court, who, together with his fellows, being duly sworn and empanneled,
having received their charge from the court retired to consider the presentments and indict-
:ments.
James B. McCabe and Henry Hull being summoned on the grand jury, did not appear
:and by order of the court an attachment was issued for said persons to the sheriff. Said
sheriff returned into court with said defendants. The said James B. McCabe and Henry
Hull being duly sworn and questioned by the court, the court acquitted James B. McCabe,
Iby paying costs, and Henry Hull tvas fined one dollar and costs.
The court then ordered an adjournment until 9 o'clock to-morrow morning.
I Samuel H. Kiddlb,
Judge Seventh Judicial District of Iowa.
The first case of this session of the district court was a case of replevin,
and was that of Simpson Snow vs. Monroe Holloway, which was contin-
ued. The first indictment returned was for assault and battery, the case
being that of State of Iowa vs. Wheatley Mickelwait, which was dis-
missed on motion of counsel for defendant. The same personage again
figures as one against whom the second indictment recorded appears.
He was indicted for selling intoxicating liquor. When the case came on
for a hearing the defense " moved to set aside," which was not sustained.
A demurrer was then filed, but the demurrer was overruled. Leave was
given the defense until the following morning, when he was to plead.
This was the first case on the morning of Wednesday, October 19, the
defense filing a plea of not guilty, whereupon the court ordered the
empanelling of a jury to try the same. After the trial the jury returned
a verdict of guilty, and fined the defendant ten dollars. In addition to this
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 387
indictment the grand jury returned one against Lewis Johnson, for man-
slaughter; against John Johnson, for an assault with intent to commit
great bodily injury; against W. Ellington, for betting; against- J. D. Rog-
ers and P. A. Hooper, for an assault with intent to commit great bodily
injury ; and one against Samuel Judy, Thomas Woods, John Johnson, J.
D. Rogers, Seth Johnson and Geo. Kirkman, for arson. The parties to
the last named offense all obtained a change of venue to Pottawattamie
county, where the case was tried, with what result it has not been possible
to learn. William Ellington had to pay two dollars and fifty cents for the
privilege of betting, the jury having returned a verdict of guilty when
the cause came on for a hearing.
Judge Samuel J. Riddle presided at this term of the court, he having
been appointed successor to Judge James Sloan, who had resigned.
There are various reasons assigned as to why the honorable gentleman
presented his resignation.
It is said that it was brought about by interested parties who were
striving to foist themselves into public notice. One of the attorneys before
the bar of Fremont, A. C. Ford, was to receive the resignation of Judge
Sloan, secure the backing of his Whig friends, and Sloan was to present
the claims of Ford to Governor Hempstead, at Dubuque, where he then
resided. Sloan had in some way become related, in business matters, to a
certain Orson Hyde, who was editing a paper known as the Fremont
Guardian. In consideration Of any service that Hyde might render him
Ford was to purchase the press of Hyde,* and in connection with Dawson
*The following is the record in this case, being the first chattel mortgage and quit-claim
deed recorded in the county of Fremont. It is introduced here as possibly corroborative
of the opinion so often expressed.
This indenture, made the second day of March, A. D. 1852, between Jacob Dawson, of
the county of Fremont, and State of Iowa, of the first part, and Orson Hide,f of the county
of Pottawattamie, Iowa, of the second part, witnesseth/ That I, the said Jacob Dawson, for
the consideration of two thousand dollars, do hereby quit-claim unto the said Orson Hide,
all of my interest in the following tract of land lying and being in the county of Potta-
wattamie, and State of Iowa; Beginning at a stake on the corner of Hide and Main streets,
in the town of Kanesville in said county, which stake is about two feet northeast from the
northwest corner of the printing office, and running thence along Main street sixty-one feet
to Riddle & Co.'s line near the warehouse; thence along Kiddle & Co.'s line in a southern
direction to the rear corner, being the northeast corner of Riddle & Co.'s wareroom ; thence
in a northeasterly direction along the line of John Gooch's lot about sixty-eight feet to a
stake on Hide street, which stake is the northwest corner of John Gooch's lot; thence in a
northwesterly direction along Hide street about forty-six feet to the place of beginning —
being known as the Frontier Guardian printing office, building and lot. And do hereby
bargain, sell and convey unto the said Orson Hide all of the materials connected with the
Frontier Onardian printing establishment, to-wit: One "Imperial" printing press (Cincin-
nati make) : two news chases, one long book chase, two job chases, fifteen pairs cases, two
tOrBon Hide, the great Mormon apostle.
388 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
should use it as a campaign organ in support of Ford as a candidate for
the district judgeship at the next election. Only one thing was lacking
in the chain of events as just stated — the .friends on whom Ford relied for
recommendations signally failed him. It appears that he had been a fugi-
tive from justice from the state of California, and the fact was quite gen-
erally known among the citizens of the county. Indeed, the opposition
took a stronger aspect than mere refusal to recommend his appointment
— a meeting was called in Sidney, in Fremont county, in February, 1852,
at which were passed a series of resolutions denouncing Hyde, and not at
all complimentary to Ford. Copies of the resolutions were sent to papers
in the eastern portion of the state, in western Missouri, and to Governor
Hempstead. Accompanying them was sent a recommendation to the
governor to appoint Allen A. Bradford as the successor of Judge Sloan.
This petition was heard and granted. Bradford received the appoint-
ment and entered upon the duties of his office. Before the expiration of
double stands for cases, one cast-iron roller mould, one imposiag stone and frame, five
small and two large composing sticks, one inking apparatus, one bank and two tables, five
brass galleys, rules and furniture, with all the news and job type belonging to and con-
nected with the said Frontier Chiardian office — hereby granting to the said Orson Hide the
legal title and the right of possession thereof.
The above conveyance to be void upon condition that I pay well and truly, according to
the tenure thereof, a certain promissory note bearing even date herewith, calling for one
thousand one hundred and fifty-three dollars and ninety-two cents (|1,153.92), executed by
Jacob Dawson and A. C.'Ford, and payable to O. Hide twelve months after date, together
with ten per cent, interest from date until paid. Andupon the further condition that I will
well and truly supply to such of the present subscribers who have paid in advance tor the
Frontier Guardian the Frontier Guardian and Iowa Sentinel to the amount which each sub-
scriber may have so paid in advance as will appear by reference to the subscription book
of said Frontier Guardian, amounting in the aggregate to the sum of three hundred and
eighty -four dollars and eight cents, or otherwise satisfy such subscribers, releasing said 0.
Hide from any liability in reference to said advance payment as aforesaid, otherwise to be
and remain in full force, to have and to hold the above described premises hereby quit-
claimed, and the said above described material hereby bargained and sold, together with
all and sine;ular the appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any manner appertaining.
In testimony whereof, the said Jacob Dawson hath hereunto set his hand and seal the day
and year first above written.
Jacob Dawson, [seal.]
State of Iowa, )
Pottawattamie CotWTY, j °®"
Personally appeared before me, Hadley D. Johnson, a notary public within and for the
county of Pottawattamie and State of Iowa, Jacob Dawson, personally known to me to ba
the identical person whose name is affixed to the foregoing deed as grantor, who acknowl-
edged the foregoing instrument to be his voluntary act and deed.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my notorial seal this Sdday
of March, A. D. 1852.
Hadlet D. Johnson
Nota/ry Public.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 389
his first term his official acts met with such general approval and his integ-
rity of character was so well known that there was scarcely any opposi-
tion in electing him for the next term. But the matter did not end here.
"Hyde employed Ford and A. W. Babbitt to institute a suit for libel
against the ten citizens who reported these resolutions to the meeting.
Ford brought the papers for the suit down to Fremont from Mr. Hyde,
and filed them with the clerk, and had the sheriff to serve the parties
defendant with notice of the suit. * * * But when the court was
held in the spring of 1852, by Judge Bradford, a demurrer was filed to
the statements in the petition, alleging that to charge a man with selling
his printing press, and using his influence to have a man elected to an
office, was not defamatory nor libelous, as the fact imputed was not a
crime. The demurrer was sustained, the suit was ended, and everything
went along smooth^ after that." — Lingenfelter.
Judge Bradford was a worthy man, and merited the confidence reposed
in him by the legal fraternity and court officials generally. He was a
native of Maine and retained very many of the peculiarities of his native
state. In court he. was stately and dignified, permitted no gross viola-
tions of court decorum, was prompt in his decisions, and taken altogether
was a worthy occupant of the bench of the district judgeship.
"Judge Bradford had some peculiarities — some eccentricities. His
dress, though it might be made of the costliest broadcloth, hardly ever fit
his person ; his coat, pants and vest were nearly all the time either too
large, too small, too long, or too short, and sometimes one garment might
be too large or too short, when at the same time as to the fit of the oth-
ers it was vice versa. He hardly ever combed his hair, and would fre-
quently let his beard go two or three weeks without shaving; and it fre-
quently l\appened that when he had about half shaven himself he would
suddenly stop, pick up a newspaper and read it, and then neglect to com-
plete his toilet. And, when thus half shaven, one foot slip-shod, and
otherwise slatternly attired, he would go to church, to court, or around
amongst his friends. But with all his eccentricites he had many warm
friends, for he was ever a true friend to the virtuous, the industrious, and
the necessitous; no poor man ever went from his house hungry."— Z««-
genfelter.
Judge Bradford did not complete the term for which he was elected.
In some difficulty with a man near Nebraska City he received a severe
wound on the head by a club in the hands of the same, which necessitated
his resignation of the judgeship. The difficulty seems to have been occa-
sioned by the boundary line of the respective claims of Judge Bradford
and his assailant. It was during the judidal career of Judge Bradford
that the first rules adopted by any district court in Mills county were
390 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
spread upon the proceedings and made a part of its record. They com-
prise eleven distinct specifications, and cover nearly all the ordinary
business of a session of court. With the November term of 1854 the
connection of Judge Bradford with the jvjdicial history of the county
ce&ses.
The successor to Judge Bradford was the Honorable E. H. Sears,
whose first court in this district was opened the 19th day of February,
1855. There seems to have been a change in the policy of political par-
ties since that date. Judge Sears, as had been his predecessor, was at
that time a democrat, but the application for his appointment was made
by lawyers and others who were whigs. The petition was presented to
Governor Grimes, also a whig, and the appointment was made on the
basis of ability and moral worth. Judge Sears, in all his judicial career
proved the correctness of the theory "the best men in the highest places."
His first term occurred at a time well calculated to test his judicial pow-
ers and his legal ability. New laws — for the most part obnoxious in
themselves to many — had been enacted, and the first causes in the county
under these enactments were tried before him. They were causes rela-
ting to the sale of intoxicating liquors, and others pertaining to the swamp
lands, both, in their very natures, requiring the greatest judicial care and
more than ordinary legal ability in the court before which they were
tried. There was added another fact requiring good powers of discrimi-
nation,— that of the nature of the bar of the county, at that time composed
of the strongest legal talent in western Iowa. Judge Sears gave such
general satisfaction and proved so admirably his fitness for the judgeship
that to his election the second time was presented no obstacle; and it was
accordingly done. He was a careful man and a wise judge — taking the
greatest pains to insure justice to all parties to a suit — civil or criminal. This
carefulness is evidenced by the following extract from an address to the
grand jury, delivered in 1859, showing the measures he adopted to insure
no errors on the part of the jurors.
JDDSE SBARS' CHAEGB.
'■'■ Gentlemen: — Before entering upon the important duties which you are
called upon to discharge, it may be well for you to make and answer the
following inquiries: What are the uses of a grand jury? Why was it
instituted? And did the people demand it?
"The people of England, our ancestors, did demand it, and thought
they had made a great advance in personal security and individual liberty
when they had obtained it from the reluctant and unwilling hands of des-
potism. Prior to its institution the courts were looked upon by the mass
of the people as engines of cruelty, injustice and oppression, and not as the
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 391
protectors of innocence and the punishers of crime. Who does not
remember the history of the bloody assizes and the judicial act of a Jeff-
reys? And it was to prevent fraud, oppression, favoritism, bribery, and
aU manner of corruption in the administration of criminal jurisprudence,
that the grand jury was instituted. And how can you assist by vour
action as grand jurors, in the accomplishment of this great object? It
can only be accomplished by laying aside every -personal or -party consid-
eration; by risingabove hatred or affection., and by knowing no person, friend
or foe in the discharge of yonr duties. To vindicate the law and mete out
simple-handed justice, should be your only motive. No one can be
arraigned before this court for a crime but on your presentment. You
are responsible to your country and to your God for the wrongful arraign-
ment of the innocent, and for the non-arraignment of the guilty.
"Courts and juries should never permit mere technicalities, evasions or
subterfuges to prevent the truth or thwart the administration of justice.
The temple of justice is no place for evasion and falsehood. And this
remark applies alike to the bar, the jury and the court. The court, insL-
bued with the spirit of equity, should hold with even hand the scales of
justice. The jury, rising above every personal consideration and disre-
garding every subterfuge and evasion, should find the simple truth. And
the member of the bar who feels the responsibility and real dignity of his
position, will have ■& stronger regard for the faithful administration of the
law than successful evasion; and more pleasure in the triumph of truth
and right than in falsehood and injustice. He will feel that his duty to
himself as a man, to his country as a citizen, to his God and his own con-
science, as a responsible being, are infinitely higher in their nature than
the duty he owes his client. And when all of us feel our responsibility and
act up to the high duties which it imposes, may we not hope that our
courts (if it be true that they have lost it) will regain the public respect,
arid enjoy the public confidence ; and that men will not feel called upon on
account of any imagined inefficiency or uncertainty of the courts, to take
what they deem justice into their own hands, and administer it summarily
and in violation of all law. But are our courts wholly to blame for this
k)ss<)f confidence and growing disrespect for their decisions? Has not
the citizen a sacred duty to perform in relation to the courts and in main-
taining their character and authority? A decision of a court having
authority to make the same, is as much the law of the land as a statute
can be; and until the same is reversed in a legal way and constitutional
manner, should be respected and obeyed. He who creates a disrespect
for the courts of our country is doing an irreparable injury, by shaking the
confidence of the people in the faithful administration of justice. While,
the courts themselves should not only be pure, but should be above sus-
392 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
picion, and should avoid the least shadow of party or personal bias. They
should also be respected and sustained, by that confidence which alone can
enable them to successfully perform the important function tor which they
were instituted, to mete out simple handed justice between man and man
protect the innocent and punish the guilty.
" But your special attention is called to your duty in regard to all county
officers. Gentlemen, let your inquiry into your county affairs and the
manner in which your officers have transacted their duties, be strict, thor-
ough and uncompromising; hold them to a strict account of their stew-
ardship and this court will give you all the assistance in its power to
enable you faithfully to perform this, as well as every other part of your
duty. Pursue these investigations, gentlemen, with diligence, not urged
thereto by a spirit of persecution or party prejudice, or personal ill-will,
and not deterred therefrom by favor, fear or personal friendship. Give
to all complaints against your public agents a patient hearing; and let all
come here with these complaints, if any theyhave, or hereafter hold their
peace.
"And now, gentlemen, remember that the position you occupy is one
of vast importance to your county, and to the entire state. Interests as
dear as life, as personal liberty, and as the rights of property, depend
upon your action. It is for you to say whether the law shall be main-
tained and enforced and its violator receive the reward he merits, whether
human life and the person of the citizen shall be safe under its protecting
care, whether the rights of property shall be inviolate and the sovereignty
of the law maintained and order secured within your county, or whether
the law shall be trampled upon with impunity, every principle of justice
and good order outraged, and the violator with unblushing front and in
open defiance of all law, go unwhipped of justice. And, gentlemen, is
the oath you have just taken a mere form, a judicial farce, a solemn
mockery before high heaven, or is it binding upon your conscience, ihi-
posing the highest obligation under which the human being can act in the
discharge of important duties, to himself, to his country and to his God?
Acting then in view of these high and solemn responsibilities, enforced by
an oath administered by the authority of law, in the temple of justige, to
the searcher of all hearts, I cannot doubt but that you will so act as to
redeem this, your solemn pledge, maintain the dignity of the law, secure
its supremacy and give a sense of security to the citizen in all his rights
of person and of property within your county."
Judge Sears always appeared to be dignified and equal to any emer-
gency that might arise. He felt that the suffrage of his constituency
called him to execute justice upon the guilty and to protect the rights and
liberty of others. The following incident may serve to illustrate this fea-
ture of his character, and the fidelity he exercised as a judge.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 393
" I recollect," says Hon. L. L.ingenfelter, " of a very exciting time in his
court in this [Fremont] county in 1859. In 1857 the new constitution of
Iowa provided that a negro might testify the same as any other person in
all courts of judicature, federal or state. Under its provisions and the
statute made thereunder it happened, at the September term of the dis-
trict court for 1859, there were three blacks, to- wit : Green Garner, Henry
Garner and Thomas Reid, subpoenaed, and were in attendance to testify
in a certain case against some parties who were wealthy, respectable and
influential. When the case came on for trial the court-house was crowded
with men full of excitement, who were intent upon an interruption should
these witnesses be put upon the stand. Threats were audibly made
against the lawyers, the parties interested, the witnesses,, the officers of
the court, and even against the court itself, should they attempt to testify.
But Judge Sears quailed not ; he was firm, fearless and unmoved. He
called upon the sheriff to bid the spectators be seated and be quiet, stating
that they should have a good opportunity to hear all the evidence ; that
what was now transpiring was something new, to be sure, but it was now
the law, and he hoped no man who loved the enforcement of law would
see it violated. This had a good effect. The witnesses were all sworn,
testified, and subjected to a cross-examination, and then retired without
molestation, and no one else injured or insulted."*
The successor to Judge Sears was Judge James G. Day, a graduate of
an Ohio college; at a law school in Cincinnati he received his legal edu-
cation, coming to western Iowa at his graduation therefrom. He served
with distinguished ability for two terms, and afterward became one of
the judges of the supreme court of the state — a position he now holds.
Judge J. W. McDill succeeded him, to be in turn succeeded by Judge J.
R. Reid, the present incumbent. Thus it may be seen that the district
court of Mills has had a most eventful history. It originally was held in
private residences, but now in a stately building erected specially to meet
the ends of justice. Its lists of attorneys comprise many men of distinc-
tion; its different judges have been men, for the major part, of distin-
guished ability, and its records — unfortunately — full well filled with causes
both criminal and civil. The scenes of other and older days will never be
repeated, and this sketch may serve to revive memories — many of them
long since dead.
AN INCIDENT OF THE DISTRICT COURT.
In those days not every lawyer was a Wm. M. Evarts or a Jeremiah S.
Black, but all were good-natured and jolly and many of them practical
* Judge Sears died at his home in Sidney, Fremont county, of pneumonia, Thursday,
January 30, 1881.
394 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
jokers. Cases were few and fees were small, and when the attorneys
could not entertain themselves in work pertaining to their profession they
sought to divert themselves in other ways.
The county being new, lawyers were not very abundant, and so it was
customary for nearly all the attorneys of the district to accompany the
judge from place to place where court .was held and pick up clients
when and where they could. This practice was not very remunerative,
but it has its bright side, nevertheless. " The boys didn't make much
money," a veteran lawyer tells us, " but they had lots of fun."
A good story is told of a prank played by the attorneys in the district
north of this, about the year 1850 or 1851. The judge for that district
was Williams, quite a character in his way, but withal an excellent
judge and one learned in the law. He combined the legal acumen of
I/ord Coke with the proportions of Falstaff and the tendency to abjurga-
tior^ of a trooper of the army in Flanders. To speak alliterativeLy, he
was profound, prodigious, and profane. The lawyers of his court were
constantly annoying him and he was condemning them and fining them
for contempt. Yet Judge Williams was a kind man at heart, and many
is the good deed set down to his credit in the book of the recording
angel.
On one occasion the Judge and his retinue of lawyers set out on horse^
back from the county seat of Grundy county for Eldora, the capital of
Hardin county. On the way the judge grew athirst and as they neared
the Iowa river was reminded by one of the lawyers, informed as to the
facts, that about half a mile from the road an Irishman kept whisky for
iSale in his cabin. Leaving the party, his honor went in quest of the enliv-
ening fluid for which he had an enthusiastic fondness. The attorneys
rode on and soon reached the banks of the Iowa. A light rain had fallen
the evening and morning preceding, and the stream was muddy, turbid,
and to all appearance deep. One of the party made a reconnoissancej
however, and found that at the worst the water was only "mid-sides," and
the party, laughing at their first apprehensions, were soon on the west
bank of the river safe, sound, and dry, and then halted to wait for the
judge.
At once the idea of a joke onJiis worship occurred to the waggish bar-
risters, and they proceeded to carry it out. They hastily denuded themselves,
some of coats, some of boots and some of other articles of apparel; and
when the judge arrived on the opposite bank — which was in a few minutes
they presented all the appearance of men who had just disrobed and who —
were now re-clothing themselves. The judge took in the situation at
once (?) and was further informed by the lawyers that if he wanted to
reach town in a dry suit he must strip off all his clothes, put them in his
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 395
saddle-bags and with the latter about his neck S2tnm the racing current!
The profanity that followed was fearful. His honor anathematized the
weather, the stream, the county commissioners, the attorneys, (of course,)
— everything — until the air was almost blue and the atmosphere smelled
of sulphur. He would remove an article of clothing, and then shake his
fist at the irreverent wags across the river, who were visibly enjoying the
spectacle immensely, and objurgate. At last he stood forth, tn furibus
■mduralibus, a " man of unbounded stomach" and of wrath. The spec-
tacle can only be imagined ; it can never be described ! Mounting his
steed he timidly ventured into the stream, appealing to the frantic attor-
neys to watch him carefully and come to his assistance if necessary. He
had proceeded but a few feet when the real condition of affairs became
apparent, for, in addition to the suspicious, or auspicious circumstance of
the shallowness of the water, the lawyers hurriedly bestrode their horsey,
and as hurriedly galloped away.
It is needless to say that his honor made the passage in safety. He also
reached the hotel at Eldora in safety, and when he confronted those attor-
neys in the little bar-room^but let us draw a veil!
JUDICIAL DISTRICTS AND JUDGES.
' Mills county has been subjected to the usual number of changes rela-
tive to its judicial position. Under the constitution of 1846 the district to
which it was attached had no existence until February, 1851, when the
sixth district was created. As originally composed, the district included
the countit* of Adair, Adams, Audubon, Buena Vista, Buncombe (now
Lyon), Carroll, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dickinson, Harrison, Ida,
Page, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, O'Brien, Osceola. Plymouth, Potta-
wattamie, Ringgold, Sac, Shelbv, Sioux, Taylor, Union and Waukon,
(now Woodbury).
On, September 2, 1857, Mills county was taken from the seventh and
added to the sixth district by a special provision of the constitution.
The seventh district was created February 9, 1853, and of this Mills
county was considered a part, though it was unconnected formally with
any district until September 2, 1857, when it was attached, as above
noted, to the sixth. At the time of the adoption of the new constitution
in 1857, the sixth district was composed of the counties of Adair, Adams,
Fremont, Mills, Montgomery, Page and Taylor. This arrangement was
modified under the new constitution, and Mills, together with Crawford,
Carroll, Gfeene, Shelby, Audubon, Pottawattamie, Cass and Fremont
396 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
counties formed the thirteenth judicial district. The change was made
in accordance with article five, section ten, of the new constitution, which
re-organized the judicial districts so that they numbered but eleven, but
provided for a change in the boundaries thereof "every four years there-
after, if necessary, and at no other time."
Under the constitution of 1846, the district judges were James Sloan,
elected April?, 1851, resigned March 9, 1852; A. A. Bradford, appointed
by the governor May 4, 1852, qualified May 24, elected by the people
April 4, 1853, and who subsequently resigned; E. H. Sears, appointed
January 9, 1855, qualified February 1, elected by the people April 2. By
the constitution of 1858 Mills became a part of the third district. Hon.
E. H. Sears was the first judge of the new district, having been elected
at the October election, 1858. He was succeeded by James G. Day;
elected October 14, 1862, and re-elected October 9, 1866. In March
1870, he resigned, to be followed by Hon. J. W. McDill,* who was ap-
pointed to fill the vacancy, until the following October, when he was
elected by the people. He resigned in 1872, having received the nomina-
tion of the republican party for congressional honors. Judge J. R. Reid,
of Council . Bluffs, was appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the
resignation of Judge McDill, and has since been the incumbent. These
gentlemen have all served their constituency with singular ability and suc-
cess. They have added honor to the official records of the county, and
maintained the high standing of its judicial relations.
THE FIRST CIRCUIT COURT.
With the establishment of the circuit court, Judge James G. Day,
judge of the third district, Iowa, on the first day of December, 1868, in
compliance with the requirements of section 24f of the act establishing
circuit and general courts, and defining the power and jurisdiction
thereof, designated the following dates for holding the terms of the cir-
* Now U. S. Senator.
■fChapter 86, sec. 34. "The district judge of 'each judicial district shall, on or before the
first day ,of December, 1868, designate, by an order under his hand, the times for holding
the terms of the circuit court in each circuit in his district for the year 1869, whioli
order shall be filed with the clerk of the court, in each county of the circuit. And there-
after each, general term shall at the last term held for the year 1869, and eyery alternate
year thereafter, designate by an order under their hands, the time for holding the terms of
each circuit in the district for the two years next ensuing, which order shall be filed witli
the several clerks of each circuit."
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 397
cuit court in Mills county : At Glenwood January 12, April 6, July 20,
and October 5. This county, with Fremont, Page, Montgomery and
Pottawattamie counties belong to the third judicial district, of which they
constitute the first circuit.
The records of the circuit court of this county open with a vacation
record. The first business appearing was in reference to an application for
the sale of " intoxicating liquors." The officers of the court were Hon.
R. L. Douglas, judges; T. P. Ballard, clerk, and E. B. Sampson, sheriff.
The vacation record is as foUows^the clerk acting as judge:
In the matter of the application of C. A. Bartholomew for marriage license, January 4,
1869. Comes now into court this 4th day of January, 1869, C. A. Bartholomew and makes
application for license permitting the marriage of himself and Miss M . A. Beaton, and
the court being satisfied as to the competency ot said parties, grants the license as prayed
for.
T. P. Ballard,
Olerh Circuit Court.
In the matter of the application of George G. Gause for marriage license January 5,
1869. Comes now into court this*5th day of January, 1869, B. R. Hawley, and makes
application for license permitting the marriage of George G. Gause and Anna C. Lewel-
lyn, and the court being satisfied as to the competency of said parties, grants the license
as prayed for.
T. P. Ballabd,
Clerk Circuit Court.
In the matter of the application of William F. Kramer for permit to sell liquors.
Comes now on the 4th day of January, 1869, Wm. F. Kramer and files certificate of good
character, signed by twelve citizens of Glenwood township, for the purpose of procuring
a permit to buy and sell intoxicating liquors in the town of Glenwood, Mills county, Iowa,
for medicinal, mechanical, culinary and sacramental purposes only; whereupon January
14, 1869, is fixed as the time of final hearing in this matter before the judge of the court
in term time at Glenwood, Iowa, and it is ordered that notice of the application and the
time of final hearing be given by posting at the door of the post ofBce in Glenwood, Iowa,
at least ten days before the time of final hearing.
T. P. Ballard, Clerk,
' In the absence of the Circuit Judge.
The foregoing entry read in open court on the 12th day of January, A. D., 1869, and
approved by me.
R. L. Douglass,
Circuit Judge of the 1th Circuit of the Zd Judicial District.
The business of the first term was not very extended, nor did it cover a
wide range of subjects. For the full information of the reader, who may
desire to know how court records are kept, and something of the nature
of the business as well, the following record of the first term has been
transcribed in full:
At a regular term of the circuit court of Mills county, Iowa, begun and held at the court
house in Glenwood, on Tuesday the 13th day of January, A. D. 1869.
Present— Hon. R. L. Douglass, circuit judge of the first court of the third judicial dis-
trict; T. P. Ballard, clerk, and E. B. Sampson, sheriff, and where the following proceed-
ings were had and done :
398 HISTORY OF M[LLS COUNTY.
The said court adopted for its own use a metalic seal, having on the face thereof " Cir-
cult Court of Mills County, Iowa," and also the Goddess of Liberty holding a shield in
lier right hand, and in her left hand a flag.
The court then adjourned until to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock a. m.
Signed and approved January 12th, A. D. 1869, in open court.
R. L. Douglass.
Wednesday, January 13, A. D. 1869, 10 a. m.
Court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, same as yesterday.
The court this day was occupied with probate business, and at 3 o'clock p. m,; adjourned
until to-morrow morning at 9 o'clock a. m.
R. L. Douolass.
Thursday Mobning, January 14, A. D. 1869.
Court met pursuant to adjournment. Present, same as yesterday.
Application of Wm. F. Kramer for permit to buy and sell intoxicating liquors for
mechanical, culinary and sacramental purposes only.
Comes now the said Wm F. Kramer by H. C. Watkins, his attorney, and it appearing
to the court by satisfactory evidence that the said applicant is not a hotel keeper, keeper
of a saloon, eating house, grocery keeper, nor a confectioner, and he having on the 4th day
of January, A. D. 1869, presented to and filed in the ofilce of the clerk of this court a cer-
tificate of twelve citizens of Grlenwood township, in this county, certifying that the said
applicant is a man of good moral character and standing therein ; that said certificate was
obtained for the purpose of procuring for said applicant a permit to buy and sell intoxi.
mating liquors for the purposes above shown, in Glenwood, Mills county, Iowa, of whicli
township, town and county said applicant is a citizen and resident ; and at the same timei
the application of said Wm. F. Kramer being filed in the office of said clerk, and the said
clerk having fixed the third day of the present term of this court, to- wit: the 14th day of
January, A. D. 1869, for the final hearing of said application, and having given legal notice
thereof by posting such notice on the postofflce door in said city of Glenwood, Glenwood
township. Mills county, Iowa, more than ten days prior to the said time set apart for final
hearing of said application, and the said Wm. F. Kramer having this day, in the presence
of the court, executed his bond in the penal sum of one thousand dollars, with two good
and sufficient sureties, to- wit : H. Betts and F. Heinsheimer, approved by the' court, con-
ditioned and required by the statute made and provided, and said -bond, so approved as
aforesaid, being deposited with the clerk of the district court of Mills county, and having
paid all the costs, it is therefore ordered and adjudged that a permit to^buy and sell intoxi'
eating liquors for mechanical, medicinal, culinary and sacramental purposes only, in said
city of Glenwood, be and the same is hereby granted to the said Wm. F. Kramer, pursuant
to the statute in such cases made and provided, in the drugstore of said Kramer, being the
wooden building situated on the twenty feet front of lot 10, in block 81, in the said city of
Glenwood, and said permit is continued for the period of twelve months from this date,
unless sooner revoked.
Whereupon court adjourned until court in course.
R. L. Douglass,
The second regular term of the circuit court convened Tuesday, April
6, 1869. There were present Hon. R. L. Douglass, judge of the first
circuit of the third judicial district, T. P. Ballard, clerk, and E. B. Samp-
son, sheriff. It appearing that no jury had been empunneled, the court
ordered the clerk "to issue a precept to the sheriff commanding him to
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 399
summons a sufficient number of persons from the body of the county to
serve as jurors at the present term of this court, which precept was
returnable to-morrow morning at nine o'clock."
The first cause of the second term was a case in law, being that of S.
Slaughter vs. Mary Humphreys, and J. Humphreys. This case was con-
tinued generally. To learn the outcome of this first cause in law the
records of the court have been searched and with the following result. In
the July term, of 1869, (July 21) the cause was again brought before the
court. The defendant by his attorneys, filed a motion for more specific
statement. The cause again came up, on defendant's motion, on the same
day, and after listening to the arguments of counsel, the court took the
case under advisement until the following morning. On the next day,
July 22, the defendant withdrew his motion for more specific statement,
and filed his demurrer to plaintiff's petition. The case was submitted to
the court on the demurrer, and his honor took the same "under advise-
ment until the first day of next term." The next term was in October,
and when the case came up the following entry was made:
SAMTJBii Slaughter "|
m. (
Mart Humphebts, and |
J. Humphreys. j
The court overrules the demurrer heretofore filed, and at the last term ef this court
filed by the defendants to plaintiff's petition, and, which after argument at said last term
the court took under advisement until this term. It is therefore considered that the
plaintiff recover of the defendant the sum of one dollar and costs, and that execution issue
flierefor.
Thus open the judicial records of the county. All the years that have
intervened since that eventful year have witnessed many trials of human
skill and ingenuity — usually called law. Fortunes have been lost, liberty
taken away or restored, petty injuries righted, and sometimes — should it
be said? — great wrongs have been perpetrated. But infamous wrongs
have been righted .and villianous projects often defeated. The judicial
records of this county cover all the range of legal sin from petty larceny
to murder. Legally speaking, Glenwood is historic ground, and the
wrongs it has seen righted in the past may prove but a tithe of what
remains to the future.
The judges of the circuit court have been Hon. R. L. Douglass, Hon.
T, R. Stockton and Hon. C. H. Loofburow, the present worthy incum-
bent.
400 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
THE FIRST LAND ENTRIES.
The first land entries were made at Fairfield, sometime in May, 1849.
These entries* are not accessible, having, if at all recorded, been lost. The
first land entry of which there is any record was at Council Bluffs, Janu-
ary 7, 1853, and was by Leroy Britt. The number of acres was forty,
situated as follows: se of sw sec, tp 72, range 41.
There were no more entries until March 12, of the same year. From
that date until March 31, were made entries as follows:
March 12, 1853, nw of se sec 31, tp 72, range 41, 40 acres; by G.
Stonebreaker.
March 16, 1853, n fl i of ne sec 6, tp 71, range 42, 60.40 acres; by H.
Rogers.
March 16, 1853, n ^ of se sec 31, tp 73, range 42, 80 acres; by Stephen
Wiles.
March 16, 1853, w i of se sec 32, tp 72, range 42, 80 acres; by Stephen
Wiles.
March 16, 1853, sw i sec 12, tp 72, range 43, 160 acres; by H. Bennett,
in trust for occupant for Glenwood.
March 16, 1853, nw J, sec 13, tp 72, range 43, 160 acres; by Hiram
Bennett, in trust for occupants of Glenwood.
March 16, 1853, se J sec 26, tp 73, range 43. 160 acres; by Joseph
Brown.
March 16, 1853, ne J sec 35, tp 73, range 43, 160 acres; by A. H.
Anson.
March 18, 1853, nw Jsec 29, tp 72, range 40^ 160 acres; by Nelson
Hanson.
March 21, 1853, se i sec 21, tp 71, range 43, 160 acres; by Rufus Park.
March 25, 1853, sw i sec 13, tp 72, range 43, 160 acres; by Edward
Arnold, Jr.
March 25, 1853, e i of ne sec 23, tp 72, range 43, 80 acres; by Alex.
McAlpin.
March 25, 1853, w i of nw sec 24, tp 72, range 43, 80 acres; by Alex.
McAlpin.
March 25, 1853, w i of se sec 10, tp 73, range 43, 80 acres; by J. H.
Plumer.
March 25, 1853, w i of se sec 10, tp 73, range 43, 80 acres; by J. H
Plumer.
*Prior to the establishineiit of land ofiBces by the general government, the settlers held
their land under the claim and pre-emption laws.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 401 ^
March 25, 1863, s J of sw sec 26, tp 73, range 43, 80 acres; by W.
Gregory.
March 26, 1853, n i of nw sec 35, tp 73, range 43, 80 acres; by W.
Gregory.
March 26, 1853, se i sec 28, tp 72, range 40, 160 acres; by David Sil-
lett,
March 31, 1853, e J of ne and nw of ne sec 10, tp 72, range 43, 120
acres; by W. E. Gentry.
March 31, 1853, ne of se sec 10, tp 72, range 43, 40 acres; W. E. Gen-
try.
These are but few of the many that were made during the year 1853.
A copy was not furnished the county until five years afterward, when the
original entries for 1853 were furnished, as appears from the following cer-
tificate, found subjoined to the copy.
Ebsistbr's Land Office, Council Bluffs, Iowa. )
February 8, 1858. J
I hereby certify that the foregoing from pages 1 to 19 inclusive, contains a true copy of
the original entries in Mills county, Iowa, consumated at this office during the year 1853.
Jambs Pollard, Register.
It has been said that there are no records accessible relative to the land
entries for this county at Fairfield. A diligent search among a number
of musty documents in an old box in the cellar of the court house brought
to light an interesting document relative to some lands in this county,
which appears below in full. The entry was made in accordance with
the congressional act of September 28, 1850,* by which all surviving offi-
cers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, or privates, whether of regu-
lars, volunteers, rangers or militia, who were engaged in the military
service of the United States during the war with Great Britain in 1812,
the war with Mexico, or in the army in the Indian wars since the year
1790, or their widows or minor children, in case of their death, are entitled
to bounty lands, as follows : for nine months' actual service, one hundred
sixty acres; for four months' service, eighty acres, and lor any service
exceeding thirty days, forty acres of land.
The document to which reference has been made is one issued in
accordance with the provisions of the act alluded to, and is as follows:
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
To all to whom thbsb presents shall come, greeting:
Know ye, that in pursuance of an act of Congress entitled "An Act to raise, for a limited
time, an additional military force, and for other purposes," approved February 11, 1847,
*Vol. 9, Laws of the U. S., p 520.
6
402 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Edward O'Beede, private in Captain Sapps company, Illinois mounted volunteers, having
deposited in the General Land-oflce a warrant in his favor, numbered 25,740 ; there is,
therefore, granted bv the United States unto William Olney, assignee of said Edward
O'Beede, and to his heirs, the east half of the solitheast quarter of section twenty-four, and
the east half of the northeast quarter of section twenty-five, in township seventy, north of
range nine west, in the district of lands subject to sale, at Fairfield, Iowa, containing one
hundred and sixty acres, according to the official plat of the survey of the said land, returned
to the General Land-office by the surveyor general, which said tracts have been located in
satisfaction of the above mentionel warrant, in pursuance of the Act of Congress above
mentioned ; approved February 11, 1847. To have and to hold the said sections of land,
with the appurtenances thereof, unto the said William Olney, and to his heirs and assigns
forever.
In testimony whereof, I, Millard Fillmore, President of the United States of America,
have caused this letter to be made patent, and the seal of the General Land-office to be
hereunto affixed.
[sBAi.] Given under my hand at the City of Washington, the tenth day of December,
in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, and of the Independence of
the United States the seventy-fifth.
By the President,
MiLLABD FlLLMOBE.
By M. P. Fillmore,
Secretary.
E. S. Tbebt,
Becorder of the General Land-office.
Signed by the Recorder the sixteenth day of December, 1850.
Recorded, Vol. 43, page 431.
The evetit of entering land was one to which the early settlers looked with
more than usual interest. His home would then be assured him and his high-
est anticipations realized. That it was a matter of great importance none
will deny. The land office, both at Fairfield and Council Bluffs, often
became the scene of animated discussions, as ever and anon some un-
toward event occurred to cast a shadow upon some wished for claim. Those
days were days of excitement and anxiety, but when the claim was en-
tered and the title awarded in due and legal form, glad and proud indeed
were the hearts that beat in the bosom of the sturdy farmer, as homeward
he went, the possessor of acres of rich and well disposed land.
SOME EARLY LEGAL DOCUMENTS.
The earlier records of this county, like thoseof most others, are in a
most unsatisfactory condition. Deeds and mortgages were little cared for,
evidently, and the first business of the county officials, after receiving the
instruments and their fees, seemed to be to appropriate the latter and lose
the former. Some of them were honest but not capable men, and the
manner in which the records of those early days were kept, betray a most
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 403
criminal ignorance of the nature of the demands the various offices
made upon their incumbents. To enter upon a book the title of a deed
and the date of its execution was hardly enough in view of the impor-
tance of the transaction. Years passed after the county was organized,
before a proper place and manner were devised for caring for these all
important legal documents. When at last it became necessary, as it sev-
eral times has in the history of this county, to examine the earlier records
they were not to be found, and still their whereabouts are unknown. Of
the earliest deeds nothing whatever is known, the instruments having long
since disappeared — perhaps have been used as a substitute for the tinder
box.
The subject matter of the first mortgages having been lost, there can
only be presented to the interested reader the nature of those instruments,
together with such information as the recorder who entered them saw fit
to add to the entry. The first real estate mortgage was dated November
23, 1851, and filed December 10, 1851. It was executed by W. W. Noyes
to Tootle & Fairleigh. The description is as follows:
L. C. in B. 30, 30, 41, 33, 40. 14. 36, 85, 38, 13, 24, 35, 36, 37, in Coonville; also claim
south of 0; also lot 14 in B. 16.
The next instrument is of similar import, and is called by the recorder
a "mortgage deed." This paper was dated November 23, 1851, and
filed December 11, 1851. It was executed by W. W. Noyes to J. Season,
the property being thus described:
8e. c. of B. 16, n. 36 ft. w. % length of lot a. to street in Coonville, e. to place of begin-
ning.
Six days after the filing of the above, the following " deed " dated
December 16, 1853, was filed. It was executed by W. W. Noyes to A.
Ford and is thus described:
Dally claim adjoining C ville north; also Davenport claim c. % L- 4, B. 31, L. 4, B.
16, Daily's interest in said town except L. 14, 3, B. 1, L. 3, B. 3.
The first quit-claim deed is to be found in an old dilapidated book,
made of foolscap and ornamented with a paper cover on which is marked
in letters large if not attractive, the word " entry." The first part of this
interesting document is devoted to the simple record of the deeds made,
when and to whom. The latter portion is devoted to a transcript of the
original documents, among which appears the following:
Know all men 'by these presents:
That I, James Hobson of Coonville and state of Iowa, in consideration of the sum of
two hundred dollars to me paid by Jesse Painter of Mills county and state of Iowa, the
receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have remise and release and forever quit-claim
unto the said Jesse Painter, his heirs and assigns, forever, to the one-half of block No. 33,
Lot No. 4, to have and hold the same, together with all the privileges and appur-
404 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
tenances thereunto belonging to him, the said Jesse Painter, heirs and assigns forever, in
witness -whereof I set my hand and seal, this 3d day of October, 1851.
[sEAi.] Jambs H. Hobson.
l. w, eogebs.
State of Iowa,
CouNTT OF Mills.
[ ss.
I hereby certify that it has been satisfactorily proven by the statements of L W. Rog-
ers, that James R Hobson executed the above deed and tor some cause did not acknowl
edge the same at the time of the execution thereof.
Given under my hand, 33d day of July, 1853.
J. L. Sharp,
Proaecuting Attorney and Acting County Judge.
The instrument must therefore be acknowledged as the earliest one
now appearing on record. It is one of several that seem to have been
recorded during the first half of the year, 1852.
The first quit-claim deed now on record in the books of the county,
appears to have been transcribed from the paper-covered volume above
mentioned. A comparison of the two instruments shows the slight errors
that are unavoidably made, when legal documents are to be copied. The
date of the deed is later than that of the foregoing.
For the consideration of the sum of five thousand dollars, we, Abraham Hendricks and
Russel R Homer, members of the firm of S Reoundy & Co., and agents for the other mem-
bers of the said company, hereby sell and convey, and by these presents torever quit-claim
unto L. F. Sharp and his assigns, all our right and interest to the town of Bethlyham,* and
the claim thereunto attached, and the rear claim owned by said company situated on the
northwest quarter of section thirty-six, the west half of section twenty-five and fractional
section twenty in township seventy-two north, and of range forty-four west of the fifti
principal meridian, also the claim known as the Old Agency claim, situated upon the
west half of section eighteen (18), in township seventy-two north, range forty-three west,
together with improvements, rights and privileges thereunto belonging, the right of peace-
able possession being hereby acknowledged.
Witness our hands and seals, March 26, 1853.
Abkaham Hbmdbicks, [seal.]
R0SSBL R. Homer, [beal.J
State of Iowa, )
Mills Coohtt. )
On the twenty -sixth day of March, A. D. 1853, personally appeared before me Abraham
Hendricks and Russel R. Homer, whose names appear to the foregoing quit-claim deed
personally known to me to [be] the identical persons who signed the same and acknowl-
edged that they have executed the same purposes therein set forth.
Isaiah Cox,
Justice of the Peace.
Among some of the more curious legal documents of ihe earlier days
appears the following, power of attorney, which, for some reason, was
deemed of sufficient importance to warrant recording.
♦Bethlehem, now East Plattsmouth : also formerly called Sharpebnrg.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 4Q5
Know all men by these presents:
That J, George Mayfleld, of the county of Mills, the State of Iowa, have made, constituted
and appointed, and do by these presents make, ordain, constitute and appoint Isaac
Mayfield of the county of Owen, in the State of Indiana, my true and lawful attorney for
me, and in my name and for my use ask, demand, sue for, recover and receive ull such sums
of money, debts, goods, wares and other demands whatsoever, which is or shall be due,
owing and payable to me in any manner or by any means whatsoever, and I hereby give
my said authority, fall power and authority, in and about the premises, to have, use and
take all lawful ways and means in my name for the purposes aforesaid, and upon the
receipt of such debts, dues or sums of money to make, seal and deliver acquitances and
other sufficient discharge for me and in my name, and generally to do and perform in my
name other acta and things necessary to be done in and about the premises as fully and
amply to all intents and purposes as I myself could or might do if personally present.
And attorneys, one or more under him, for the purpose aforesaid, to make and constitute
and again and at pleasure to revoke, and I hereby ratify and confirm all and whatsoever my
said authority, shall lawfully do in my name, in and about the premises, by virtue of these
presents.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this fifth day of December, in
the year ot our Lord, 1852.
Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of
Gboegb Matpield. [seal.]
William J. Matpield.
Joseph Eawlbs.
State op Iowa, }
Mills County, f
Be itremembered that the within named George Mayfield, came this day and personally ap
peared before me the undersigned clerk of the district court of the county aforesaid, and
acknowledged that he did sign, seal and deliver the within power of attorney as his act and
deed, for the purposes therein specified.
Given under my hand and the seal of said court at office, in the town of Coonville in the
county aforesaid, this the seventh day of September, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and
fifty-two.
[seal.] William A. Scott.
0. D. G. Mills county, Iowa.
By Solomon .1 . Scott, D. G
Perhaps the following may fairly be considered as among the most
unique documents preserved in this quaint old book.
NOTICE.
All persons interested are hereby notified that I, Ann McCabe, of the county of Mills
county, and State of Iowa, wife of James B. McCabe, of the same county, do hereby claim
as my own separate personal property, the following described articles and securities, to-
wit: The house in the town of Coonville, in Mills county, Iowa, known as the Hillman
house, one bay mare, one sorrel colt, one pided* cow, one bureau and press, one table, one
stand, six chairs, one stove, two bedsteads, two feather beds with the bedding thereto at-
tached, including all the bedding now used in the house of the said James B. McCabe,
one clock, one Looking Glass a lot of pictures. The Cup board ware in use about tlie
* Pied— Bpotted
406 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. '
House one note of hand dated 35th December 1853 on Edward Crouch calling for fifty-
nine dolars and that I intend holding said property above from the debts of my husband.
Coonville, Mills county, lo^a, Sept. 15th 1853.
Ann McCabb.
The first mortgage of real estate entered on the county records bears
date of April 16, 1853, and is as follows:
This indenture, made this sixteenth day of April, A. D. 1853, between Joseph H. D.
Street and Ementy Ann, his wife, of the county of Wapello, and State of Iowa, of the first
part, and Achilles Rogers, School Fund Commissioner for the county of Mills, in the
State of Iowa, of the second part, witnesseth that the said party of the first pari, for, and
in consideration of the sum of one hundred (100) dollars to him in hand paid, the receipt
whereof is hereby acknowledged, has granted, bargained, sold and conveyed, and by these
presents do grant, bargain, sell and convey unto the said party of the second part, and to
his successors in office, the following described tract or parcel of land situated in the county
and state aforesaid, (to-wit ;) The north half of the southeast quarter of section sixteen (16)
in township seventy-two (73) north, and range forty-two west, from the fifth principal meri-
dian, to have and to hold the land aforesaid, together with all and singular the improve-
ments, privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining to
him, the said party of the second part, and to his successors in office forever, subject never-
theless to the following express reservations and conditions, (to-wit): Whereas, the said
party of the first part have borrowed of the said party of the second part the above sum of
one hundred dollars, payable on the 1st day of January, 1854, with interest thereon at the
rate of ten per centum per annum, payable the first day of January next, and annually
thereafter until paid, for which said sum, with interest as aforesaid, the said Joseph H. D-
Street and wife have given their obligation bearing same date herewith. Now, if the said
party of the first part shall well and truly pay to the said Achilles Rogers, School Fund
Commissioner as aforesaid, or to his successors in, office, the said sum of money, with the
interest accrued thereon as aforesaid, then this conveyance shall be utterly null and void,
but if default shall be made in the payment of said sums of money, principal or interest,
or either of them, the party of the second part may proceed by foreclosure, or in any law-
ful mode to make the amount due, together with costs, including collection fee, out of the
aforesaid real estate.
In testimony whereof the said Joseph H. D. Street and Ementy Ann, his wife, hereby
relinquishing her dower in the real estate herein mentioned, subject to the above reserva-
tions and conditions, have hereunto set their hands and seals the first date above written.
Joseph H. D. Street, [l. s.]
Ementy A. Street.
Executed iA the presenceof | ^".^.txIL's?.
Snijffin.
State op Iowa, ) „„
IT. r®-
Mills County.
Before me, William Snuffin, justice of the peace in and for the county and state afore-
said, or of Iowa, personally appeared the above Joseph H. N Street and his wife, person-
ally known to me to be the persons whose names are subscribed to the aforesaid deed as
parties, and acknowledged the signing and sealing of the kbove conveyance to be their vol-
untary act and deed, and the said — — — being acquainted with the contents of the above
conveyance acknowledged on an examination apart from her husband that she executed
the same and relinquished her dower in the real estate therein mentioned, free, by and
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 407
without compulsion or undue influence of the said husband, this 16th day of April, A. D.,
1853.
^ William Snuffin,
Justice of {he Peace .
I, Achilles Rogers, mortgagee on the foregoing mortgage, hereby acknowledged pay-
ment and full satisfaction of said mortgage this .26th day of December, A. D., 1854.
AoHiLLBs Rogers,
School Fund Oommissioner of Mills County.
On the same day this first mortgage of real estate was recorded
appears the first warantee deed, of which the following is an exact trans-
cript.*
This indenture, made and entered into this 16th day of April, A. D., 1853, by and
between Daniel Herreford and Elizabeth his wife, of tjie county of Mills and state of
Iowa, of the first part, and Peter A. Sarpy of the county of Mills and state of Iowa, of the
second part, witnesseth, that the said party of the first, far and in coLsideration of the sum
of two hundred dollars in hand paid the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged as
having been paid by the said party of the second part. Do hereby sell, convey Alien and
confirm unto the party of the second part, his heirs and assigns forever, the following
described real estate, to-wit : — The south half of the southeast quarter of section twenty
tour, and the north half of the northeast quarter of section twenty-five, in township sev-
enty-three north of range forty-four west, to have and to hold, the foregoing described
premises, with the appurtenances, unto the said party of the second part, and to his heirs
and assigns forever, and the said party of the first part, the foregoing premises unto the
said party of the second part will forever warrant and defend, against the claim or claims
of all or any person, whomsoever, claiming by, through, or under me, the said party of the
first part, my heirs and assigns forever. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my
hand and seal this sixteenth day of April, A. D., 1853.
[seal.] Daniel Hbrbfokd,
Signed, sealed and delivered ) Elizabeth Herefobd.
in presence of
W. R. English.
State of Iowa,
Mills County
.(■
Personally appeared before me, H. P. Bennett, the undersigned acting county judge of
said county, Daniel Hereford and Elizabeth Hereford his wife, who are to me personally
known to be the persons described in, and who executed the foregoing instrument of writ-
ing, and acknowledged the same to be their free act and deed for the uses and purposes
therein expressed. And the said Elizabeth Hereford having been examined separately
and apart from her said husband.f and the contents of said deed having been made known
to her by me, did acknowledge that she executed the same voluntarily and freely, and relin-
*ln this and all other legal documents the language and orthography of their originals
are retained. Even when repetitions and overt errors occur, the same rule obtains.
tit will be observed that the justice states that he examintd the "said Elizabeth Herreford separately
and apart from her said husband," and that she acknowledged the execution of the deed without the fear
or compulsion of her said husband. This was in strict accord with the theory of the old common
law, a practice now obsolete in this State. The old English common law contained many provisions
which, however necesary they mayhave been in the land of their origin, seem singularly out of place even
In the primitive codes of a people whose first breath and last is that of the greatest liberty, guaranteed
to both sexes alike.
408 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
quisled her dower to the premises therein conveyed, without the fear or compulsion of her
said husband.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this sixteenth day of April
A. D., 1853.
H. P. Bennett,
County Judge.
FIRST RECORDED CHATTEL MORTGAGE.
For the purpose of securing to C. C. Stringfield the payment of one hundred and forty,
forty-six one hundredths dollars, on the first day of February, A. D. 1859, and for' the con-
sideration of one dollar to me in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged.
I, Susan Anthony, hereby sell and convey to 0. C. Stringfield the following described per-
sonal property, to- wit: one two horse wagon; also one bay horse, eight years old; also two
brown cows ; color, one white-speckled and, the other dark red ; and four calves. Now, if
the said sum of money, to-wit: one hundred and forty and forty-six one hundredths dol-
lars so secured, is not paid to the said C. 0. Stringfield, of Mills county, Iowa, on or before
the said first day of February, A? D. 1857, I. B. Anthony hereby authorize the said C. C.
Stringfield to take possession of said personal property above described, and sell the same
for cash in hand to the highest bidders, first giving ten days notice of the time, terms,
place of sales and of the property to be sold by posting up three written notices thereof in.
the more conspicuous places of the township of Glenwood, and State of Iowa, arid pay him
self the said sum of one hundred and forty and forty-six one hundredths dollars, so secured,
with the costs of sale, and to hold the remainder subject to my orders.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this eighth day of October
1858.
her
Susan jx| Anthony,
mark
State op Iowa,
Mills county.
f-ss.
Be it remembered that on this the eighth day of October, A. D. 1858, personally appeared
before me, a justice of Silver Creek township. Mills county, Iowa, the above named Susan,
Anthony, personally known to me to be the identical person whose name is subscribed to the
foregoing chattel mortgage, and acknowledged the same to be her act and deed for the pur-
poses therein mentioned.
S. H. Stringfield,
Justice of the Peace.
Though the reader may be wearied with these quaint old documents,
since they throw so much light on the legal business and habits of the
early settlers, it is deemed best to add a few more of a various nature.
It is not the object to hold the authors up to ridicule, but to simply
quote these documents as interesting relics of a time long since gone, and
as indices to the legal talent of the various authors. They are given with-
out remark.
CERTIFICATE OF QUALIFICATION.
This is to sertify that jefson marton was swor in to office as cool deter* this September,
the 25th day, A. D. 1852.
Isaiah Cox,
Justice of tly. peace.
♦School director.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 409
ESTKAY AFFIDAVIT.
This day personally appeared before me, a justice of the peace in and for the county ol
Mills and State of Iowa, Lucas Tarpning of said county and state aforesaid and being after
having been first duly sworn by me, deposeth and saith, that on the twenty-third day of
October, 1854, there came an estray horse to his house in Rawles township and county
aforesaid, which he took up, and he further saith that the marks or brands have not been
altered by him or any other person to his knowledge, either before or after the same was
taken up.
Lucas Tarpning. [seal.]
Sworn and subscribed to before me the undersigned justice of the peace, this the 31st day
«f October, 1854.
William Kbsterson,
Justice of the peace.
On the reverse to this document appear the ioVLoWmg:
We the apprasors, who was duly sworn to apprise an estray horse taken up by Lucus
Tarpning, living in Rawles township, Mills county, Iowa, the said horse is a black when
shed off, is fifteen and a half hands high, supposed to be six years old last spring, which,
with both hind feet white half way to the back, and his right fore foot white to the paster
joint, a star in his forehead with a tip on the nose and a white spot on the left side of his
rump, and on his left leg at the upper part of hamstring, and also a white spot in his right
flank, with a few white hairs on his back, supposed to have been done by a saddle; also his
ankles are larger and has the appearance of being interfeared with his feet ; appraised to
ninety dollars.
Given under our hands and seals, this, the thirty-first day of October, A. D. 1854
G-EORGB W. TrAITH, )
[seal.] Hiram Kibth, J- Appraisors.
U. O. BURRELL EgGLBSTON. )
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct transcript of theappraisment, this the Slst
'day of October, 1854.
William Kbsterson,
Justice of the peace.
SCALP bounty certificate.
'State op Iowa, )
Mills County. )
This day personally appeared Adam Campbell and made oath before Zachariah Bucking-
ham, a justice of the peace for Lyons township, in Mills county. State of Iowa, and pro-
duced the scelp of a wild cat, and also the scelp of a woolf that he cild, the wild cat and
woolf in the bounds of Mills county, and in the limatation of ten days he is entitled to one
dollar and fifty sents for each scelp out of the county treserry.
Givin under my hand this the twenty-eighth day of November, 1859.
Zachariah Buckingham,
Justice of the peace.
first rboordbi) will.
Last will and testament of Nels. S. Nelson, deceased, of Mills county. State of Iowa.
I, Nels S. Nelson, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, and being desirous of
settling my worldly affairs while I have strength and capacity to do so, do make and pub-
lish this, my last will and testament ; that is to say, first, I hereby make and appoint my
410 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
beloved wife, Ingen Nelson, my sole executrix and administratrix, to pay all my funeral
expenses and just debts as soon after decease as practicable out of the first moneys that
shall come into her hands from any portion of my estate, real or personal ; second, I give,
devise, and bequeath unto my wife as aforesaid, all my real estate situated in the county
of Mills, and State of Iowa, to- wit : The east half (J^) of the northwest quarter Q^) of sec-
tion number twenty-one (21), in township number seventy-three (73), north of range forty-
three (43) west, containing eighty acres, and also the west % of the northwest quarter {^}
of section number twenty-three (28), in township seventy-three (73), north of range forty,
three (48) west, containing eighty acres ; and also the northwest quarter (^) of the north-
west quarter Q4) of section number twenty-two (32), in township seventy-three (73), north
of range forty-three west, containing forty acres ; and also the east half (i^) and the south-
west quarter of the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter (}£) of section number
twenty-two (23), in township seventy-three (78), north of range forty-three west, containing
one hundred and twenty acres. Second, I give, devise and bequeath to my wife Ingen, as
aforesaid, all the household furniture in my dwelling house, and also the dwelling house;
also all my personal property, consisting of four head of horses, seven head of cattle, six
head of sheep, and twelve hogs. Third, it is my intention and wish that the above grants,
gifts and bequests to my wife, Ingen Nelson, shall be and remain as above written ; that
she, my wife, as aforesaid, shall have full control of all my estate, both real and personal,
to have and to hold the same to her, her heirs and assigns forever, upon the following ■
conditions : That is to say that she remain a widow and does not again contract matri-
mony, and in case she, my wife, Ingen, as aforesaid, should again contract matrimony,
then the foregoing bequests to her are to be changed and altered as follows, to- wit: At the
time of, or in the event of such marriage of my wifiB. as aforesaid, it is my wish and com-
mand that my remaining estate, both real and personal, be duly and fairly appraised by
two or more disinterested persons selected for the purpose, and after such appraisement
shall have been fully and fairly made by the parties as aforesaid, the whole amount to be
equally divided into two parts, one-half, or moiety thereof to be duly paid overby my wife,
Ingen, as aforesaid, either in land or money, at her option, unto my brother. Lass Nelson,
and in case of his death, to his children, for their benefit forever, the remaining half, or
moiety of my estate to be retained by my wife, Ingen, as aforesaid, to have and to hold and
to do with according to her pleasure.
In witness whereof I, Nels S. Nelson, the testator, have hereunto set my hand and seal
this eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and fifty-eight.
Nbls S. Nelson, [bbal.]
Signed, sealed, published and declared by the above named Nels S. Nelson, as his last
will and testament in the presence of us who have hereunto subscribed our names as wit
nesses thereto in the presence of the said testator and in the presence of each other.
Chaelbs Qovb,
T. F. E. Saab,
Wm. Kbmpton.
State of Iowa, )
Mills Cottntt. j
In the county court of Mills county, setting as a court of probate. Be it remembered
that on the fifth day of July, A. D., 1858, William Kempton and Charles Gove, two of the
subscribing witnesses to the within and forgoing will, personally came before the said
court, and being duly sworn, deposed and stated that they saw the within and foregoing
named testator, Nels S. Nelson, sign the within and foreging instrument of writing, which
he published as his last will and testament, and that the said testator was at the time of so
doing of sound mind and over the age of twenty-one years, and that they attested the same
at the request and in the presence of said testators, which proof was deemed by said
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 411
court sufficient to establish said will, which was then allowed and ordered to be certified
and recorded.
In testimony whereof, I, William Snuffln, clerk of the district court, and ex-ffffieio clerk
of the county court, and register of probate of said county, have signed my name and
affixed the seal of said court, Uiis 6th day of July, A. D., 1858.
William Snupfin, Clerk.
While business of this nature was being transacted, there was also
marrying and giving in marriage. The earliest marriage in the county is
not, of course, recorded in the proper document, having occurred before
its organization. The earliest recorded marriages are the following:
State op Iowa, )
Mills County. )
Jason Haws, of the aforesaid county, of the lawful age, and Sarah Hillman, intend mar-
riage according to law; this is therefore to authorize any legal person to solemnize the
aforesaid nuptials and make due return in twenty days from the date of said marriage.
In witness whereof, I set my hand and affix the seal of my office, this sixth day of Sep-
tember, A. D., 1851.
William Smith,
County Judge.
On the bottom of this license appears the following return:
This is to certify that I did on the seventh day of September, 1851, join in marriage the
above named persons at Coonville, as witness my hand.
J. W. COOLIDGB,
Minister of the Gospel.
State op Iowa, )
Mills Co VNTT. p^'
D. T. Bowen, of the aforesaid county, of lawful age, and Mary Sillsby, of lawful age,
intend marriage according to law. This is therefore to authorize any legal person to sol-
emnize the aforesaid nuptials, and make due return according to law, from the date of
said marriage. In witness whereof, I set my hand and affix my seal of said office, this-
eighth day of December, 1851.
William Smith,
[seal.] County Judge.
On the reverse is the return as follows :
This may certify that I solemnized the marriage of D. T. Bowen and Mary Sillsbury,
this 16th day of December, 1851.
William Smith,
> County Judge.
Other early recorded marriages are those of:
Jacob J. Crocket and Elmira A. Anson, January 12, 1852; Joseph W,
Coolidge, minister of the gospel, ofBciating.
Henry Fairbanks and Rhoda Ann Davis, February 12, 1852; Joseph
W. Coolidge, clergyman, officiating.
412 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Lewis Whitney and Ann J. Benedict, February 12, 1852; J. W. Cool-
idge, clergyman, officiating.
John Lovell to Elizabeth Smith, March 12,1852; Jonathan Kerns to
Mary Watson, April 1, 1852; John F. Windham to Eliza Rogers, April
1, 1852; A. J. Napier to Milly J. Yuzenburg, April 14, 1852; Abbott
Hows to Maria Cox, April 14, 1852; B. T. Homer to Patience Bentley,
April 31, 1852; Elijah Allen to Eliza Ann Bickmore, May 3, 1852; and
Alexander Kidd to Phidelia Bickmore, May 3, 1852.
In applying for marriage licenses it often became necessary to produce
the written consent of the parents to the one or the other of the parties to
the intended contract. These " written consents " were in many instances
preserved, and present some very interesting reminders of the manner in
which business of this nature was then conducted. The two following
will, perhaps, best illustrate this feature. The first document bears no
date whatever:
Mr. Judge Bennet sir plas let Wm. A. Folden have a maredge licens and oblige yours
James Folden
The other one reads as follows;
April 23, 1857.
Nelson Rucker our son was born January 39, 1837 witch will make him 31 next January
as we under Stand that he wishes to git married we have nothing a gainst it therefor we
give our Consent
Ambbosb Ruckee
Racael Rtjckkk
John H. Kohb
COUNTY FINANCES.
The financial history of the county, unfortunately, bears no direct ratio
of improvement as compared with its wonderful progress in other direc-
tions. Through a mistaken policy in its earlier days — some portions of
which have been more than once repeated — the county has had a long and
hard struggle to free itself from debt, a result not yet attained.
In the earliest report on the finances, the business covering so little
ground, and the causes of the heavy drafts of later days not existing, but
little effort was required to keep the books in a condition easily understood.
In those days the office of treasurer resembled, in part, the New England
office of itinerant collector. He not only had a business headquarters, but
was obliged to call upon delinquent tax-payers in order to secure their
assessment. The duties of the treasurer were therefore doubly onerous,
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 413
and his remuneration by no means adequate to the toil incurred. Few
men sought office in those days ; perhaps because the emoluments thereof
were not sufficient to warrant any strenuous canvass. It was reserved for
a later day and another generation to seek office for its spoils. Political
contests, while excited so far as regards state or national issues, had noth-
ing in common with them when matters of a local nature came up for
suffi-age. Personal vituperation and insidious attacks upon character
were not then so prevalent as now. Persons were sought to fill offices,
and should their duties appear onerous they were ready at once to resign.
Salaries were small, and the temptation to use funds belonging to the pub-
lic was stronger oftentimes than the determination to do right. Without
instituting any invidious comparisons between the present county officials
and those of an earlier day, it may be proper to note that the county treas-
ury contributed more often to the funds of private individuals, than the
reverse.
It became necessary, in the course of a few years, to have the financial
standing of the county investigated, and the records relating thereto were
subjected to a most careful and painstaking examination. In 1858 a com-
mission, consisting of Nathan Dean and H. J. Graham, was appointed by
the county court, "to examine the accounts and finances of the county."
They met at the court house in Glenwood, July 7th, 1858, and made a
thorough examination of such accounts and records as were available.
Their report dates back to 1852. The county treasurer was C. W,
ToUes. He is charged with the tax list of 1852, amounting in the aggre-
gate to $1,127.69, for which he gave his receipt. How much of that tax
there was paid is not and never can be known. When he went out of
office his deficiency amounted to $106.00. His successor was Azoe Rich-
ardson, who entered upon the duties of his office in August, 1863. He is
charged with $1,517.51, against which there is a credit of $970.17, leav-
ing a deficit of $547.34. The commission reported that they were "una-
ble to hunt up papers and receipts to make the account reconcile." This
exhibit follows a like line from 1852 until 1858, the time of making the
examination. In none of the settlements do debts and credits agree. The
committee reported August 14, 1858, and at the conclusion of the tables
of the financial exhibit, they remark:
"We have failed in many instances even to satisfy ourselves, and have come to the con-
clusions here presented after a protracted investigation, showing a result, we believe, as
correct as possible under the circumstances. Several causes have operated as impediments
to our progress, and the protraction of our labors, and have contributed to the want of that
complete success" which we could have wished to have rewarded our labors. One thing is
the great want of books which the county has suffered for, until a recent period, render-
ing it a very difficult task for the county officers to manage their affairs as they should do,
and keep a clear statement of everything recorded correctly, trusting less to memory,
which is very fallible and seldom to be trusted, rather than to the immediate entering of
414 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
«very transaction upon an enduring record. This want of books has been greatly relieved
by the present incumbent, Judge E. C. Bosbyshell.
"To this lack of books must be added a want of regularity and system in the entries
themselves, which must invariably lead their successors, if not themselves into great con.
fusion. And we percieve that the tax lists have been passed over to the treasurer for the
last three years in a very imperfect state. We are glad to report, however, that a very great
improvement has been made, and we may expect to see a much clearer exhibit in the affairs
of the county hereafter.
" In regard to the papers appertaining to the business of the county, many are known to
be lost, and more mislaid, some of which were of great importance. The great desidera-
tum is to have everything entered at the proper time, in the right place,i and in a correct
manner ; to have a place for everything, and everything in its place. This will obviate the
necessity of calling together another committee, or if called together will render their
labors comparatively light. It is hoped that the settlement now made, establishing as it
does, a tangible basis for future management, and the suflOlciency of books which they now
have, will enable the county officers to inaugurate a new system, and transact the county
business in a correct manner and satisfactory to all."
Concerning this statement it is but due to state that deficiencies may have
occurred through mere carelessness, or want of proper entry rather than
that they occurred through intent to defi-aud the county or pilfer its treas-
ury. No settlements often appearing the commissioners " assumed" that
moneys had properly been paid and cared for, with which assumption the
charitably disposed will concur.
To better exhibit the material prosperity of the county, the census
tables for 1856, are herewith given. By instituting a comparison between
them and the abstract of assessment for 1880, the material increase in
wealth may be readily observed:
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
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HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
ABSTRACT OF ASSESSMENT FOR 1880.
417
Abstract of the assessment of Mills county for the year 1880, as
required by section 833 of the code of 1873, and chapter 5, title 10, of said
Code:
Lands exclusive of town property, 270,087 acres.
VALUATION.
$2,224,166
ToTOfs, Cities and Villages.
VALUE OF
realty in
TOWNS.
Glenwood city
Malvern city ,
Hastings city
Emerson city
Hillsdale city
Pacific city. Pacific Junction and Sharpsburg
White Cloud
Aggregate value of realty in towns
Aggregate value of railroad property as assessed by
executive council under chapter 5, title x of the
code of 1873
Aggregate value of personal property (including
horses, cattle, etc.)
Total exemptions for trees planted not deducted from
the above
Total valuation of the county
$145,270
74,925
26,470
40,798
8,723
15,072
577
76,646
311,855
596,365
1,128,234
4,256,619
LrvB Stock.
n
Cattle assessed in the county . .
Horses assessed in the county.
Mules assessed in the county. .
Sheep assessed in the county . .
Sifvine assessed in the county.
21,073
7,410
865
1,336
23,524
Total valuation of live stock $611,
$265,400
261,105
38,322
1,550
45,589
I certify the foregoing to be a full and complete abstract of assessments
of said county, as required by law, and as corrected by the county board of
equalization.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office,
this 12th day of June, 1880,
S. C. Osborne,
7 County Auditor.
418 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Thus it is evident that as the world moves the tax-gatherer moves with it.
He is not always the symbol of financial oppression or of a ruinous policy.
While the immense increase in taxation is noticed, it should be remem-
bered that there has been a very great increase in the wealth of this
county, and in the extent of its public business. Railroads have come
and to them the people have contributed liberally, if not alwaj^s willingly.
While they have been a source of increased taxation, they have raised real
estate from a mere nominal value to a high standard. Not one cent has been
legitimately expended in this manner but that it has increased largely the
value of the land owned by those who donated the necessary funds. But
the indebtedness of the county is considerable. There is one factor which,
however, should be allowed its due weight, and that is the nature of the
surface as constantly necessitating expenditure on roads and bridges. The
soil is light and very slight rains frequently cause great ravines to be
washed out across the roads. The bridge and road taxes will always,
from these purely natural and unavoidable causes, be a source of constant
large expenditure to the county; while retrenchment may here be needed
their necessity will never be superseded. Other sources of expenditure have
been the county levee and the Watkins ditch, the useftilness and value of
which is set forth in another place.
COUNTY BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS.
THE POOR FARM.
Charitable institutions, ever since the earliest dawn of history, have ex-
isted in some form to ameliorate the unhappy and sorrowful phases of
human life. With the advance in knowledge, and the increased duty
thereby resting on men to care for their fellows, there have resulted a bet-
ter understanding of the needs of humanity and better methods of meet-
ing them. Institutions of a charitable nature have sprung up in every
clime, more or less perfect in their organization and administration; all of
which are doing a noble work for humanity. But, as is more interesting
to us, our own land is in no respect behind other lairds in its care for the
sick and sore, the poor and the unfortunate. In every state there are
numerous institutions, cared for at its expense, and in nearly every county
the same feeling of kindness finds expression in the maintenance of a
home for the same classes. The care of this county for the unfortunate
in life has ever been most kind. Busied with individual cares and neces-
sities, as its inhabitants have been, they nevertheless found opportunity to
pause and enquire into the condition of the poor of the county. Not until
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 419
the year 1875 did there occur any public expression of interest in or solic-
itude for people of this class; but in that year such an expression was
obtained, in response to the following notice of the Board of Supervisors,
which was issued at the September term of that year.
NOTICE.
To the Qualified Electors of Mills County, Iowa:
Auditor's Office, Mills county, Iowa.
Notice is hereby given that at a regular meeting of the board of supervisors of said
county, begun on the 6th day o;E September, 1875, it was ordered that the question of levy-
ing a tax of one mill on the dollar, on the taxable property of said county for the purchase
of land for a county poor farm, be submitted to the electors of said county at the general
election to be held on the 12th day of October, 1875, and that on the ballots of those voting
for said tax shall be written or printed the words " For Poor Farm Tax," and that on the
ballots of those voting against said tax shall be written or printed the words, " Against
Poor Farm Tax."
Wm. H. Taft, County Auditor.
Glenwood, September 8, 1875.
Pursuant to this notice the election was held. It is a matter of deep
regret that so man}' were to be found in the county so occupied with their
own schemes that they not only took no interest in, but actually tried to
defeat the will of more liberal-minded and more humane men. But the
measure triumphed by a vote of three to one, and the county began prop-
erly to care for its poor. Subsequent to the election the following notice
was issued: .;^ii:i
State of Iowa, (
County of Mills, )
Notice is hereby given that at the general election held on the 13th day of October, 1875,
the electors of Mills county adopted the proposition to levy a tax of one mill on the dol-
lar on the taxable property of said county for the purchase of land for a poor farm, by the
following vote :
For poor farm tax 1,202 votes.
Against poor farm tax 406 ''
Wm. H. Taft, County Auditor
Glenwood, October 33, 1875.
Measures were at once taken to provide a suitable home and property,
to be used for the purposes named in the question as submitted to the
voters of the county; Bids were called for and made. After inquiry into
the several farms offered, that of Jesse Miller seemed most eligible.
At the October session, 1876, of the board of supervisors the following
was transacted:
Whereas, The board of supervisors of said county, at a regular session begun and held
on Monday, the 18th day of October, 1875, after careful and full consideration of the whole
subject, decided by a vote in full session at the court house, in Glenwood, Iowa, to purchase
420 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
of one Jesse Miller, two hundred and ten acres of land in said county, on the following
terms and conditions, to which terms and conditions the said county of Mills, through their
hoard of supervisors, and the said Jesse Miller, on his part, and each of said parties con-
sent and bind themselves hereby to perform, viz :
The said Miller and said Mills county have this day contracted for the sale and purchase
of the following described land situated in Mills county, Iowa, viz ; The southeast }£ of
section sixteen and the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section twenty-one
(31), and ten acres, bounded as follows : Commencing at the northwest corner of the south-
east quarter of the northeast quarter of section seventeen, and running thence east sixty-
one and one-half rods; thence south twenty-six rods; thence west sixty-one and one-half
rods, and thence north to the place of beginning, all situated in township seventy-two (72),
north of range forty-two (43) west, and containing in all two hundred and ten acres. Said
Miller agrees to take and accept, and said Mills county agrees to give for said land the
sum of eight thousand dollars. There are included with the land one roan cow, two years
old past; one Brown corn -planter, two Blackhawk cultivators, and two double harrows.
The said personal property is this day delivered by said Miller to Mills county. The said
eight thousand dollars is the total amount agreed to be paid for all the above described
land and personal property. It is agreed that said Mills county shall pay interest on the
said eight thousand dollars from this date at the rate of ten per cent, per annum. Said
Mills county also hereby agrees to pay to said Miller on March 1st, 1876, the sum of three
thousand dollars ; on April 1st, 1876, the sum of one thousand dollars, and on March 1st
1877, the sum of four thousand dollars, with the privilege of paying any sum sooner if
said county sees proper to do so. Said Miller agrees hereby to deliver to said Mills county
the possession of said premises, together with all improvements and appurtenances there-
unto belonging, on the 1st day of December, 1875, save and except the following: Said
Miller reserves possession of the bins in the barn now used to store his wheat and oats;
also, the cribs necessary to crib his corn on said premises, until July 1, 1876 ; also the privi-
lege of turning his stock in the stalk field on said premises until March 1, 1876. Said
Mills county also agrees to assume the payment of taxes on said property for the year 1875.
On the final performance by Mills county of the terms of this contract on its part, said
Miller hereby agrees to make to said Mills county a good and sufficient warranty deed to
the. land above described, free and clear of any and all incumbrances.
In witness whereof said Miller and a majority of the members of said board, in actual
and open session, have hereunto subscribed their names.
Jesse Milleb,
John Barbodr, ) Majority of the Members of
H. A. Norton, j said Board of Supermsors.
Dated October 23, 1875.
And thus was instituted the "poor farm," the founding of which should
always be a matter of self congratulation for the county. With one of
the finest farms in the limits of Mills, and under the able management of
Superintendent Smawley, the institution is self sustaining; a circumstance
calling for renewed approval. The inmates, at the close of 1880, num-
bered fifteen; all seeming contented, though enjoying a home provided by
the public at large.
THE JAIL.
The county has not been without criminals of a dangerous character-
men whose utter disregard for law and order, and the rights of citizens
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 421
and property has been such as necessitated incarceration, sometimes for
lengthy periods. To care properly for men of this class there was erec-
ted, in 1853, a substantial log building, to be used for jail purposes. The
structure was composed of hewn logs and heavy planks, made doubly
secure by heavy spikes driven in at regular short distances.
In this structure was confined the early criminals. The jail stood in the
rear of the present site of Hinchman's drug store, on the west side of the
square. There was nothing inviting in its appearance, and judging from
the repeated condemnation of the earlier grand juries, was not at all invit-
ing in its interior arrangements and conduct.
The strength of the walls was not, however, sufficient to prevent the
escape of prisoners almost as soon as incarcerated. The reports of the
sherifts to the grand juries, and of these last named bodies to the district
court, are filled with the names of those who escaped jail.
One, in 1857, is remarkable for the closeness of the escape upon the com-
mittal. The sheriff says: "James Orton and Silas Woodford, described
in the calendar by John Hoynie, sheriff of said county, filed in open court,
August 10, 1857, made their escape from the jail on the night of the 10th
of August, A. D. 1853, being the same night after the jail first came un-
der my charge, by boring through the wall and digging out." Previous
to this, in the September term, 1855, the grand jury reported that " they
examined the jail and found it defective in the following particulars,
to-wit: the walls of said jail are not comfortable for all kinds of weather;
no suitable provision made for warming the rooms, the lock upon the
outer door is defective."
It has elsewhere been noticed that there was, for some years, no proper
place to care for the valuable and important records of the county. In
this same report the grand jury called attention to this matter in the fol-
lowing language :
In the examination of the county records the jury find that there is no safe and conven-
ient place for the Iceeping of the public records and papers, where they can be secure from
fire and other casualties, they therefore recommend that a good Are proof safe be procured
for the deposit of such records and papers at as early a day as possible."
Previous to the report of the grand jur}' for the September term, 1 857, the
county judge and prosecuting attorney, at the February term of the same
year, had called attention to the fact " that they found said jail exceeding
dirty, the floor was covered with chips and ashes, and the cleanliness of
the apartments wholly neglected, * * * that no calendar of the
prisoners is kept as required by law, and that the papers pertaining thereto
are not to be found." The gentlemen making this report were O. N.
Tyson, county judge, and J. W. Russell, prosecuting attorney. The
report was followed by a change in the condition of the jail, as well as
422 HISTORY OF MfLLS COUNTY.
by one in its keeper, the former being consequent, it is to be presumed,
upon the latter.
The old jail was made to subserve the interests of the county until
1869, when it was torn down, and its valuable portions used for other pur-
poses. Measures had been taken in 1868 to provide a suitable jail, when,
at the January session of the board of supervisors, the following resolu-
tion was offered and adopted:
Resolved, That D. C. Briggs, Jas. H.Wing, B. C. Bosbyshell and William Wheeler be and
they are here^)y appointed a committee to procure a plan and specifications for a jail
house to be erected in Glenwood, Mills county ; said house, exclusive of cells, not to cost
over three thousand dollars, and that they be required to report the same v?ith all the
information they may derive on the subject, to this board at its next meeting.
At the March session in 1868, the committee appointed at the Janu-
ary meeting on the jail- question, reported as follows:
Mr. Chairman: — Your committee have had the matter of erectlnga jail under consid-
eration, and direct me to report as follows: We would recommend that the plans and
specifications reported by your committee appointed at the last meeting of the board, be
adopted with such alterations as the jail commissioner hereafter constituted, shall deem
expedient, provided that such alterations shall not materially increase the expense of
the original plan, to-wit: three thousand dollars, and C. B. Stande, E. B. Sampson,
William Wheeler and William Kempton be appointed commissioners to let and superin-
tend the building of said jail, and that said commissioners be directed to procure four
iron cells and place them in the building for the safe keeping of prisoners ; and that the
clerk be directed to issue orders on the jail fund on the order of said commissioners.
In accordance with these resolutions and plans the contract for building
the jail was let. Before it was completed the grand jury, August 31,
1869, made the following report, looking toward the proper safe con-
struction of the building then in process of erection :
" We, the grand jury of Mills county, recommend that the jail of said county be fixed as
follows: that the floor, ceiling and walls be lined with boiler iron, and that the locks on the
doors leading into the room where the cells are, and the locks on all the cell doors should
be fixed more permanent and safe by putting on a harp of sufficient length at the sides to
receive two bolts, well screwed in at each end, and that there be a piece or strip of iron at
least one half inch thick, on the side opposite the harp, so that the bolts fastening the harp
may screw through it solid, and then cut the screw bolt off solid on both sides.
A. R. Wright,
Foreman Grand Jury."
In accordance with these suggestions the building was further
strengthened.
The site of the jail is almost directly east of the position of the old log
jail, though across the square and in the rear of the court-house. The
cost of the building as first erected was $5,599, which sum, included the
cost of the iron cells, doors and window frame, which were made in Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, and purchased by a special committee sent to that city by
the board of jail commissioners.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. > 423
The building has been subsequently enlarged to nearly double its for-
mer capacity. The enlargement was not suffered to go under contract,
and cost the county less than one thousand dollars.
THE WATKINS DITCH.
Among the other improvements in the county, affecting largely the in-
terests of its citizens, or a portion of them at least, should be mentioned
the Watkins ditch, so named for the gentleman mainly instrumental in
securing its establishment. The facts in the matter may be best pre-
sented in the petition, and the legislation consequent thereon. The object
was to recover to farming purposes a large area of 1 and annually flooded
by Keg creek in the Missouri bottom. The petition was as follows, and
was filed July 6, 1878:
To the Boa/rd of Sv/peroisora of Mills county, Iowa:
G-ENTLEMBN — We the undersigned, represent that the low lands on the Missouri river
bottom, and south of Pacific City, are frequently inundated by the freshets of Keg creek,
damaging and destroying crops on cultivated lands, and preventing the tillage of large
quantities of uncultivated lands, otherwise good ; therefore, in order to protect the public
health, to preserve our crops and to enable us to improve other lands, we pray your honor-
able body to cause the waters of Keg creek to be restrained by ditches and levees, con-
structed of a proper capacity and in a substantial manner as provided by law ; said im-
provement to be made as near as practicable on the following route, namely: south side
levee to commence at a practical point east of the William's mill dam, and run southwest
to where the north levee will commence at the creek below the dam, at the southwest corner
of section twenty-two (22), township 72, range 43 ; thence to run in a course southwest, to a
point near the southwest corner of section 32 of same township ; thence westerly to inter-
sect the present channel of Keg creek in said section 32, and thence with said channel to
the Missouri river.
Signed by H. C. Watkins, and fourteen others.
The petition came before the board for a hearing at the August term,
1878, at which time the following proceedings were had:
In the matter of the drainage of the Missouri bottom, now on this 12th day of August,
1878, it being the time set for hearing in this matter, it is made to appear by the return of
James S. Hendrie, sheriff, that due, legal and truly personal service of the pendency and
prayer of this petition was by him made in Mills county, on the following named persons
as parties, across or over whose land the ditch is proposed to run, namely : H. W. Brown,
/ J. A. Donelaw, John Johnson, Geo. Gilleard, C, B. & Q. K. E., B & M. R. R., E. Jones, J.
W. Summers, W. G. Summers, J. J. Swain, Hannah Swain, Benj. Gunsolly, W. H. Eague,
George Morrow, J. D. Wright, David Defflbaugh, Jacob Grawson, C. L. Epperson, Jasper
Cook, and the K. C, St. J. & 0. B. R. R., and it is further made to appear by proof, that
the said notice was published for two consecutive weeks in the i!/«Ks Oowai^ Journal,
a weekly paper published at Glenwood, in said county, the last publication being made
August 3, 1878, by which it appears that due and legal service has been had on the fol-
lowing named persons who do not reside in Mills county: N. Hill, J. 8. Wright, Jacob
Disliong, B. C. Birdsall, and Giles Dowles; and it further appears that claims for damages
on account of the location of the ditch or drain, has been made by the following named
persons, and none other, namely: H. W. Brown, E. R. Arrison, C. L. Epperson, Benj. Gun-
solly, David Defflbaugh, P. H. Dashner, E> Jones, Geo. Gilleard, K. C, St.J. & C. B.R.R.,
424 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
"W. H.Taylor, John Johnson, Nelson Hill, and J. A. Doiielaw. Therefore it is ordered that
further proceedings in this matter be had at the next regular session of this board, and in
the meantime shall take the lawful steps necessary to ascertain the amounts of actual dam-
age to the several claims aforesaid.
The construction of the ditch was not unattended by opposition, though
all matters pertaining thereto were adjusted satisfactorly with a single
exception. Damages were assessed, and the final proceedings had in the
October term, 1878, as follows:
In the matter of the Watkins ditch : Now, on this 15th day of October, 1878, it is made
to appear to the board that the damages heretofore assessed have been secured to be paid,
and further, that the public health, convenience and welfare will be promoted by cariying
forward to completion the improvement prayed for; therefore, it is ordered unanimously
by this board that this ditch and drainage improvement is hereby established on the route
specified in the return of Seth Dean, county surveyor, filed July 32, 1878, and the plat and
profile accompanying said return, and of the dimensions therein specified; and that the
Auditor proceed as provided by law to let the same liy contracts and in sections, divided
by this board, as follows : Section No. 1 being embankment above the Williams mill-dam,
3,000 feet long, and marked on the ground ; sections 3 to 14 inclusive, to be each 1,500 feet
in length, and as marked on the ground; sections 15 and 16 to be 1,500 feet long each;
section 17 and last, to be 4,000 feet in length more or less, the work on each of said sec-
tions to be completed on or before December 1, 1879.
The position of this needed improvement may be noted on the map
accompanying this volume. It is sufficient to say that it has already
demonstrated the wisdom of the measures which inaugurated and carried
to a successful issue its construction.
THE COURT HOUSE.
No records exist relative to the building of this structure. The origi-
nal legislation, the notices, the elections, the contract, all have disappeared
from the county records for reasons best known to those immediately
connected with their disappearance. The building is a brick structure,
two stories in height, the upper of which is used for court purposes. On
the first floor are the offices devoted to the use of the county officials.
The building was erected in 1857, and cost about forty thousand dollars
— perhaps a sufficient reason for the loss of all records pertaining to it.
FAIR ASSOCIATIONS.
"The principal advantage of academies consists in the philosophical
spirit naturally engendered by them, which spreads itself throughout soci-
ety, and extends to all objects. The isolated inquirer may resign himself
without fear to the spirit of system ; he only hears afar off the contradic-
tion which he incurs. But in a learned society the conflict of systematic
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY . 425
opinions soon results in their overthrow, and the desire of being mutually
satisfied necessarily establishes between the members an agreement to
admit nothing but the results of observation and calculation. Hence, as
•experience has shown, true philosophy has been generally diffused since
the rise of academies. By setting the example of subjecting everything
to the examination of a rigorous analysis, they have dissipated the preju-
dices which had too long tyrannized in the sciences, and in which the best
intellects of preceding ages had shared. Their useful influence over o.pinion
has, in our day, dispelled errors which had been, received with an enthu-
siasm that in other times would have perpetuated them. Equally exempt
from the credulity which would admit everything, and the prejudice
which disposes to the rejection of whatever departs from received ideas,
these enlightened bodies have always, in difficult questions, and with refer-
ence to extraordinary phenomena, wisely awaited the answers of observa-
tion and experiment, which they have at the same time solicited by prizes
and by their own labors. Proportioning their appreciation, as well to the
magnitude and difficulty of a discovery as to its immediate utility, and
■convinced by many examples that the most sterile in appearance may
.some day lead to important consequences, they have encouraged the
research for truth in regard to all objects, with the exclusion of those
only which the limits of man's understanding render forever inaccessible.
Finally, it is from their bosom that those great theories have arisen whose
generality places them beyond the common reach, and which, spreading
themselves by numerous applications over nature and the arts, have
become inexhaustible sources of light and fruition. Wise governments,
■convinced of the glory and prosperity of empires, have not only instituted
them, but attached them to their own service, that they might derive from
them that knowledge which has often proved of the highest public ad-
vantage."— Laplace, (Precis de V Historic de V Astronomic -p. pp.)
It was on this principle that the farming community of this county
■established the various fair organizations that have conduced so largely
to foster its agricultural interests. But their value is little understood.
Many suppose that mere theories fine-spun from the imaginations of
pseudo-farmers and the opportunity to present them, or their results, are
the main objects of organizations of this kind. But their real and true
object is to present the great principles which lie at the foundation of the
practical pursuits of life. It would be an exceedingly difficult matter to
point out any single occupation which more directlj^ and profoundly
affects the general public than that of tilling the soil — all the experience
of all the past should therefore be brought to aid in reducing that occu-
pation to the standard of exact science. None but the unskillful farmers
say they want no scientific farming. In their occupation, they have given
them Nature in all her richness, the richest domain for experiment in the
426 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
known world. As yet, in the west, little has been done; Nature has done
SO much the cultivators of the soil have been content with her gifts.
While in the older east the practical deductions of science have infused
new life and given a new impulse and a new energy to all the depart-
ments of human industry, and husbandry among the rest, here the farms
are being cultivated as they were by the sires and grandsires of long ago.
Progress and improvement are stamped on every feature of western life
save this single one, and farmers are plodding on "in the good old way of
our fathers."
To obviate this dangerous tendency, local fair associations have been
organized and maintained, and with most remarkable results. A kind of
generous rivalry has been inaugurated, a rivalry which manifests itself in
the improvement of stock and fruit, in the more careful tilling of the soil
and consequent increase of crops. The farming community is begin-
ning to learn that rich as is the soil they cultivate, it is not inexhaustible,
and may even yet be improved. At the fairs, are brought together from
all parts of the adjacent country the finest and best of the year's harvest-
ing; implements and tools for inspection and comparison; articles of home
manufacture and handiwork to care for these necessary interests of the
farmer's home, and even the products of educated taste to foster a love
for the fine arts and the beautiful in Nature and art. All these things
are subserved more or less successfully by the various fair associations of
the county.
The oldest of these is the Mills County Agricultural Society, which was
organized September 20, 1856, with Josiah Farrer a§ president, and
Lewis W. Tubbs as secretary. The organization had a short life, and
ceased to be before a single fair had been held. A second attempt was
made March 16, 1858, which resulted in electing as president the gentle-
man who had served in that capacity in the preceding organization, and
as secretary, W. S. Graff. A board of directors, consisting of one mem-
ber for each township, was appointed, who were to report at a future
meeting, a constitution and necessary by-laws. When the constitution
was drafted, the objects of the association were stated as follows:
Akt. 1. The object of this society shall be the encouragment and improvement of agri-
culture, domestic manufactures and mechanical arts, and shall be known as the Mills
county Agricultural Society.
The first article and those that followed it, with a few verbal changes,
were adopted from the constitution of the Des Moines county association.
The last meeting held by the society organized in 1858, bears the date
of May 21, 1869. In September of 1859 the last fair was held, the enter-
prise not meeting with the support that its importance would seem to
have warranted. From that time until March 3, 1866, there was nothing
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 42T
done in the county in this direction. On that day the citizens of the
county met at the court house in Glenwood to " re-organize " the society.
A committee, consisting of L. A. Williams, William E. Dean and H.
A. Copeland, was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws. This
committee reported April 21, 1866, when the constitution was adopted
and the organization again had an existence. In March of 1867 the fol-
lowing entry appears in the minute book of the secretary, from which it
appears this second attempt ended in failure:
Mr. Mickelwalt offered the following resolution :
Besolved, That in the opinion of this meeting the people of Mills county are unwilling
to keep up an agricultural society, and after an ineffectual attempt on the part of the few
to create an interest in this matter, we deem it expedient to dissolve this organization and
it is further resolved that the sum of twenty-flve dollars be paid to the secretary for ser-
vices and that the remaining funds on hand be appropriated to the Soldier's Orphans'
Home at Glenwood, Iowa.
Two years later. May 15, 1869, another attempt was made "to resusci-
tate the Mills County Agricultural Society," which resulted in the enroll-
ment of twenty-two names on the membership list. George Mickelwait
was elected president; E. C. Bosbyshell, treasurer; and S. A. Williams,
secretary. The constitution and by-laws of the organization for 1866,
were provisionally adopted as those which should govern the new " res-
urrection." From that time until the present the society has had a kind
of existence, not always successful nor so useful as it might be made, but
of this the reader is well aware. It would be a matter calling for con-
gratulation should the residents of the county rally to the support of their
fair and make it the success it eminently deserves to be. Only in this
way can the best interests of the farming community be subserved,
interests which, as has been above indicated, are the sole source of wealth
and prosperity to the county.
In the summer of 1873 the second fair society was organized at Mal-
vern, under the name of the Mills County Central Agricultural and Me-
chanical Association. It was the outgrowth of a strong pubhc opinion that
the interests of the farming community could best be served at some point
more central than that chosen as the headquarters of the society whose
history has just been given. The prime movers in the enterprise were J.
M. Strahan, D. M. Whitfield, and Joseph Foxworthy, aided by the lead-
ing men of that portion of the county. A joint stock company was
organized and shares issued at five dollars each. The proceeds thus
derived were expended in the purchase of suitable grounds and the erec-
tion of buildings. The grounds owned by the society comprise some
twenty-eight acres, situated on section thirty-two, at the geographical cen-
ter of the county. When the first meeting for the election of permanent
officers was called, an enthusiastic gathering convened and chose as presi-
428 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
dent, John Barnum; vice-president, S. Van Orsdale; secretary, J. D.
Paddock; and treasurer, W. D. Evans. At the same time and place a
board of directors consisting of sixteen persons was chosen. The first
fair was held in September, 1873. The prosperity of the organization
has been so marked that the price of shares has been advanced to ten
dollars each. It is entirely out of debt, and bids fair to rival any similar
organization of this portion of the state. The entries at the first fair num-
bered three hundred, while those for 1880 made a grand total of thirteen
hundred.
To these societies are entrusted all the interests of the county that per-
tain to farming. What they have accomplished can perhaps never be
fully known or its value estimated. Many have doubtless been incited to
renewed endeavor, and thus directly been benefitted by the exhibitions of
stock and produce whicjh yearly find their way to these trysting places.
One feature must always militate against a completely successful fair, and
that is the division of interest that will result from duplicate societies. The
area to which the operations of such a society are confined is so small that
one or both must finally succumb. In these matters, as in those of a more
far-reaching and diflferent nature, community of interests and oneness of
purpose must obtain if ever permanent success is to be assured.
COUNCIL BLUFFS MEDICAL SOCIETY.
There have been long periods in the history of the race when men
engaged in a special work or employed in special pursuits kept wholly to
themselves the results of their toil and their speculation. Little comes
down to us from those earlier days when men began first to wrestle with
the great problems of life and mind, of disease and health. This was not
because they thought little, nor because what they did compass in the
world of intellect possessed no value, but because the interests of each
individual necessitated such action as this. Later on, men engaged in the
same occupation or professions banded together to interchange experi-
ences and opinions, to review theories and present doctrines. An impulse
was thus given to the learned professions that has never yet ceased to
have its value; an impulse which is maintained by the same means and
fostered for the same ends. In accordance with this idea the Council
Bluffs Medical Society was organized, August 2, 1869. The association
holds its annual meeting on the first Tuesday in August. Its objects are
those pertaining directly to the profession from which its members come.
They come together in annual convention and present not only their
experiences but relate test cases, present theses on diseases in special forms
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 429
or on medicines with special usage. Doctors often come to their Ther-
mopylae, and must have recourse to the experience of others of the Spar-
tan hand who brave the dangers of disease, or endure the toil of the physi-
cian's life. Few are they who fully realize what these men, faithful in
the hour of pain and danger, are required to endure, an endurance
second only to the love that prompts them to their task. The society to
which many of the physicians of this county belong, while not a distinc-
tive county organization, has nevertheless a far-reaching influence within
its limits, and thus directly affects the interest of the people in the matter
of health.
THE EARLY FERRIES.
During the earliest days of the county's history, passage over the
streams within its boundaries was accomplished by fords, at the best un-
reliable, and always, at certain seasons, impassible. In a prairie region
like this, the banks of the streams are soft and yielding, and even their
beds are continually changing, hence a ford is by no means permanently
reliable. When the last obstacle to the colonization of this county, and
indeed of western Iowa, had been removed, and the tide of immigration
began to flow westward, increased facilities were demanded. Very many
reached this county from sections farther north, having crossed the Nish-
nabotna so high up that a mere fording was all that was necessary. Many
stopped, but others kept on their way. These passers-by were of two
classes ; very many of them were Mormons on their way to the New
Jerusalem, and many others were adventurers, the news of the discovery
of gold in California having filled every road with trains of fortune seek-
ers. With this increased travel came an increased demand for better and
safer facilities by which to cross the streams that lay in the way of the
emigrant.
One of the earliest ferries was that at White Cloud, across the Nish-
nabotna in the southeastern part of the county. It is not known whether
this is the one kept by a Mr. HiU, but if not, he was the proprietor of
one near that point at a very early day. The records and all authentic
information with reference to this ferry have long since been destroyed.
To operate these ferries a license was required from the board of coun-
ty commissioners, who also fixed the rates of toll or passage. These
ferry licenses were granted usually for a single year, but not infrequently
for much longer periods. The keeping of the ferry was a public neces-
sity, and those who were able to purchase a " flat-boat," turned it to good
advantage by use in this manner. Some of the applications are in full
430 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
accord with other legal documents of early days. Sometimes a notice
was posted to the effect that the person whose signature was attached,
intended applying for a license. The following is an instance wherein
the intentidn was followed by the act:
NOTICE.
Is hereby given that I shall apply to the next term of the county court at Coonville, for
a licence to establish and keep a ferry on the Misourie Elver at Plattsville in the County
of Mills and State of Iowa December ] 2th, A. D. 1851.
Sam'l Martin.
petition.
To the HonerabU Oort of Mills County:
I pray your Honor for license to establish and keep a ferry at Plattsville acrost the Mis-
ourie river in the county of Mills and State of Iowa, extending three-forlhs of a mild down
the river and one and one-forth milds up said river from the town of Plattsville, for the
term of ten years, January the fifth, A.. D. 1852.
Samuel Martin.
This was the first establishment of a ferry at this point across the Mis-
souri . There had previously been one in operation at Trader's point, con-
ducted by Peter A. Sarpy.
Col. Sarpy was one of the first white men in this county, having come
in 1836, and engaged in trade with the Indians. The boats used were
the ordinary flatboats of the western rivers, and frequently the crossing
was so uncertain, the boat would land a mile below its usual haven. Often
the passengers were obliged to lend a helping hand to get across at all.
Conscious of these disadvantages, in 1853, Col. Sarpy proposed to estab-
lish a steam ferry, and the result may be gathered from the following
extract:
application op peter a. SARPY FOB FERRY LICENSE.
The court being satisfied that all the legal requisites on said application were complied
with, and that a ferry was needed at the said point, and that the said Sarpy is a suitable
person to keep said ferry. It is, therefore, ordered.that license be granted to the said Sarpy
to keep said ferry as follows, to-wit :
State of Iowa, )
Mills County. )
To all whom these presents may come, greeting:
Whereas, Peter A. Sarpy having made application to the county court for license to es-
tablish and keep a steam ferry boat during the spring emigration, and suitable flat boats,
skifife, etc., at other times across the Missouri river at that point where the east half of sec-
tion 26, township 73, north, of range 44 west, borders on said stream, and having in all res-
pects complied with the requisites of the law.
These are therefore authorizing the said Peter A. Sarpy to establish and keep for tea
years a ferry boat as aforesaid, at the same point at the said river, and have the said privi-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 431
lege exclusive for the distance of one mile above the said point, and one mile below said
point, and so far as the shore of the said river at the said point, within the limits of the
said county is concerned, shall charge ferriage at the following rates, to-wit :
For wagon and two horses (steam-boat) I | 4.00
For wagon and four horses, " 5.00
For loose cattle per head, " 25
For sheep per head, " 05
For man, " 10
For wa^on and two horses, (flat-boat) 1.00
For wagon and four horses, " 1.00
For footman, " 10
For horseman, '• 50
For sheep per head, " 05
For cattle per head, " 10
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name and affixed my private seal, (there
being no seal of office yet provided by law), this the sixteenth day of April, A. D. 1853.
H. P. Bbnnett, [seal].
County\Judge of Mills county, Iowa.
In the following year a license vyas granted to J. L. Sharpe to " keep a
ferry" at Bethlehem. The following is the record in this case ;
Upon application of Joseph L. Sharpe for a license to keep a ferry on the Missouri
river at the town of Bethlehem, and it appearing to the satisfaction of the court that the
said applicant is a suitable person to Iceep a ferry, and the keeper of the previous ferry at
the same point, and it further appearing to the court that due notice of the application has
been made, and all other requisites of the law being complied with, it is therefore ordered
that so far as the shore of this state is concerned, license be and is hereby granted to the
said Joseph L. Sharpe, for the term of ten years from the date hereof, as follows, to-wit:
State of Iowa, )
Mills County. )
To all whom these presents sliall come, greeting:
Whereas, Joseph L. Sharpe having made application to the county court of Mills county
for license to establish and keep a ferry at the town of Bethlehem, on the Missouri river,
and having in all respects complied with the requisites of the law, these are therefore,
authorizing the said said Joseph L. Sharpe to establish and keep, (so far as the shore of
this state is concerned) for ten years, a ferry on the Missouri river at the said point, with
the exclusive privilege of one mile each way therefrom, above and below said point, and
he is authorized to charge and receive tolls for ferrying at the following rates, to-wit :
For wagon and two horses $ 1.00
For wagon and four horses 1.50
For footman 10
For horseman 50
For sheep per head 05
For cattle per head .10
The time for ferrying is between sunrise and sundown, at all times when the river is
within its banks and in boating order.
In testimony whereof, I, Hiram P. Bennett, county judge, have hereunto set my hand
and affixed tlie seal of said county at my office in Glen wood, this, the Ist day of May, A
D., 1854
[seal.] Hibam p. Bennett,
County Judge of Mills county, Iowa.
432 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
These were all the ferries established in the county. The rates of fer-
riage in these days seem exorbitant, but they were hardly so then. There
was no choice ; either the rates current must be paid or there was no pas-
sage. The modern triumphs of engineering skill, by which the widest
streams are readily bridged, have made the ferry a thing of the past, and
they have, many of them, taken their places among the things that were.
RAILROADS.
Somebody once wrote a book, "The World on Wheels," the title of
which, though not historical, is very suggestive of the conditions of prog-
ress. Communication with the outside world was neither ready nor
pleasant, in the days of the lumbering coach. Two lines of these coaches
formerly ran through the county, one, the St. Joseph and Council Bluffs
line, running by way of Sidney, Tabor, Glenwood, and thence to Council
Bluffs, and the route of the Western Stage company, through from one
county seat to another, and these lines formed the only mode of public
conveyance from one point to another. The trips of the stages were
originally made weekly, then semi-weekly, and finally daily, as the grow-
ing business warranted such an increase of facilities. The life of the
traveler in those days was by no means a pleasant one. When steep hills
must be ascended, or muddy bottoms crossed, the passenger — wearied as
he was by the swaying and rough usage of hard driving — was expected
to descend and mount the hill or cross the bottom on foot. Passengers
then became often travel-stained, in a sense which now no longer obtains.
But like all companies whose business was of a public nature, the Wes-
tern Stage company was often censured for carelessness and wanton
abuse of public good nature. One such censure contains the cause of the
trouble that so often led to delayed and damaged mail matter in the days
before the railroad. It is as follows:
" The western stage compaDy deserves the greatest credit for their untiring energy and
perseverance in bringing every mail to this eity, for the last three weeks in a wet and pulp-
like state, perfectly saturated with water and wholly unreadable. But for the mail brought
from the south on Friday morning last, they deserve more than a high eulogy. There was
one entire sack of near two bushels, which was not only saturated with water, but com-
pletely covered with mud, and every direction entirely obliterated . That sack full must
prove a total loss, as it can never be forwarded to its destination. Our postmaster has on
many occasions recently when the bundles were broken open, taken the pains and trouble
to re-envelope them again and forward. For this he should receive the thanks of a gen-
erous people.
We are sickened at the sight of every mail that arrives. When the agent is asked why
this repealed occurence of destroying the mail, they offer the same silly and stereotyped
reply, that "the stage upset in the creek !" This western stage company have proved an
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 433
intolerable nuisance, and we should think it high time that the department at Washington
were taking notice of these faults and the destroying of the mail matter. — Bugle, 1858.
But the days of the lumbering coach, of delayed mails* and freights, of
toilsome travel have long since ceased to be in this county. The iron
horse puffs its way over hill and through valley, from the extreme north
of the county to its southern limits, on three distinct lines of road, and
across the county from west to east by one of the greatest lines of the west.
These lines afford ample means of communication, and ready facilities by
which to carry the produce of the county to the great marts of the land.
The first railroad scheme to engage the attention of the county, and
which became the subject of a general ballot was the Council Bluffs & St .
Joseph railroad. The company working under this style was organized
May 18, 1858. The articles of incorporation were signed by Enos
Lowe, A. D. Richardson, S. L. Nuckolls, A. A. Bradford, Ira D. Blanch-
ard, William Street, Frank Street, L. Nuckolls, Addison Cochran, James
A. Jackson, Samuel S. Bayliss, Samuel S. Curtiss, James D. Test, George
Doughty, George Parks, Thomas H. Benton, Jr., Hadley D. Johnson,
Martin W. Riden, Horace Everett, and Benjamin Rector. The capital
stock of the company was to be one million dollars. The affairs of
the company were to be managed by a board of nine directors, to be cho-
sen by the stockholders, from among their own number, on the second
Monday in July and annually thereafter. The directors were to elect
*The difficulty of communicating news in the west at an early day, aside from the delay
caused by irresponsible coachdrivers, may be judged of by the following extract from a
letter by John Brown :
'■An answer to your favor of the sixteenth of March, was, together with several other letters,
put into the hands of one of General Harmar's ofiBcers, who set out in May last for the Ohio,
and who promised to forward them to the district, but I fear they have been miscarried, as I
was a few days ago informed that his orders had been countermanded, and that he had been
sent to the garrison at West Point. Indeed, I have fonnd it almost impracticable to trans-
mit a letter to Kentucky, and there is scarcely any communication between this place and
that country. A post is now established from this place to Fort Pitt, to set out once in two
weeks, after the twentieth instant; this will render the communication easy and cer-
tain."
In addition to the delays, the cost of transmitting a letter in those days was considerable.
It is not generally known, though it ought to be, that cheap postage is of comparatively
recent date. The rates from the formation of the American pQstal system in 1789 until
1816, were : for a single letter (j. e. one composed of a single piece of paper), under forty
miles eight, cents ; under ninety, ten cents ; under three hundred, seventeen cents ; under
five hundred, twenty-five cents. In 1816 these rates were modified as follows : a single let-
ter not over thirty miles six and a quarter cents; over forty and under eighty ten cents ; over
eighty and under one hundred and fifty twelve and a half cents ; over one hundred and fifty
and under four hundred, eighteen and three-quarter cents ; and an additional rate for each piece
of paper. If the letter weighed one ounce, four times the rates were charged. Again, in
1845 the rates were lowered : for a letter not exceeding half an ounce in weight, under three
hundred miles, five cents; over three hundred, ten cents; and an additional rate for each
additional half ounce or fraction thereof. The present rates of letter postage were adopted
in 1863. K. E. c.
8
434 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
from their own number a president, vice-president, and treasurer, each to
serve one year. The directors were also to elect a secretary annually,
and to provide for the appointment and employment of such other officers,
attorneys, agents, engineers, clerks, and laborers, as might be needed to
manage the affairs of the corporation, and build and operate a railroad.
The object of the company was to build and operate a railroad from Coun-
cil Bluffs to some point on the Missouri state line, there to connect with a
railroad from St. Joseph, Missouri. The articles of incorporation were
filed for record in the recorder's office in the county of Pottawattamie,
May 18, 1858, and filed in the office of the secretary of state, July 2, 1858.
The company was organized under the forty-third chapter of the Code
of Iowa, entitled " Corporations for Pecuniary Benefit," approved Feb-
ruary 5, 1851, and was to continue fifty years. The principal place of
business was Council Bluffs, in the county of Pottawattamie. May 19,
1858, a convention was held at Council Bluffs to further the objects of the
company. At this convention four counties in Iowa, two in Nebraska
and three in Missouri were represented by delegates. The first board of
directors was composed of Enos Lowe, S. F. Nuckolls, B. F. Rector,
J. W. Coolidge, L. Nuckolls, L. W. Babbitt, James A. Jackson, J. D.
Test, and Addison Cochran. The board organized by the election of the
following officers: President, S. F. Nuckolls; Vice-President, Horace
Everett ; Treasurer, L. Nuckolls ; Secretary, Samuel S, Curtiss. H. C.
Nutt was appointed chief engineer. He made preliminary survey from
Council Bluffs south to the state line, and made his first report to the first
annual meeting of the stockholders, held at Council Bluffs, July 12, 1858.
The chief engineers successively appointed by the company, prior to
1865, were H. C. Nutt, Col. Peabody and Edward Everett. November
6, 1859, the first ground was broken for the railroad at Council Bluffs,
near the present depot of the K. C, St. Jo. & C. B. railroad. On the
following evening a railroad meeting was held in Concert Hall, in Coun-
cil Bluffs, at which speeches were made by Col. Peabody, engineer of the
road, and the territorial governor of Nebraska, Samuel W. Black. The
road was put under contract from Council Bluffs to the Iowa state line.
Considerable grading was done in Pottawattamie and Mills counties, and
several thousand ties delivered.
The contractors were Charles Hendrie and John Jones, of Council
Bluffs. J. S. Andrews was general agent of the company for obtaining
aid, managing real estate and right of way, soliciting stock subscriptions,
and supervising the work. The war, commencing in April, 1861, soon
stopped operations on this railroad, and during its continuance no progress
was made. The organization of the company was carefully maintained.
On July 13, 1861, the following persons were elected directors: James A.
Jackson, J. T. Baldwin, Horace Everett, J. P. Casady, Samuel Kneppe;,
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 435
Edward Gilliland, W. C. Sipple, S. F. Nuckolls and R, L. Douglass. The
same directors were annually elected during the continuance of the war,
with but few changes.
By virtue of an ordinance of the city council of the city of Council
Bluffs, passed and approved November 14, 1859, a city election was held
December 8, 1859, to decide on the proposition for the city to subscribe
$25,000 to the capital stock of the Council Bluffs & St. Joseph railroad
company. The subscription was carried by a vote' of 243 to 15. City
bonds were to be issued, as the work on thfe road progressed, and given
to the company in payment of the stock. The bonds were to bear ten
per cent interest, and the principal was to be paid in ten years from date.
Seven thousand dollars of these bonds were issued during the progress of
the work on the road under the Hendric-Jones contract, and eighteen
thousand dollars of the bonds were issued in 1866, and in consideration of
said bonds, stock in the company, amounting in the aggregate to $25,000,
was issued to the city at different times. These bonds have all been paid
off, principal and interest.
Pursuant to a proclamation of J. P. Casady, county judge of Pottawat-
tamie county, dated January 10, 1860, a contract, dated January 9, 1860,
between the county and the Council Bluffs and St. Joseph railroad com-
pany, for the transfer to the company of the swamp lands of the county
and the proceeds thereof, under the provisions of chapter 132 of the acts
of the general assembly of Iowa, passed at the session of 1857-58, was
submitted to a vote of the people of the county at a special election held
February 15, 1860. The election went in favor of the contract and trans-
fer by a vote of 373 to 133. The contract was signed by J. P. Casady,
county jiidge, and S. F. Nuckolls, president of the railroad company.
The transfer was to be made subject to the provisions of the swamp-land
act of congress, approved September 28, 1860, and the state and county
were released from liabilities for draining and reclaiming said lands. April
30, 1860, J. P. Casady, county judge, executed a deed conveying to the
railroad company 8,032.37 acres of land, valued at $1.25 per acre. There
was also assigned to the company the claim of the county against the
United States for indemnity lands and money due on account of swamp
lands sold by the government; and by virtue of these assignments the
company received in cash $10,000 and 4,451.75 acres of land in Kossuth
county, Iowa, and 400 acres of land in Pottawattamie county, on which
this county held judgment, were also all given to the company. This
real estate and money were valued at $40,000, and certificates of stock in
the company to that amount were issued to the county. May 7, 1860,
John Doniphan and B. M. Hughes, of St. Joseph, conveyed to the com-
pany ten acres of land in a square form in the northwest corner of e f of
nw. J of 1-74-44, for depot purposes at Council Bluffs, on condition that
436 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
the company should maintain a freight and passenger depot on the prem-
ises for ten years after the completion of the road. The conditions were
accepted by L. W. Babbitt, vice-president of the company. April 11,
1860, the Pacific City land company conveyed to the railroad company
300 lots in Pacific City on condition that there be no other depot for ten
years in Mills county than Pacific City, and also leased to the railroad
company 220 acres of timber land, w^hich was sold to Charles Heddire,
contractor, for $1,320; The Pacific City lots did not turn out to be of
much value, and the station has been abandoned for business reasons.
A similar proposition was submitted to the voters of Fremont county,
January 30, 1860, but was defeated by a vote of 492 to 41.
At the annual meeting of the stockholders in July, 186.5, the following
persons were elected directors: fi. L. Douglass, L. W. Babbitt, J. P.
Casady, Horace Everett, S. S. Bayliss, James A. Jackson, A. H'. Harris,
Edward GUliland and J. W. Coolidge.
R. L. Douglass was elected president; J. P. Casady, vice-president;
Horace Everett, treasurer; and Samuel Jacobs, secretary.
September 23, 1865, the company entered into a contract with Willis
Phelphs, of Springfield, Massachusetts, for the completion of the road in
two years — the Hendric-Jones contract being surrendered and canceled.
By this contract the road passed into the hands of Mr. Phelphs and his
associates. All the property, real and personal, of the company, all its
capital stock, except about twenty shares and excepting the Council
Bluffs city and Pottawattamie county stock, were to be surrendered to'
him.
During the winter of 1855-6 the road was re-surveyed and re-located
by a new chief engineer, E. G. Ferris, who remained until the completion
of the work. Ties and other material were also obtained. March 1, 1856,
the first mortgage \Vas put upon the road, being signed by Robert L.
Douglass, president; and executed to Horatio N. Case and Eplfiraim W.
Bond, of Springfield, Massachusetts, as trustees, to secure the payment
of $500,000 in bonds to be issued in sums of $1,000 each, bearing interest
at the rate of seven per cent per annum, payable semi-annually — July 1st
and January 1st of each year — the principal payable January 1st, 1880.
Release was filed February 25, 1880. Previous to this mortgage there
was no incumbrance upon the road.
The road was completed from Council Bluffs to the north line of Fre-
mont county by January 1, 1867, and on January 15, 1867, trains com-
menced running regularly between Council Bluffs and Bartlett. Part of
the iron for this portion of the road was brought up the Missouri river in
steamboats from St. Joseph and landed at Stillary's in Mills county, a
town long since washed into the river. Later in the fall the iron was
brought to Woodbine, in Harrison county, then the terminus of the Chi-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 437
cage & Northwestern railroad, and taken to Council Bluffs in wagons.
In 1866 and 1867 the floods in the Missouri river delayed the progress of
the work, and in 1867 the trainS were stopped seventy days on account of
damages by the floods.
In 1867 Pottawattamie county and the city of Council Bluffs surren-
dered their stock to the company in consideration of the completion of the
road to the Fremont county line, and the agreement of Mr. Willis Phelphs
to complete and open the road to the Missouri state line by January 1,
1868. July 1, 1867, a second mortgage on the road was executed to
George p. Phelphs, as trustee, of $150,000, to be issued in bonds of three
denominations; 130 bonds of $1,000 each; 30 bonds of $500 each; and 50
bonds of $100 each. They were all to bear interest at ten per cent, pay-
able semi-annually — July 1 and January 1 of each year — principal payable
July 1, 1872.
The annual meeting of the stockholders was held at Council Bluffs,
July 8, 1867, and adjourned to meet at Council Bluffs, July 23, 1867, at
which, besides the election of directors, the following resolution was
offered and passed: "Jiesolved, That the second clause of article (10) ten
of the original articles of incorporation of the Council Bluffs and St.
Joseph railroad company be and the same is hereby rescinded." The clause
rescinded made Council Bluffs the headquarters of the company. It was
ordered that the foregoing change in the articles of incorporation be pub- '
lished and recorded as prescribed in chapter 52, of the revision of 1860.
The road was completed to the Missouri state line, December 30, 1867.
The last annual meeting of the stockholders was held at Council Bluffs
July 13, 1868. <
In the summer of 1866 a contract was made between the company and
the county of Otoe, in the then territory of Nebraska, that provided that
the railroad should be built on the line then staked out, not to be further
than a mile and a quarter from the bank of the Missouri river, opposite
the foot of Main street in Nebraska City. Within which stated distance
the company was to build and maintain a freight and passenger depot for
all time to come, unless the river should wash the railroad so as to render it
necessary to remove to another convenient point. In consideration of
this agreement the county agreed to issue, and did issue, and deliver to
the railroad company county bonds, to the amount of forty thousand dol-
lars, bearing ten per cent, interest, payable semi-annually; the principal
to be paid in twenty years. These boflds were issued and disposed of
by the company before the organization of the Kansas City, St. Joe &
Council Bluffs Railroad Company. It is understood, however, that the
interest on the bonds was paid for some years ; and that afterwards the
county fesisted and still resists the payment of either interest or principal.
When the Council Bluffs and St. Joseph railroad was commenced in
438 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
1859, it was expected that it would meet at the state line, the Platte coun-
try railroad from St. Joseph, but that and some other companies were
merged in the St. Joseph and Council Blufts railroad company, which was
organized in the fall of 1866, and completed to the Junction at the Iowa
state line, a mile south of Hamburg in August, 1868, when trains com-
menced running regularly through from St. Joseph to Council Bluffs. In
the fall of 1868 a majority of the stock of the Council Bluffs and St.
Joseph railroad company was purchased by Nathaniel Thayer, as trustee,
and in the month of November the road passed in the charge of the Han-
nibal and St. Joseph railroad company. It was consolidated with that com-
pany April 7, 1869, taking its title. The consolidation was approved by
Nathaniel Thayer, representing 9056 shares, and Willis Phelphs owning
452 shares, which constituted a majority of the entire number issued,
which was 10,500.
A second change was made May 19, 1870, and a new consolidation
formed with the Missouri Valley railroad company, the united companies
taking the title of the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs railroad
company. Under this name the road was for some time operated. The
gross earnings of the road for 1878 were $1,499,029.80 — an average earn-
ing per mile of $6,000.20. In the same year the officers of the company
were as follows: President, Nathaniel Thayer, Boston, Mass.; Secretary,
Charles Merriam, Boston, Mass.; Treasurer, Charles Merriam, Boston,
Mass.; Assistant Treasurer, J. S. Ford, St. Joseph, Mo.; General Man-
ager, Geo. H. Nettleton, Kansas City, Mo.; General Superintendent; J.
F. Barnard, St. Joseph, Mo.; General Passenger Agent, A.C.Dawes,
St. Joseph, Mo.; General Freight Agent, George Olds, St. Joseph, Mo.;
Attorneys, W. F. Sapp and partners, Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The road is now under the control of the C. B. & Q., and its business
is daily greatly increasing.
The next proposition entertained by the county was in the year 1868,
when Glenwood township took the initiative. At the meeting of the town-
ship trustees for September 24, of that year, a petition signed by one hun-
dred and twenty voters was presented "asking said board to call an elec-
tion and submit the question, ' Shall Glenwood township aid in the con-
struction of the Burlington and Missouri River railroad as provided by
chapter 48 of the. acts of the 12th General Assembly of the state of
Iowa ? ' " The petition was granted and the election called. The ballot-
ing was had at the old brick school house on October 6, 1868. The elec-
tion resulted in the casting of one hundred and sixty-five votes for, and
fifty against taxation. This result was duly " reported to the clerk of the
board of supervisors" on the next day, the seventh of the month. The
project had been conceived before this time, for on the minutes of the
board of supervisors for October, 1867, appeared the following:
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 4:39
Resolved, That all the taxes now levied and standing against the clear list of lands in
Mills comity, Iowa, belonging to the Burlington and Missouri river railroad company, be
and the sam^ is hereby remitted, provided, that said company shall construct theit road
when extended west on the line of their road where it was definitely fixed and located by
the board of directors in March, 1857.
It may be proper before proceeding further to note the incorporation of
this company. The act of incorporation was commenced by a prelimin-
ary meeting of some of the principal citizens of Burlington, Iowa, Jan-
uary 15, 1852; but it did not complete its organization nor become an
efficient company until November 22, 1853. By March 22, 1854, it had
completed seventy-five miles of its road, from Burlington to Ottumwa.
Meanwhile the various congressional and state acts had been passed, rela-
tive to the swamp and other lands. The Burlington and Missouri River
railroad, was one of the roads specified in the several acts, and it accepted
the trust imposed by the state, July 25, 1856. By this grant the company
received from the state to aid in the construction of its road 287,099 acres
of land. This was subsequently increased to the aggregate of 390,072.23
acres, of which there are, in Mills county, 40,613 acres. For a history
of the litigation between this company, and its successor, the Chicago>
Burlington & Quincy and the county, reference may be had to the swamp
land troubles.
In 1868 another railroad scheme was projected through the county,
and which was made the object of action on the part of the board of
supervisors. It was the Chillicothe and Omaha railroad, which however
was never completed. The action referred to bears date of January, 1868,
and is as follows:
Resolved, That the sum of five hundred dollars, or so much thereof as shall be required
therefor, be and the same is hereby appropriated for the survey and final location of the,
Chillicothe and Omaha railroad centrally through the county^of Mills, making the county
seat a point therein, and that as soon as the president of said company shall certify to the
clerk of this board, and accompany said certificate with a plat of said survey and location,
to be filed in his ofllce, stating the amount that has been used for that purpose, the same
not to exceed $500, shall thereupon be paid to him.
Soon after the coming of the Burlington and Missouri called for
renewed action, and in the matter of taxes on the lands of that company,
received in trust from the state to aid in its construction, the following
action was had, bearing date of December, 1868:
Resolved, That in consideration and on condition that the Burlington and Missouri River
railroad company shall locate the line of their road and build the same through Mills
county, Iowa, via Grlenwood, in said county, and also locate and build a depot at said town
of Qlenwood, it is hereby resolved by the board of supervisors of Mills county, in the
state of Iowa, that the taxes that may have been or shall be levied on the lands belonging
to said railroad company in said county, shall be and the same is hereby remitted, pro-
vided that this resolution shall not be so construed as to remit said taxes for more than two
years to come, including also the taxes which have been and are now levied on and stand-
ing against said lands, it being the true intent and meaning of this resolution.
440 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
This action of the supervisors was destined to become one fraught with
most important results, for in the trial of the causes which grew out of
the swamp land grant between the county and the railroad company, it
was used as a most potent argument in relation to the attitude of the
county to the railroad when making the compromise relative to the suits
pending in the supreme court of the United States. The road was com-
pleted, and the first train passed through Glenwood in the year 1869.
The same company, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, control the Ne-
braska City & Sidney railroad, built in 1878, and the K. C, St. Joe &
C, B. railroad, a history of which precedes. Besides the branches above
indicated as being under the control of this great corporation, there is the
Hastings & Avoca branch, which runs from the first named place to Car-
son City.
Another .road has been recently completed through the county, the
Wabash, or more commonly known as the Council Bluffs, Pacific & St.Louis
railroad; this road pursues a very sinuous course through the county and
is destined at no distant day to command no second place among its pub-
lic institutions.
Thus the advantages of excellent railroad facilities are offered to the
residents of this county at their best. To arrest or to seriously impair
their usefulness would be detrimental to the highest interests of the peo-
ple. The days of delayed mails and express could no longer be brooked,
and should they at once cease to be, the community would be remanded
to comparative barbarism. The rushing of the train keeps pace with the
increase of business, and the latter is commensurate with the material
wealth and resources of the county, a wealth which becomes annually
greater by means of ready access to important business centers.
The attention of the reader is invited to the following statistics, relative
to the railways of the county:
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
TABLE I.
441
Statement showing the Number of Miles of Railroad in the diferent
Townships and Cities in Mills County, in May, 1880, as Certified by
the County Surveyor.
NAMES OF RAILROADS.
TOWNSHIP OR CITY.
Hi »=•
< Ph
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
Chicago, Burlington «& Quincy,
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy,
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
Chicaga, Burlington & Quincy.
K. C.,St.Joe& C. B
K. C, St. Joe & C. B
K C, St. Joe & C. B
C. B. & St. Louis
C. B. &St. Louis
C. C: & St. Louis
C. B. & St. Louis
C. B. & St. Louis
C. B. &St. Louis
C. B. & St. Louis
Nebraska City & Sidney
Nebraska City & Sidney
Nebraska City & Sidney
Emerson City
Hastings "
Malvern "
Glenwood "
Indian Creek township.
Silver Creek " . . .
Glenwood "
Plattesville " . . .
Center township
St. Marys "
Plattesville "
Lyons township
Oak «
Ingraham "
Center "
Silver Creek township . .
Malvern City..
White Cloud township..
Deer Creek " . . . .
Hasting City
Indian Creek township. .
White Cloud township. .
69
7.228
$12 200
12,200
12,200
12,200
12,200
12,200
12,200
12,200
12,200
8,600
8,600
8,600
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
TABLE II.
Statement showing the length in Miles of the several Railroads in Mills
County, Iowa, December ji, iSyg, and the Assessed value thereto -per
Mile, as fixed by the Executive Council, March 18 to 2^, i860:
NAMES OF ROAD.
EC
s ^
g
0 "
. z
6 "
it
TOTAL VALUE
IN COUNTY. j
1
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Council Bluffs &.St. Louis
Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bl'ffs
Nebraska City, Sidney & N. W
30.249
25.680
18.3848
8.818
$ 12,200
2,000
8,600
2,000
$ 369,037 80
51,380 00
168,109 28
17,836 00
Total
83 2418
$ 696 364 08
442 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
THE SWAMP LAND TROUBLES.
For the purpose of enabling the reader to intelligently follow the his-
tory of the titles to the lands known as " Railroad lands " within the
county the congressional and assembly acts relative thereto are transcribed
as introductory to the several suits which have been instituted. The re-
marks following the acts are to be taken independent^ of them :
Following is the act of congress known as the
RAILROAD GRAKT.
Section 1. Be it enacted hy the Senate and Souse of Representatives of the United States-
of America in Congress Assembled: That there be and is hereby granted to the State of
Iowa, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of railroads trom Burlington, on the-
Mississippi River, to a point on the Missouri River, near the mouth of Platte River, from
the city of Davenport, via. lovpa City and Fort Des Moines to Council Bluffs ; from Lyons-
City northwesterly to a point of intersection with the main line of the Iowa Central Air
Line Railroad, near Maquoketa; thence on said main line, running as nearly as practic-
able to the forty-second parallel ; across the State of Iowa to the Misouri River, from the-
City of Dubuque to a point on the Missouri River, near Sioux City, with a branch from
the mouth of the Tete des Morts, to the nearest point on said road, to be completed as soon
as the main road is completed to that point, every alternate section of land, designated by
odd numbers, for six sections in width on each side of said roads. But in case it shall ap-
pear that the United States have, when the lines or routes of said roads are definitely fixed,
sold any sections or any part thereof, granted as aforesaid, or the right of preemption has-
attached to the same, then it shall be lawful for any agent or agents to be appointed by the
Governor of said State to select, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior,
from the lands of the United States nearest to the tiers of sections above specified, so-
much land in alternate sections or parts of sections as shall be equal to such lands as the
United States have sold, or otherwise appropriated, or to which the rights of pre-emption
have attached as aforesaid ; which lands, (thus selected in lieu of those sold and to which
pre-emption rights have attached as aforesaid, together with the sections and parts of sec-
tions by odd numbers as aforesaid, and appropriated as aforesaid) shall be held by the
State of Iowa, for the use and purpose aforesaid :
Provided, That the land to be so located shall in no case he further than fifteen miles-
from the lines of said roads and selected for and on account of said roads : Provided
further, that the lands hereby granted for and on account of said roads severally, shall be
exclusively applied in the construction of that road for and on account of which such-
lands are hereby granted, as the work progresses, and the same shall be applied to no other
purpose whatever. And provided further, that any and all lands heretofore reserved to the
United States by any act of Congress, or in any other manner by competent authority, for
the purpose of aiding in any object of internal improvement, or for any other purpose
whatever, be and the same are hereby reserved from the operations of this act, except so-
far as it may be found necessary to locate the routes of said railroads through such reserved
lands; in which case the right of way only shall be granted, subject to the approval of
the President of the United States.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the sections and parts of sections of land which
by such grant shall remain to the United States, within six miles on each side of said
road, shall not be sold for less than the double minimum price of the public lands when
sold, nor shall any of said lands become subject to private entry until the same have been
first offered at public sale at the increased price.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 445
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted; That the said lands hereby granted to the said state
shall be subject to the disposal of the legislature thereof, for the purposes aforesaid, and
no other; and the said railroads shall be and remain public highways, for the use of the
government of the United States, free from toll or other charge upon the transportation of
any property or troops of the United States.
Sec. 4. And he it further enacted; That the lands hereby granted to said state shall be
disposed of by said state only in manner following, that is to say, that a quantity of land
not exceeding one hundred and twenty sections for each of said roads, and included within
a continuous length of twenty miles of each of said roads, may be sold; and when the
governor of said state shall certify to the Secretary of the Interior that any twenty continu-
ous miles of any of said roads is completed, then another quantity of land hereby granted r
not to exceed one hundred and twenty sections for each of said roads having twenty con-
tinuous miles completed as aforesaid, and concluded within a continuous length of twenty
miles of each of said roads, may be sold; and so from time to time until said roads are
completed, and if any of said roads are not completed within ten years, no further sale
shall be made, and the lands unsold shall revert to the United States.
Sec. 5. (Transportation section.)
The general assembly of the state of Iowa July 14, 1856, passed,
among others, the following sections relative to the land hereinafter men-
tioned as the subject of litigation:
Sec. 2. That so much ot the lands, interest, rights, powers and privileges as are or may
be granted and conferred, in pursuance of the act of congress aforesaid, to aid in the con-
struction of a railroad from Burlington, on the Mississippi river, to a point in Missouri
near the mouth of Platte river, are hereby disposed of, granted and conferred upon the
Burlington & Missouri River railroad company, a body corporate, created and existing^
under the law of the state of Iowa.
Sec. 10. All persons, who at the time said grant was made, held valid claims of actual
occupation and improvement upon any of the lands embraced in said grant, shall be pro-
tected in the same, and entitled to purchase and enter the same upon the terms and condi-
tions hereinafter provided.
Sec. 11. Any person, wishing to avail himself of the provisions ot this act, shall
within three months of the passage thereof file his application for that purpose with the
judge of the county where such lands may be situate, and shall prove to the satisfaction of
said judge, that his claim is valid, and that the same existed at the time said grant was
made; and upon such proof being made, such judge shall give to the applicant a certificate
of the fact, and such certificate shall entitle the holder, or his bona fide assignee, to enter
such land at two dollars and fifty cents per acre; Provided, That no person, claimant or
assignee of a claim, shall be entitled to more than one hundred and sixty acres of land,
tinder this act ; And provided further, that the person asserting a claim, whether as claim-
ant or assignee, shall file his affidavit that he has not, either directly or indirectly
received the benefits of the provisions ot this act. Before any rights shall be acquired
under such certificate, a copy of the same, together with the evidence, shall be served on
the secretary of the company interested, and such company shall have the right to appeal
from the decision of such judge to the district court, in the same manner as appeals are
taken from the decisions of the justice "of the peace, at any time within ninety days after
the service of such paper, and the same shall be tried as other appeal cases, and an appeal
may be taken to the supreme court by either party, in the same manner as appeals in
other cases.
By an act of Congress approved 28th September, 1850, all the over-
flowed and swamp lands within the state were granted to her, and the
444 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
State authorities were required to select them and report through the sur-
veyor general to the general land office the lands selected. For the bet-
ter and more certain compliance with the act of Congress the state granted
the lands to the counties in which they lie, and the counties, in most cases,
appointed agents to make the selection, and the selections were made at
the expense of the county, amounting to the sum of $2,000, in many
instances, averaging about $1,000 to each county, making the entire ex-
pense amount to $100,000. All this expense was incurred under
the direction of the commissioner of the general land office, and the form
of report and required affidavits were duly returned to the surveyor gen-
eral's office and by him certified to be overflowed or swamp lands, returned
as such to the commissioner of the general land office. The list returned
for the counties in the Council Bluffs land district were examined and
approved, and orders were issued to the land office to enter the lands con-
tained in the list upon the tract books and plats of the office, and to with-
draw them from sale. This was done about the 23d day of September,
1854.
In May, 1856, Congress made a grant of land to the state to aid in the
construction of certain railroads.* At the same session an act was passed
approving and confirming the selections of swamp lands, and virtually
declaring by that act that the swamp lands selected before the passage of
the act making a grant to aid in the construction of railroads, were to
remain undisturbed, and no portion of them could bj"^ any construction be
included in the railroad grant. But notwithstanding these selections were
made in conformity with instructions from the general land office, and by
his order entered upon the tract books and plats of the Council Blufis land
office, and notwithstanding that they were approved and confirmed by an
act of Congress, the commissioner decided that patents should only be
issued to the state for such even numbered sections within fifteen miles of
any of the land grant railroad lines, as were shown to be overflowed or
swamp lands by the plats and field notes, made by the government sur-
veyor, and that those even numbered sections selected and not shown to
be overflowed or swamp lands should be patented to the railroad com-
panies.
Such a decision was regarded as a gross usurpation of authority, and
a violation of the act of September 38, 1850. If the lands selected were
overflowed or swamp lands, they became absolutely the property of the
state the day the act was approved. That they were such is proved in
the very manner the commissioner required the proof to be made, and
having required this kind of testimony to be produced, and having
approved the selections upon this testimony, he could not, in justice to
the counties, fall back on the field notes of the government surveyor. If
*For the act of Congress and that of the General Assembly, see supra.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 445,
the patents were to issue only for such lands as were shown to be over-
flowed or swamp lands by the field notes of the government surveyor,
why were the counties required at a great expense to go through the
farce of making selections? The broad ground is taken that the selec-
tions having been made in accordance with the requirements of the com-
missioner of the general land office, and having been approved by the
surveyor general, and marked upon the plats and entered upon the tract
books, and withdrawn from market by order of the commissioner before
the passage of the act granting lands to aid in the construction of rail-
roads, that the right of the state, and through it the right of the counties,
to all the lands selected became vested in the counties, and the act making
the grant for railroad purposes could not reach any of the lands selected
before its passage. If in fact the two grants may be considered as cover-
ing the same land, the rights of the two will depend upon the facts in the
case, which become the subjects of judicial investigation and decision.
The law grants all the swamp and overflowed lands to the state — the
state has transferred them to the counties, and the counties have sold them
to individuals, and have expended the proceeds of the sale in draining the
lands, thus carrying out the intention of congress in making the grant.
Under all the circumstances, it was the duty of the executive officer to
issue the patents for all the lands selected under the swamp-land act, and
if the railroad companies had any right to any portion of them, their right
could be determined by the judicial tribunals of the country.
It has too long been the practice of executive officers to assume the
prerogative of deciding the legal rights of parties, which should have
been decided by the courts, and in this case if the commissioner could not
legally cause patents to be issued to the state for all the swamp lands
selected before the passage of the railroad grant, he could have had
patents issued for those about which there was no dispute, and leave the
rights of the parties to the balance to be determined by a judicial decision ;,
but by his determination to cause patents for a portion of the lands selected
to be issued to the railroad company, he threw obstacles in the way of
adjusting the rights of the counties, and to some extent forestalled the
action of the courts thereon.
It was this very issuing of patents to the railroad companies that led to
the institution of the suit by the county against the B. & M. R. R. Co.
This case involves confficting claims by the respective parties to the same
lands* under separate congressional grants. The plaintifFs petition
alleged that the plaintiff is the owner of the lands in controversy by virtue
of the act of congress of September 28, 1850, known as the "swamp land
grant," and the act of the general assembly of the state of Iowa, of June
*For a list of the lands in controversy the reader is referred to the original notice on a
subsequent page.
446 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
13, 1853, disposing of the swamp lands within the state to the several
counties therein, and the act of congress, of March 3, 1857, confirming
the swamp land selections previously made; that the defendant was
unlawfully interfering with the plaintiff's title to those bonds, and disturb-
ing plaintiff in the use, possession, and enjoyment of the same, and assert-
ing and claiming title thereto under color of some subsequent and sub-
ordinate grant unknown to plaintiff. The petition continues:
"And that relying in good faith upon her right thereto by virtue of said acts, she had
made divers contracts of sale to various individuals, but that she has not conveyed the
same but retains and still holds the right to said lands vested in her by the acts afore-
said.
To this petition* the defendants filed an answer denying all averments to plaintiffs peti-
tion, except that plaintiff claimed to own the lands in controversy, and admitting that de-
fendant claimed to own the same by virtue of the act of Congress of the fifteenth of May,
1856, in plaintiffs bill referred to, and certain acts of the Legislature of the State of Iowa,
and averring that by virtue of the act of Congress dated May 15, 1856, there was granted to
the State of Iowa, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of certain railroads in said
act named and described, certain lands of the United States, and that the General Assembly
of the State of Iowa, by an act to accept the same and carry into execution the trust con-
ferred upon her by the act of May 15, 1856, granted to the defendant so much and all of the
lands, interests, rights, powers and privileges as were or might be granted or conferred by
said act to aid in the construction of said railroad, in like trust, and to aid in the construc-
tion of said railroad, and avers that the lands in complainant's bill and exhibit described,
were and are a part of the lands so granted by said acts of Congress and Iowa Legislature
to the State, and to the defendant to aid in the construction of said railroad, and have been
and are listed and set off and certified and approved to this defendant, on and under daf«
of the respective exhibits hereto annexed by the proper authority of the United States,
which said lists and certificates confer legal title to said lands on the defendant, and by vir-
tue of which defendant makes and claims title thereto, " wherefore the defendant denies
the right of complainant to said lands, and says that this defendant has the better legal and
equitable title thereto, and further assuming, defendant says, that the railroad and the line
and route thereof was actually surveyed and marked out on the ground as the permaMnt
route, through said Mills county, on and between the ninth and fifteenth days of October,
1857, by the route and line designated and laid down on the plat thereof, and which said
railroad line was, on the twenty-fourth of March, 1857, formerly adopted by said railroad
company as the permanent line of said railroad through Mills county, and that said adop-
tion, when so made, related back to the times of the said actual survey and making of the
different sections indicated by the flags on the line of said road, at certain times, naming
them, and prays to be dismissed with judgment for costs."
Upon such bill and answer, when the case came up for a hearing in the
district court of Mills county, for the April term, 1866, the following
decree was rendered:
Mills County, Iowa,
vs.
The B. & M. E. R. R. Co.
Now, at this time, this cause coming on to be heard, and the court having heard and ex-
amined the allegations of the parties, the evidence submitted, and the agreements of coun-
sel, and being fully advised in the premises, find the facts stated in the petition and amended
♦Particular attention is called to the portions in small type.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 447
petition herein to be true, and that the plaintiff is entitled to the relief therein prayed for.
It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed by the court that the lands in fee simple to the
la/nck described in plaintiff's amended petition, and every part and parcel thereof is legally
vested in the plaintiff, Mills county, Iowa, and it is adjudged and decreed by the court that
the said plaintiff is the owner in fee simple of said lands, and is entitled to the uninter-
rupted control, use and enjoyment of the same, and it is further adjudged and decreed that
the claim of the defendant, to-wit: the B. & M. R. R. R. Co., to said land and to each and
every parcel thereof is illegal, null and void ; and it is further ad j udged that the defendant pay
the cost of this suit, taxed at $47.15, and that execution issue therefor.
Read, approved and signed April 17, 1866.
James G. Day, Judge.
From this decision of the district court the railroad company appealed
to the supreme court of the state of Iowa. There being a case in Fre-
mont county by and between Fremont county, plaintiff, and the same
defendant, involving the sarne indentical issues and questions, the two
cases were argued, treated, and decided together. )
The decision of the cause was intrusted to Chief Justice Ralph P.
Lowe, in the June term of 1867. In giving his opinion he gave a valu-
able and succinct account of the legislation in the matter, and ably grounded
his opinion on the authorities of highest moment in questions of law. His
opinion is here given in full, as being not only a full account of the ques-
tions at issue, and therefore of great interest to the people of the county,
but a discussion of the basis on which the whole legislation relative to the
swamp lands rests, and therefore of especial interest to owners of such
land in this county,
" The lands in controversy have a legislative history, federal and state,
to which it would be well to advert in advance of, and as shedding light
upon the questions of priority between the parties.
" They both claim the same lands under distinct grants by congress to
the state. The plaintiffs insist that they are swamp and overflowed lands,
and they deduce their right to the same through the state, under an act
of congress, approved September 28, 1850, entitled ' an act to enable the
state of Arkansas and other states to reclaim the stuamf lands within their
limits.' The first section of this act, without reserve or condition, grants
to the states, all the lands of the description therein specified which shall
remain unsold at the passage of the same. The second section declares
what must be done by the secretary of the interior, and the governors
of the states, in order to vest the legal title of these lands in the several
states.
" The third section lays down a rule to be observed in listing or select-
ing said lands, namely: that '■in all legal subdivisions, the greater -part of
which is wet and unfit for cultivation,shall be included in said list and -plats;
but when the greater fart of a subdivision is not of that character, the whole
of it shall be excluded therefrom^
"This act does not point out the particular mode to be followed by the
448 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
secretary, in making the required lists and plats, nor how he was to obtain
the information, in order to comply with the rule above prescribed by
congress. It is manifest, that this information is not supplied by the field-
notes of the original survey. A summary of objects and data required
to be noted by the surveyor will be found stated on pages 716, 717, of
Lester'^ Land Laws. Among them, bearing upon the character of the
land, are, first, its general topography, whether level, rolling, broken, or
hilly; second, the quality of the soil, whether first, second or third rate;
and third, whether the bottom lands were wet or dry, and, if subject to
inundations, to state what depth.
"A literal compliance by the surveyor would fall far short of aflfbrding
the requisite information to enable the secretary to determine whether the
greater part of the particular forty acre tract of land was swampy or
overflowed, in such a sense, under the act, as to render the same unfit
for cultivation. If he did so from the field-notes, without more informa-
tion, it would simply be conjecture. Congress thought best, in its wis-
dom, to establish the rule above specified, as a guide to the secretary, not
limiting him in the sources of his information to the field-notes of the sur-
veyor, but leaving it to his discretion to make the lists and plats of these
lands under that rule in the best way he could. It is proper here to state
that some time after the passage of the act, (September 28, 1850) grant-
ing swamp lands to the states, some additional objects to the topography
were required to be observed and stated in the field-notes of the surveyor,
in order to define more clearly the quantity and quality of such land, and
to show their distinctive character, whether swampj' or otherwise sub-
ject to overflow, to an extent that, without artificial means, they would be
rendered unfit for cultivation. But this was after the lands in controversy
had been surveyed. (Lester's Land Laws.)
" The manner and basis, therefore, upon which the lists and plats shoxild
be made, as contemplated by the act, were left open to the judgment of
the secretary of the interior.
"In November following the passage of the law, J. Butterfield, the then
commissioner of the general land-office, with the sanction, we are to sup-
pose, of the secretary, instructed the surveyor-general of this state, to
make out hsts of all the lands thus granted to the state under this act,
remarking to him that the only reliable data in his possession from which
such lists could be made, were the notes of the surveyor on file in his
office, and that, if the authorities of the state were willing to accept them
as the basis of those lists, he might so regard them. If not, and those
authorities furnished him satisfactory evidence that any lands were of the
character embraced by the grant, he should so report them ; and he states
what would be sufficient evidence in the premises, namely, the affidavits
of county surveyors and other respectable persons that understood and ■
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 449
had examined the lines, etc. The commissioner then states the general
principles which should govern the surveyor general in making up these
lists, both where the field notes are the basis of his action, and where the
state authorities shall conclude to have the surveys made to determine the
boundaries of the swamp and overflowed lands, and furnishes a form
according to which the lists should be made, directing that one copy of
the same should be transmitted to the several land offices, and another to
the general land office at Washington. In the same instructions, the com-
missioner directs that the land selected should be reserved from sale, and,
after the selection should be approved by the secretary of the interior, the
registrar should enter all the lands so selected in his tract-book, as granted
to the state by act of 28th of September, 1850, being swamp or overflowed
land.
"These instructions were continued nearly ten years with but little
change, for the guidance of the surveyor-general and the states in the se-
lection of the swamp lands. For the confirmation of this statement the
secretary of the interior, R. McClelland, in a letter addressed to the com-
missioner of the general land office, explanatory of the swamp land act,
dated November 20, 1855, states that under it, certain instructions were
issued for carrying it into effect, embracing substantially these proposi-
tions; that when the field-notes of surveyors indicated the swampy char-
acter of the land, they were to be regarded as conclusive of such charac-
ter, and that when the land is claimed by the state, as such, it shall be by
selections made by duly authorized agents of the state, and accompanied
by their affidavits that they have examined the said land, and, being
acquainted with the mode of surveying the public land, that the greater
part of each forty acre tract included in such selection, is swampy, etc'
"Again, on the 12th of January, 1858, the secretary of the interior, J.
Thompson, addressed a letter to the commissioner, Hon. T. A. Hendricks,
inquiring whether, in his, the commissioner's opinion, in bringing to a
close the grant of September 28, 1850, in cases of selections reported to
his office since the 3d of March, 1857, and in cases where the selections
yet remained to be made, the general instructions of November, 1S50,
were sufficient and should be adhered to, or whether new and additional
regulations should be adopted.
"In reply to this inquiry the commissioner first restates the substance of
these instructions as follows: 'In all cases where the plats and field notes
represent the land as swampy or subject to such overflow as to render
them unfit for cultivation, they belong to the state, and will be so certified.
When lands are claimed by the state under this act, which are not so rep-
resented on the plat and field notes, you wiU require the production of sat-
isfactory evidence that the greater part of each forty acre subdivision of
the land is of the character specified in the act.'
9
450 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. ,
"He then remarks that this point has always been maintained by this
office, and that if any instructions, heretofore issued, have been otherwise
construed, it has been an error.
"In reference to the necessity of an examination of the surface of the
land in each sub-division, he gave, among others, as a reason, that proba-
bly many of the lands were surve3'ed in dry seasons, and hence their char-
acter for swamp or overflowed lands were not indicated by the descriptive
notes and plats, etc.
"In conclusion, he states, in answer to the secretary's inquiry, that he
could not perceive, in view of the clear and definite character of the
instructions and to which the authorities of the state had made no objec-
tion, that any additional instructions or regulations were r,equired. I have
been particular in getting at the real character of these instructions, and
the length of time they obtained under the authority and with the sanction
of the interior department, for reasons which will hereafter appear.
"As the act granting these lands contained no specific directions to the
secretary as to the means to be employed or the manner in which he
should select them, and as the field-notes of the surveyor did not contain
■data sufficiently full to enable him adequately to carry out the rule which
the law laid down for their selection, we suppose it was quite competent
ior the secretary, through the commissioner, to adopt the form and mode
of selection suggested m the instructions which we have just been consid-
ering. Under these, the state had the option of adopting one or the other
of the two methods ; either to make the field-notes of the survey the basis
of their selection, or to accept the grant upon the basis of a re-survey and
examination of the surface of the land, in order to determine with more
precision the quantity and boundaries of the swamp and overflowed lands,
furnishing the requisite satisfactory evidence of the same. The states of
Michigan and Wisconsin adopted the former; this state, with others,
elected to take the latter course. See acts of the general assembly, passed
February 2, 1851, revision 148.
"The act of congress granting these lands made the secretary of the
interior the executive officer for carrying the same into effect. In Decem-
ber, 1857, it became necessary for him to determine at what period the
grant took effect, whether it was at the date of the law or when ' the pat-
ent issued. In determining this question, he says: 'The granting clause
in the first section, namely the words, ^are hereby granted,^ seemed to him
to impart a grant in -presenti: They confer the right to the land, though
other proceedings were necessary to perfect the title. This construction
of the act, by the secretary, then A. H. H. Stuart, was subsequently con-
firmed by J. S. Black, attorney-general, in a very clear and able opinion
addressed to Jacob Thompson, who was secretary of the interior at the
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 451
time, founded upon certain judicial authorities to which reference was
made.
"It was also confirmed by congress, as we think we have reason to
infer from the character and objects of an act passed March 2, 1865, enti-
tled, 'An act for the relief of purchasers and locaters of swamp and over-
flowed lands.'
"The circumstances giving rise to this act are understood to be these:
The lands covered by the grant were not and could not be listed at once,
and therefore could not be withdrawn from market without at the same
time withdrawing the whole mass of public lands, and inasmuch as entries
and locations ^with land-warrants of the public domain were made in a
large number of instances without examination of the character or quality
of the same, and the local officers, not having the data in the absence of
selections, to make the proper discrimination, the result was, that a very
large amount of the swamp lands were disposed of to private parties, by
the government, at the local land offices.
"Now, the effect of all this, under the foregoing decision of the secre-
tary of the interior that the right to these swamp lands vested in the states
at the date of the passage of the law, was to render the title of the private
entries and locations exceedingly uncertain, if not altogether inefTectual.
Hente it was but natural that those holding lands under such titles, should
feel dissatisfied with their purchase, and seek some kind of relief at the
hands of congress.
"On the other hand, when the state, by its agents, came to select and
list these lands it found its rights too largely interfered with, to allow it to
pass without protest, and lodged a complaint against these intermeddlers,
and insisted upon the priority of her claim under the law.
"The manner in which congress adjusted this complaint under the pro-
visions of the act, March 2, 1855, shows, quite unmistakably, that the con-
struction which congress entertained of the act granting the swamp lands,
was accordant with that of the secretary of the interior and the attorney
general ; otherwise, upon the hypothesis that no right to these lands had
vested in the state, congress could not have felt any necessity of extending
the relief granted, of validating these private entries, and directing pat-
ents to issue thereon ; nor, on the other hand, of granting to the state the
indemnity therein offered, except upon the idea of a previous investiture
in her of the title and right of these lands.
"We have not thus referred to the construction which congress, the
attorney general, and the secretary of the interior, have given to this act,
(and we are not advised that any other executive officer of the govern-
ment, at any time, has expressed a contrary opinion), because we felt it
necessary to adopt the same opinion in the disposition of these cases. We
expect to place our decision of them on other grounds, and will reserve
452 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
our opinion, as a court, upon the proposition whether the act grants a
present right or not, until the question becomes a vital one in some other
case. It may not be out of place, however, for the writer of this opinion
to suggest that, after a more careful examination of the question, he is
confirmed in the opinion expressed on the same subject in the case of Alli-
son vs. Halfacre, (11 Iowa, 450).
"But let it be stated that we have referred more particularly to the above
official, legal, and legislative opinions, as constituting a part of the history
of the swamp lands, and for the purpose of explaining the conduct of the
general assembly of this state, in granting the same to the counties where
they may be situated, which it did as early as January, 1853, as well as
accounting for all the legislation and dealings of, the state with these lands,
from which the secretary of the interior officially ^Jeclared the act granting
them to be one in ■presenti {riemine cohtradicente).
"After this exposition of the eflect of the grant, we suppose the state,
without provoking unjust criticism, could properly assume control and
ownership of these lands, and deal with them in such a way as to attain
the objects contemplated by the act of appropriation, first providing, how-
ever, for their selection and approval thereof by the department of state.
"Now, in the matter of selecting and listing these lands, let us see what
the plaintifts in these have done. The evidence shows that in April,
1853, the county judge of Mills county appointed O. N. Tyson, a
county surveyor, the agent to select the swamp lands in that county.
The selections were made, and a list thereof returned into the county
judge's office on the 31st of December following. The same was duly
verified by the affidavit of the selecting agent, to the effect that he under-
stood and had examined the lines bounding the tracts therein designa-
ted, and that each quarter was swamp or overflowed lands, and of the
character embraced in the act of congress approved September 28, 1850.
This list was reported to the secretary of state, and by him, on the 1st of
February, 1854, duly certified to the surveyor-general of this state, who
forwarded the same to the general land office at Washington, on the 20th
of September, 1854, with the certificate that he had carefully compared
the lists of selections with the field-notes, plats and other evidence on file
in his office ; and that, by the affidavits of the said county surveyor and
state locating agent, it appeared that the greater part of each smallest
legal sub-division of the lands embraced in said list was swampy or sub-
ject to such overflow as to render it unfit for cultivation, and that it was
therefore of the character contemplated by the act of September 28, 1850.
The surveyor-general, Warner Lewis, at the same time sent a transcript
of Jthis list of swamp lands to the registrar of the land office of the district
where the same were situated. About the same time the evidence shows
that the registrar received from the commissioner of the general land office,
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 453
John Wilson, a letter, dated September 30, 1854, directing him, on receipt
from the surveyor-general of lists of swamp and overflowed lands selected
for the state of Iowa, in his district, to note each tract therein embraced,
in ' its proper place, on his tract books,' and not to permit any entries or
locations upon any part of the same.
" This list includes all the land now in controversy in Mills county.
They were selected from actual observations by a county surveyor and
sworn to, reported to the surveyor-general, and by him to the general
land office in the years 1853 and 1854, nearly two years prior to the pass-
age of the railroad grant.
"The lands in Fremont county in controversy, amount to some 14,255.62
acres, and were selected in nearly equal quantities at two difierent periods,
and in the same manner that the selections were made in Mills county.
The first list was made out, authenticated, returned, ratified, and approved
both by the surveyor-general and the commissioner of the land office at
Washington, and withdrawn from market at the local land office, all within
the year 1854.
" The second list of selections was made and duly verified in March,
1856, reported to, and fully endorsed by the surveyor-general, and by
him was forwarded and filed in the general land office on the 27th of Jan-
uary, 1857, about the same, time they were designated as swamp lands on
the tract book of the local land office at C ouncil BlufTs, and, by order of
the commissioner, withdrawn from sale.
"We are unable to perceive any irregularity or departure from the
instructions of the interior department, for the selection and listing of
these lands, to which we have above referred. Their very full and
emphatic approval by the surveyor-general of this state, to whom, under
specific instructions, had been intrusted the duty of superintending these
selections, and who, after a careful comparison of the same with data and
notes of topography accompanjang the original survey, declared that they
were of the character and description of swamp and overflowed lands
contemplated in the act of appropriation. This, with their subsequent
recognition as such by the commissioner of the general land office, and
withdrawal from public sale on the tract book at the local offices, it would
seem, ought to settle the regularity and accuracy of the selections, and
that they were in accordance with the rules of previous instructions from
the department. It is worthy of note that we find no legal testimony in
all the papers of these cases impeaching the bona fide of the selections
mentioned herein, except the certifications thereof, years afterward by the
commissioner to the department. The circumstances and ground upon
which this was done will appear further on.
" The points next to be noticed in order in the history of these lands, are
the difficulties and embarrassments resulting from the action of the interior
454 HISTORY OF M[LL,S COUNTY.
department, in carrying out the provisions of the act, March 2, 1855, for
the reUef of purchasers and locaters of swamp lands, according to their
understood intent and meaning.
"A very large numTjer of controversies at once sprung up, which led
to great excitement, exasperation and expense, a detailed explanation of
which is not now necessary, but which terminated, on the memorial of the
general assembly of this and perhaps other states, in the passage by con-
gress of an act of repose, approved March 3, 1857, to the effect that the
selections of swamp and overflowed lands, heretofore made and reported
to the commissioner of the general land office, so far as the same remain
vacant and unappropriated, should be confirmed, approved and patented
to the states, as soon as practicable, agreeably to the provisions of the act
granting the same.
"The circumstances giving rise to this confirmatory act, as well as the
obvious import of the language itself, leave no doubt whatever of its
meaning and intent, of investing absolutely in the several states such lists
of swamp and overflowed lands, whether actually so or not, as had before
that time been made out and reported to the commissioner of the general
land office ; and such, precisely, was the category of the lands now in dis-
pute. They had not only been listed and reported, but their selection had
been made in strict compliance with the rules prescribed by the interior
department, and all returned, approved, and withdrawn from, public sale
before this act in question was passed. Now, whatever doubt there may
exist as to the precise time when the title to these lands vested, under the
original act granting the same, there cannot be the slightest semblance of
a question that the effect of this act was the immediate investure of the
title to all the selections made and reported at the date of the law, which,
did not interfere with actual settlement made under pre-existing laws;
and such is the construction which the secretary of the interior very prop-
erly gave this act again and again ; and, under the construction very many
contests in regard to the character of these lands, pending at the passage
of this act, fell to the ground thereafter, and were no longer the subject
of disputation. This act, being mandatory and absolute in its terms, its
effect was intended to compose all difierences about the character of the
selections made and reported; so that the power of the secretary of the
interior over these questions was exhausted and at an end, and he had
left no duty to perform in reference to them, except the mere ministerial
duty of furnishing the several governors of the states with a true certified
list thereof, from the commissioner, under the seal of his office, which is
all the patent or evidence of title required under another act of congress
approved August 3, 1854; and also the additional duty of determining
whether any of these reported selections had been otherwise appropriated
or interfered with by legal settlements .
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY, 455
" Subject to this qualification, the right of the state to demand a certifi-
cate of these selections cannot be questioned, and it is their right to de-
mand which constitutes the plaintiff's claim and which we suppose, in a
court of justice, is equivalent to the titje ; the certified list, when made,
being only the evidence thereof.
"Having traced out the nature and foundations of the plaintiff's right
and claim to these lands, let us see next the nature and basis of the defend-
ant's claim to the same lands.
-'Derived, as it is, from an act of congress, approved May 15, 1856,
appropriating land to the state in alternative sections to aid in the con-
struction of certain lines of railway therein specified, it will not do to over-
look the restrictions and reservations which it contains, as qualifying the
right of the state under the grant, and the date at which she would take
under the same. First, it reserves from the operation thereof all lands
heretofore appropriated for the purpose of aiding in any objects of inter-
nal improvements, or for any other purpose whatever. This reservation
is sufficiently broad to except the swamp land grants ; besides, we are not
at liberty to suppose that congress would be guilty of the folly of grant-
ing the same lands for two distinct objects. Second, the enacting or
granting clause contains this provision:
"But in case it shall appear that the United States have, when the lines
or routes of said roads are definitely fixed, sold any sections or any part
thereof, granted as aforesaid, or that the right of pre-emption has attached
to the same, then it shall be lawful for any agent or agents, to be ap-
pointed by the governor of said state, to select, subject to the approval
of the secretary of the interior, from the lands of the United States near-
est to the tiers of sections above specified, so much land in alternate sec-
tions as shall be equal to such land as the United States have sold or
otherwise appropriated, or to which the right of premption has attached.
The object of this provision is too clear for misapprehension. It was to
keep the grant open so as not to prevent private entries from going on,
or other disposition of the same by the government, until the lines of the
several railways were definitely established, before which it would be im-
possible, in the nature of things, for the right of the state to attach for the
reason that the grant is limited to odd sections within a prescribed dis-
tance from such line. In the absence of such restriction, the difficulties
that arose under the swamp land grant (to relieve against which the act
of March 2, 1855, above referred to, was passed by congress), would have
been duplicated. Congress was confined either to this restriction, or the
withdrawal of all the public lands in the state from sale, forthe time being
or otherwise witness a repetition of the conflicts and embarrassments that
grew out of the swamp land grant, for the want of a similar restriction.
Now, as entries at large were permitted under this railroad grant up to
456 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
the time that the line should be definitely fixed, it will hardly be contended
that a party having a pre-emption right on, or who should be a purchaser
of one of the odd sections after the date of the grant, but within its limits,
as 'subsequently ascertained by a final location of the route, could be
divested of his right and title by the superior claim of the railroad com-
pany. If not, upon what principle is it that the defendant in this case
claims priority of right over the plaintiffs to the land in dispute, when the
final location of the line of its road was not definitely determined until the;
24th of March, 1857, being subsequent in date to the act confirming irre-
vocably the title thereto as swamp lands?
"There can be but one answer to this, worthy of our consideration,
which is, that, inasmuch as the commissioner of the general land office,
under the real or supposed authoritjr of the secretary of the interior, has
certified these lands to the department, his action in the premises, whether
right or wrong, being political and executive in its charcter, cannot be
reviewed or drawn in question by the courts of the country.
"This is the principal and certainty the most important point of the
defense in these cases. It merits attentive consideration, and should be
preceded by a statement of some of the circumstances leading to the cer-
tification in question.
"First, it will be remembered that as early as 1851, the secretary of the
interior declared the swamp land act a present grant; that shortly there-'
after, the legislature of this state granted these lands to the counties; that
Fremont and Mills counties, plaintiffs herein, proceeded to select the same
pursuant to instructions emanating from the interior department; that
these selections were of the character contemplated by the act, as proven,
in the manner prescribed in the instructions, and certified to by the survey-
or-general, ratified and approved by the commissioner, entered as such on
the tract books of the local offices, and withdrawn from public sale. ■■
Afterward, but before the defendant had the route of the road definitely
fixed, congress, by a special act, March 3, 1857, confirmed the selectionss/i| ; '
and directed that they should at once be certified to the state as swamp
lands. The effect of this act, in the opinion of the secretary, as he fre-;
quently expressed it, was to foreclose all questions in regard to the
swampy character of these lands, leaving no duty for him to perform in
relation thereto, except to determine how far these selections, so confirmed^,
were interfered with by prior vested rights under other acts of congress.
" The secretary had informed the commissioner that, before title to rail-
road lands would vest, the route must be staked off and marked upon the
ground in such manner as to indicate clearly the fixedness of the line;
that the mere survey of the line fixes nothing ; that it is only means of in-
formation, not location. He says, ' definitely fixed ' implies fixed without
capacity of change. Attorney-General Gushing, speaking of the Iowa
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 457
railroad grants, informs the secretary that, whilst they are conditional
grants, in fresenti, yet they are in the nature of floats, which do not
attach to any particular parcel of the public lands until the necessary
determinative Unes of railroad shall have been definitely fixed. Now, in^
this sense, the defendant's line was not permanently established till March
24, 1857, which was posterior to the confirmation of plaintiffs' title by act
of congress. This fact, in the opinion, both of the commissioner of the
general land office, Wm. Hendricks, and Mr. Thompson, the secretary of
the interior, as expressed in letters to each other, dated the 2d and 10th
of December, 1858, established the priority of plaintiffs' claims, under the
confirming act of March 3, 1857. Yet, under all these circumstances,
and notwithstanding the plaintiffs had in the meantime, sold much of these
lands, and, as the evidence shows, had expended many thousand dollars
in reclaiming the same, according to the expressed purpose of the grant,
Mr. Edmunds, a new commissioner of the general land office, on the 25th
of March, 1862, certified the lands now in dispute as inuring to the state
for the use of the defendant, under the railroad grant. May 15, 1856, being
some seven or eight years after the same had been selected and approved
as swamp lands, by his predecessors, and more than five years after they
had been confirmed to the state as swamp lands by a special act of con-
gress.
" Now, as this act was directly in opposition to the declared views of
the former officers of the interior department, and the land office, to which
we have already referred, and also against the express legal opinion of
the attorney-general Black, November 10, 1858, in which he held, with
great show of reason, that where lands are claimed under a swamp and
a railroad grant, either of which would be good if the other was out of
the way, the elder one must prevail, '■^rior est tempore potior est jure^ it
is interesting to learn how this was brought afbout, and upon what pretense
it was done. It will be remembered that soon after the railroad grant
was made, in 1856, the interior department was prevailed upon by parties
interested in this grant, to suspend the certification of swamp land selec-
tions until an adjustment could be made of the rights of the parties under
the two grants. For four years thereafter, the commissioner and secre-
tary failed to reject any portion of these selections on the one hand, or to
certify the same to the state for the benefit of the railway companies on
the other. In the meantime, however, they settled questions of conflict
between the two grants arising in this and other states, and adopted rules
for executing the same, under which they never could have done so, with-
out a change of opinion as to the construction of these acts, as we have
before shown.
"After they retired from office, and were succeeded by Mr. Smith as
secretary, and Mr. Edmunds as commissioner, the agents of defendant.
458 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
General Dix, president of the Mississippi & Missouri R. R. Co., and a
Mr. Steiger, its land agent at Washington, renewed the application for
the certification of these lands to the defendant, and persistently urged
the same until Mr. Edmunds finally complied. But before he could cer-
tify he must first register them from the swamp land selections. This he
accomplished by passing through the selections and casting out of the lists
those tracts in odd sections within the range of the railway grant, which
the field notes of the surveyor did not indicate to be swampy and over-
flowed in such manner as to render them unfit for cultivation, thereby
overhauling and undoing all that the state and counties had done at much
expense under a rule for the selection of those lands, prescribed by his
predecessor, and acquiesced in by the department for a series of years.
He professed to derive his authority for doing so from a letter of instruc-
tions written by the secretary of the interior, dated February 8, I860..
That he failed to apprehend the true import of this letter as applicable to
the facts of these cases, there can be but little doubt. A transcript of this
letter is in the record ; it will not be found in Lester's land laws.
"Conflicts between the warrants and,the road grants assumed different
phases, according to the diverse facts under which they sprung up.
"The letter in question is generally designed to cover all and not par-
ticular cases, and was intended to lay down rules of adjustment that would
meet each class of cases therein specified. The first class and the rule
applying thereto is this: that when the lands are claimed under both,
grants, and the title under the railroad grant had vested after the passage
of the confirmatory act, March 3, 1857, are evidenced by a definite loca-
tion of the line of road, then the title should be completed under the
swamp act.
"The second class is, when claim is made under both grants and the
title under the railway grant 'vested, as aforesaid, before the passage of
act March 3, 1857. The rule prescribed in this phase of the conflict
looked to an investigatian into the character of the swamp selections, and
the commissioner was directed to examine these selections in the light of
the field-notes of the surveyor and the papers on file and of record, and,
if the claim under the older grant was satisfactorily established, to affirm
the title under the same, otherwise to certify the title under the junior
grant.
" We need not notice the other cases of conflict mentioned in this letter.
They refer to selections of swamp land made subsequent to the act of
March 3, 1857, and would have no particular pertinency to the cases be-
fore us.
" Now, the mistake which we think the commissioner made, was in
applying the rule of adjustment laid down for settling conflicts in the
second class, to those of the first class, within which the evidence shows
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 45&
these cases fall; and it may not be out of place to suggest that, inasmuch
as the act of rejection mentioned was not only without authority, but
really at variance with the instructions of the secretary of the interior,
the same should be treated as a void act.
" But afterward he certified these rejected swamp lands to the defend-
ant; and it is said his act in this respect was approved by Secretary
Smith. This is true; yet both the certification and approval contained
this qualification: that they did so subject to the conditions of the grant,
and any valid interfering rights which might exist. This reservation
would seem to imply hesitation and doubt of the propriety of the act ;
whilst rights injuriously affected thereby might be in some way redressed.
"Nevertheless, it is now claimed that this act of certification being polit-
ical and executive in its character, and the formal disposition of the soil,
concludes all judicial inquiry into any antecedent right or claim which
may be set up to the same.
"That the power to make all needful rules and regulations for the dis-
position of the public lands, under the constitution belongs to congress, is
no longer an open question in this country; when, within these rules and
not interfering with previously acquired substantial rights, the govern-
ment officers do dispose of the public domain, the title will not be allowed
to be gainsaid or impeached. We do not understand the authorities
referred to by the defendant to go any further than this.
" On the other hand, if a legal or vested right is in any way impaired
or violated by an executive officer of the government, even in the matter
of certifying lists of land granted previouslj- by congress, we suppose
such violation to fall as legitimately within- the judicial cognizance of the
courts, as if the same right had been invaded by an individual of the
legislative department of the government. We take it to be a well estab-
lished principle of law, that when a party, in the prosecution of a right»
does everything which the law requires, and fails to maintain his right by
the misconduct, negligence, ignorance, or mistake of a public officer, the
law covers and will protect the right.
" We can add nothing to the force of the facts which we have already
detailed, showing that the investiture of the plaintiff"'s right to these lands
had really taken place anterior to the date when defendant's right attached
by virtue of the permanent location of the road line.
" If anything was left undone by the plaintiffs in selecting and listing
these lands which was required by the act granting them, or by the rules
and instructions of the interior department, as to the manner of making
and reporting them, in order to make good their right, we have been
unable to detect it from the record. But, when in addition to this, they
were recognized by the department as regular and valid, and subsequently
confirmed by congress, after they had been separated from the mass of
460 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
other public lands, and designated by legal divisions and subdivisions,
what other acts could the government have done to have more effectu-
ally vested the right in and to these lands than those just enumerated?
" And if the plaintiffs have a vested right, why are they not entitled to
a stand in a court of justice, as have all other parties with invaded legal
rights? The reply is, they are concluded by the act of the commissioner
who rejected them as swamp lands, and certified them as railroad lands.
But suppose these same lands had been taken up by private entries
{the swamp grant act being out of the way) at any time before the line of
the roads were definitely fixed, and they should afterward be certified by
the commissioner to the defendants as railroad lands; would such certifi-
cation conclude the rights of private purchasers, although they had not
yet obtained their patents? It seems to us that upon no fair principle of
interpretation of these several acts of congress could the certificate of a
mere ministerial officer have that eflfect.
"Congress never intended to attach any undue solemnity to these cer-
tificates, as will abundantly appear from the language of an act passed
August 3, 1854, which, while it provides that the certified list by the com-
missioner shall have the effect to convey the fee simple of all the lands
•embraced in said lists that are of the character contemplated by the act
of congress, and intended to be granted thereby, yet further declares
* that, when lands embraced in such lists are not of the character embraced
by such act of c&ngress, and are not intended to be granted thereby, satd lists,
so far as these lands are concerned, shall be -perfectly null and void, and no
ri^ht, title, claim, or interest shall be conveyed thereby.''
"This negatives the conclusive character of these certificates, and
when they are made in the manner supposed, so as to make them null
and void, there must be some tribunal to determine that question. If they
contravene substantial legal rights, as in this case, we do not see why the
courts of the county are not open to afford the adequate redress. Believing
that they are, and that the court below decided right in these cases, we
shall affirm the same."
From this decision the B. & M. railroad company appealed on a writ in
•error to the supreme court of the United States. Pending the decision
of this case by the tribunal first named, and notwithstanding the pres-
tige of two decisions in the county's favor, the board of supervisors
made a proposition to the company, as follows, to-wit:
In order to settle and finally adjust the law suit now pending in the supreme court of
the United States, wherein Mills county, in the State of Iowa, is plaintiff, and the' Burl-
ington &' Missouri River railroad company is defendant, and secure the completion of
said railroad through Mills county via Glenwood, in said county, we, the undersigned,
agents of said county, submit the following proposition to the board of directors of said
railroad company, to-wit :
There are in dispute between the parties to the said law suit, twenty-three thousand
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 461
three hundred and sixteen acres. For the purpose of having our proposition understood,
we acknowledge that we owe acres of land to the amount of 23,316, to pay which we have
and offer you odd sections vacant, (most of which is a part of the 33,316 acres) and even
sections patented to the county and unsold, in the aggregate 9,080 acres Balance of land
due you, 14,236 bcres For further payment we have, and ofl:er to you of the odd sections
(about all of which is of the 23,316 acres claimed by you), subject to pre-emption, made
through the county, acres to the amount of (on which nothing has been paid to the county)
4,660. Of these pre-empted lands we estimate that about one-half of the pre-emptions are
fraudulent and ought not to be recognized ; but the county must ask that when bona fide
improvements have been made on the same the pre-emptors must be secured in their rights
to the same, and have the privilege of purchasing at one and 35-100 dollars per acre of the-
county or company, which amount shall in any event, go to the railroad company. Now
you will have land for law, subject only to the pre-emptor's claims, until there will be du&
you in acres 9,576. The remainder, 9.576 acres, belongs to bona fide settlers and purchas-
ers, who, we must insist, shall be protected by the county ; and as we have paid you all the-
land we have, we'oflFer you for this balance ten thousand dollars in money. The company
shall understand that the balance of 9,576 acres is the land, portions of which it has beeni
settling with our individual citizens tor; and there is included in the 9,576 acres all the
lauds the company has sold to citizen settlers at one and 35-100 dollars per acre. With this
understanding the $10,000 balance we offer you will be just as much less than 9,576 acres
as the company has thus sold, and therefore, our pay would perhaps amount to one and
50-100 dollars, or more. It is understood that the suit now pending shall be continued by
agreement of the parties from term to term until the conditions ol this contract, or propo.
sition shall be complied with. It is also further understood that the foregoing proposi-
tion shall not be binding upon the county of Mills unless said railroad company shall
complete said railroad through Mills county via Gl^nwood, and build a depot at Glen-
wood, in said county ; and in case said railroad company shall fail or neglect to build
said railroad through Mills county via Glenwood, and also build and establish a depot at
Glenwood, in said county, then and in that event, the said law suit shall stand for final
hearing in the supreme court of the United States, the same as if this proposition had
never been made. In case the suit shall be settled on the basis of this proposition, each
party shall pay their own costs.
The manner of tranferring the land, whether the county shall deal with the purchasers
and pre-emptors, or whether with the railroad company under the restrictions indicated, the
county is not particular about, but will agree to what may seem most practicable.
The amount in acres, as stated above may not be exactly correct, and probably is not,
but it is believed to be nearly so; but we wish it understood that the company shall have
all the swamp lands the county now holds, or is entitled to in Mills county, Iowa, subject
only to the conditions indicated in the foregoing.
Witness our hands this July 13, 1868.
Wm. Hale, ]
1. H.^SOLO™' [lif'VorUyofthe. Committee.
L. W. TnBBS. J ■
At a meeting of the board held November 10, 1868, the special rail-
road committee, appointed to submit the foregoing compromise to the
officers or agents of the company, made the following report:
The undersigned appointed, by the board of supervisors of Mills county, Iowa, to settle,
adjust and compromise the suit in relation to swamp lands in Mills county, Iowa as plain-
tiff, and the B. & M. R. R. R. Co. as defendant, beg leave to report that in accprdance with
the authority and power vested in us by your honorable body, we proceeded to the city of
Burlington, Iowa, and there submitted to said railroad company, the proposition hereto
462 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
appended, and which was, on the 31st day of October, 1868, accepted by said railroad com
pany, and which we submit to your honorable body for approval and ratification.
Respectfully submitted this 9th day of November, 1868.
E. C. BOSBySHBLL, 1
Wm^Halb, ^ \Commmee.
D. H. Solomon,
L. W. Tdbbs. J
The facts in the case until the completion of this compromise here fol-
low in the language of the original entries in the minute book of the road:
Burlington, Iowa, October 27, 1868.
This proposition is hereby accepted, and the terms, stipulations and conditions are
agreed to by the Burlington & Missouri River railroad company-
Burlington & Missouri River railroad company, by
C. E. Perkins,
Notice of the acceptance of the within proposition by the Burlington & Missouri River
railroad company has been served on us, this 31st day of October- 1868.
D. H. SOLOMAN, ■)
E. C. BOSBYSHELL, ! /^„^^ •„.,.,
Wm. Hale, >Oommittee.
L. W. Tubes. J
After giving the report due consideration, it is
' Resolved, By the board of supervisors of Mills county, Iowa, at their regular session in
November, 1868, that the proposition submitted to the Burlington & Missouri River rail-
road company, by our special railroad committee, and the acceptance of the same by said
company be and the same is hereby confirmed and ratified, and that the same be spread
upon the record of this board.
The ayes and nays being called for, the vote stands as follows :
Ayes ;— Allis, Forrester, Haynie, Lamb, Utterback, "Wing, Ward, Russell and Mr. Chair-
man.
Nayes : — None.
In pursuance of this contract the following deeds were executed by the
county to the railroad company: 18th October, 1869, one for 2,260.55
acres; October 18, 1869, one for 1,960 acres ; January 4, 1870, one for 920
acres; September 6, 1870, one for 1,640 acres; June 19, 1871, one for 320
acres, making five deeds in all and conveying allthe lands in controversy.
From this compromise two suits were the outcome. The first suit was
instituted by the county against the B. & M. R. R. R. Co. and com-
menced by filing the following:
ORIGINAL NOTICE.
In the district court of .Mills county, Iowa, February term, 1874.
Mills County "1
««. I '
The Burlington & Missouri River railroad f t„ e>™, v
company, John M. Forbes, Henry P. Kidder, M"' -^?«"2'-
John N. A. Griswold, J. W. Brooks and Al-
pheus Hardy. J
To John M. Forbes, Henry P. Kidder, John N. A. Griswold, John "W. Brooks and
Alpheus Hardy:
You and each of you are hereby notified that there is now on file in the oflace of the
clerk of the district court of Mills county, Iowa, a petition with amendments thereto, in
the above entitled cause, making you and each of you parties defendant thereto, asking fof
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
46S
a decree against the defendants thereto, declaring that a certain contract purporting to
have been made between Mills county, Iowa, by the board of supervisors of said county,
aLd the Burlington & Missouri Eiver railroad company, at the November term, 1868, of
said board, in regard to certain swamp lands of Mills county, Iowa, and proceeds of
the sale thereof is void, and that the five deeds made in pursuance of said contract, signed
by the members of the board of supervisors of Mills county, Iowa, and purporting to con-
vey to said Burlington & Missouri River railroad company, the following tract and par-
cels of lands situate in Mills county, Iowa, to- wit;
DBSCKIPTION.
DESCKIPTION
E hf ne qr se qr
W hf ne qr sw qr
Nwqr
Whfswqr
Nw qr se qr
B hf se qr se qr ne qr
Ne qr s hf sw qr se qr
Nw qr sw qr sw qr sw qr
Ne qr nw qr n hf sw qr whf sw qr. .
Se qr nw qr e hf ne qr sw qr ne qr
hf sw qr se qr
N hf neqr sw qr ne qr s hf nw qr.
Nw qr ne qr e hf sw qr..
Nw qr nw qr .""
W hf ne qr w hf se qr sw qr
Ne qr nw qr
B hf nw qr e hf sw qr
Nw qr ne qr
Swqrne qr nw qr nwqr nwqr.
S hf nw qr ne qr nw qr w hf sw qr e
hf ne qr
Ne qr ne qr sw qr ne qr ne qr sw qr
Ne qr sw qr
Lot No. 3
Lot No. 3
LotNo.l
Ne qr ne qr
Se qr sw qr
Nw qr sw qr
W hf nw qr w hf sw qr w hf ne qr
ne qr ne qr
Sw qr se qr
W hf ne qr w hf se qr e hf ne qr e hf
se qr
W hf nw qr se qr sw qr
S hf se qr n hf ne qr ne qr nw qr w
hf nw qr w hf sw qr se qr sw qr. .
Nw qr nw qr
Whfneqr
LotNo. 1
Lot No. 1
Ne qr ne qr e hf nw qr se qr sw qr
sw qr se qr
W hf ne qr ne qr nw qr nw qr se qr
Ne qr ne qr ne qr se qr lot No 4.. .
Sw qr sw qr w hf sw qr ne qr. . . . .
8 hf se qr
Sw qr sw qr
8e qr nw qr n hf nw qr
W hf nw qr se qr sw qr w hf se qr
Ne qr ne qr sw qr ne qr nw qr ne qr
ne qr nw qr se qr nw qr sw qr sw
qr
Sw qr s hf se qr ,
Ne qr ne qr. n hf nw qr s hf nw qr
w hf sw qr w hf se qr e hf se qr .
Sw qr
E hf ne qr '
Ne qr se qr
N hf ne qr nw qr
Sw qrw hf se qr
N hf ne br sw qr ne qr se qr ne qr
nw qr se qr
W hf ne qr nw qr nw qr se qr nw qr
ne qr sw qr nw qr nw qr nw qr sw
qr
N hf se qr sw qr se qr se qr ne qr n
hf ne qr sw qr ne qr
Ne qr ne qr
Nw qr se qr s hf se qr sw qr. . . .
Se qr nw qr
Ne qr e hf n w qr e hf sw qr se qr se
qr w hf nw qr w hf sw qr. . . .
W hf sw qr w hf ne qr sw qr nw qr
B hfswqr w hf seqr
Se qr se qr
Se qr ne qr se qr sw qr
~ ! qr sw qr e hf nw qr ne qr se qr w
hf sw qr e hf se qr
W hf se qr w hf sw qr w hf nw qr e
ht ne qr,
Ne qr nw qr w hf nw qr
W hf neqr seqr ehfne qr nw qr. .
Ne qr ne qr nw nr nw qr s hf se qr
S hf ne qr se qr nw qr
Nw qr ne qr n hf nw qr
W hf se qr e hf nw qr
W hf sw qr se qr sw qr sw qr se qr
ne qr sw qr nw qr se qr ne qr se
qr
Ne qr ne qr
Nw qr se qr sw qr nw qr
Sw qr nw ny w hf sw qr
W hf nw qr nw qr sw qr
Se qr se qr ne qr se qr
LotNo. 1
Ehf se qr
Sw qr ne qr nwqr nwqr n hf se qr
se qr se qr
Nw qr sw qr s hf sw qr sw qrse qr.
24
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
41
41
41
41
43
43
43
48
41
41
41
41
41
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
43
Are also void, and to declare that the plaintiff is the owner in fee simple thereof, notwith-
464 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Standing said deeds, and askint; a judgment against said railroad company for five thou-
sand dollars as for moneys had and received by said company which belong to the plain-
tiff.
And asking that you, John M. Forbes, Henry P.Kidder, John N. A. Griswold, John
W. Brooks, and Alpheus Hardy, and each of you have acquired by virtue of said contract
or said deeds no interest in or lien upon any of said lands, and that the claims of the de-
fendants to any and all of said lands be declared groundless and void ; and that, unless
you appear thereto and defend before noon of the second day of the next term of the dis-
trict court of Mills county, Iowa, which is to be begun and held at the court house in
Glenwood, in Mills county, Iowa, on the 8th day of February, 1875, detault will be entered
and judgment thereon rendered against you, pro confesso.
This 30th day of December, 1874.
L. W. Boss, )
C. B. La WHENCE, [■ Attorneys for Plaintiffs.
D. H. Solomon, )
In the District Court the company won the cause, whereupon the county-
appealed to the Supreme Court of the State of Iowa. The history of
the cause and its results here follow.
The plaintiff in this case set up the fact, in order to defeat the compro-
mise, that the lands in controversy were swamp lands and that it had
therefore, no power to convey them as provided by the terms of the com-
promise. It will be noted that it was a condition of the settlement that
the railroad company should continue its road through Mills county, and
should locate a station at Glenwood. The county set forth that the lands
could not be legally transferred on the grounds that there was no proper
or adequate consideration for such transfer, in reply to which the defend-
ant held that the company was not bound by the act of Congress to locate
its line by the way of Glenwood, nor to establish a station there, and that
an agreement to do so constituted a valid consideratiou for the agreement
to compromise. The county further claimed "fraud" in effecting the
compromise, or rather in leading to the proposition to so settle the case
on the grounds that the surveying party of the company were running
" scare lines " to lead the people of the county generally, and the citizens
of Glenwood particularly, to infer that they would, after all, fail entirely
of the road. But no adequate proof was adduced that the lines were
run where the company had not a legal right to locate its route. The
third ground urged by the attorneys of the company was excess of
powers on the part of the Board of Supervisors in making the contract.
This was ably answered by the attorneys for the company in their argu-
ment before the Supreme Court, and the question at issue was decided in
their favor, on the grounds that a trustee — as the county set up that it
held the lands in trust — in the exercise of a reasonable discretion, may
certainly compromise debts, and in the proposition of the county to effect
such a settlement, it alleged debt in express terms. The decision in this
cause was rendered by Justice Adams, and the decree of the inferior
court was affirmed.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 465
But it seems that the railroad company had filed a cross suit to recover
from the county the payment of the ten thousand dollars named in the
articles of compromise. This is the second suit that grew out of this
transaction. In the district court the plaintiff — the railroad company —
was beaten, whereupon an appeal was taken to the supreme court of the
state and the decree by the lower court reversed, on the grounds that the
agreement for the compromise had not been abandoned by the company
in its answer had maintained. To show that it was, the county put in
evidence the docket entry of the supreme court of the United States
made in the case in which the alledged compromise was made, which
entry shows in effect that the case came on to be heard, and was argued
by counsel, and that the decree of the supreme court in Iowa was
affirmed. To rebut that evidence, the company introduced the testimony
of the attorneys of the defendant company in that case. From it, it
appears that nothing was done by the attorneys of the defendant com-
pany in that case in the supreme court of the United States,, except to
file printed briefs, and that if they were filed after the compromise was
made, they' were filed in ignorance of the compromise. The counsel for
the company did not appear personally in court. One of them, speaking
of the compromise, says : " No attention was thereafter given by counsel
for defendant to the case, as the matter was supposed to be comprom-
ised." Judge Adams expressed it as his opinion that neither party did
anything on the supposition that the compromise, had been abandoned.
The judgment of the district court was by him, therefore, reversed.
The case then found its way, on the appeal of the county, to the supreme
court of the United States, where now the matter rests, awaiting final
adjudication.
POLITICAL HISTORY.
The records relating to the early political history of the county are in
a criminally imperfect condition. Almost the sole records preserved are
the names and bonds of those who received the suffrage of the people of
the new county as its first officers on the day of organization.* Their
names have been elsewhere given.
The poU-books show a total vote in the county of one hundred and
sixty, distributed as follows :
*The act of the general assembly, defining Mills county, together with Union, Adams,
Adair, Cass, Montgomery and Pottawattamie, was approved January 15, 1851.
10
466 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
West Liberty, (now Glenwood township) 55
Rawles 23
Bethlehem, (now Platteville) 37
Silver Creek 45
Total 160
At the next election, held in the fall of 1852, there was cast the follow-
ing vote:
Platteville 20
Coonville (precinct) ; 60
Council Bluffs 14
Silver Creek 16
Rawles 41
Total 151
There is a marked falling off here, but it is readily accounted for by the
fact that many of those who had voted at the first election had left the
country and gone to Salt Lake City. The newcomers had not equaled
those who had gone.
The first general election in the county occurred during the intense
political excitement of 1852, an excitement which the issues, joined in that
memorable canvass were calculated to arouse. The democratic party
made a strong and successful campaign to recover from the decisive
defeat which had rested from it the presidency of 1848. General Cass,
the candidate for that year, had been defeated in the contest by General
Taylor, of Louisiana, whose valor in -the Mexican war had made him
a favorite with the people. In 1852, at the Baltimore convention in June,
the democrats put in nomination Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire, for
president, and William R. King, of Alabalma, for vice-president. The
whigs put in nomination, at the same place, June 16, General Winfield
Scott, of Mexican war fame, with William A. Graham, of North Caro-
lina, second on the ticket. The anti-slavery party put in nomination John
P. Hale, of New Hampshire, and George W. Julien, of Indiana.
The democratic candidates were successful by an overwhelming major*
ity. The anti-slavery ticket polled less than one-half the ballots cast by
them in 1848, showing a decided diminution in strength. This campaign
will always be remembered as a most important one, for it was the last
one in which the old whig party presented a candidate. The greatness
of the man the party had honored with the nomination for president of the
United States, was destined to be that of a military hero, rather than a
politician or statesman. In the latter capacities he was an utter failure,
and disappointed the hopes of his friends. In his very first speech, to a
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 467
deputation of foreigners, he declared that he '■'■loved the rich Irish brogue
and the sweet German accent," and this made him the object of ridicule
by his opponents, and without doubt contributed largely to losing the can-
vass. In addition to this, his position on the tariff question, and the Mis-
souri compromise, were neither of them that of the statesman nor compe-
tent politician.
There are no election returns by which to record the vote of the county
whether whig or democratic. The state cast its electoral vote for the
democratic nominees, the last time since that such an event has occurred.
Party lines were sharply drawn in the county, and, of course everybody
was interested, and it is to be presumed, entered into the contest with a
fervor equal to that of like contests to-day.
In the presidential election of 1856, the newly formed Republican party
put forth its first candidate, John C. Fremont, who entered the contest on
the platform of "Free speech, free press, free soil and Fremont." "No
sectionalism" was the watchword of the Democratic party which was
represented by James Buchanan. Millard Fillmore led the American or
Know-nothing party, whose battle cry — if such such an expression may
be used — was "Americans must rule America." The organization of
this party was the consequence, in part, of the position taken by Scott in
the campaign of four years previous. It might be> proper to note the
cause of the intense excitement that everywhere prevailed in this election.
On January 16, 1854, Senator Dixon, of Kentucky gave notice that when
the bill* to establish a territorial government in the territory of Nebraska
should be called up he would move an amendment to the effect that the
Missouri compromise line of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north
latitude, forever prohibiting slavery or involuntary servitude north of said
line, should not be so construed as to apply to the territory contemplated
by the act, or to any other territory of the United States; but that the
citizens of the several states or territories should be at liberty to take and
hold their slaves within any of the territories or states to be formed there-
from. This amounted to a virtual repeal of the Missouri compromise, and
the announcement in the United States House of Representatives created
no less an excitement than the introduction, in 1848, of the Wilmot Pro-
viso.
On the 23d of January, 1854, Senator Douglas, of Illinois, reported
what is known as the Kansas-Nebraska bill, providing for the organiza-
tion of two territories from the Platte country. Among other provisions
Senator Douglas' bill contained the following:
; Section 21. And, ie it further enacted, That, in opder to avoid misconstruction, it is
♦This bill was introduced in December, 1853, by " Senator Hall, of Missouri, and was
then called a bill to organize the Territory of Platte. The bill was reported in February,
laSS, under the title of th« Territory of Nebraska, but no final action was taken.
468 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
hereby declared to be the true intent and meaning of this act, so far as the question of
slavery is concerned, to carry into practical operation the following propositions and. prin-
ciples, established by the compromise measures of 1850, to-wit:
First. — That all questions pertaining to slavery in the territories, and in the new Stjttes
to be formed therefrom, are to be left to the decision of the people residing therein, through
their appropriate representatives.
Second. — That all cases involving title to slaves and questions of personal freedom, are
referred to the adjudication of the local tribunals, with the right of appeal to the Supreme
Court of the United States.
Third. — That the provisions of the Constitution and laws of the United States, in respect
to fugitives from service, are to be carried into faithful execution in all the " organized
territories," the same as in the States.
Another section of the bill of Senator Douglas, and . which is as fol-
lows, gave rise to particularly bitter and hostile debate.
The constitution and all laws of the United States, which are not locally inapplicable,
shall have the same force and effect within the said territory as elsewhere in the United
States, except the sections of the act preparatory to the admission of Missouri into the
Union, approved March 6, 1830, which was superseded by the principles of the legislation
of 1850, commonly called the Compromise Measures, and is declared inoperative.
On February 6, Senator Chase, of Ohio, moved to strike out so much
of the bill as declared the Missouri compromise of 1820, " superceded"
by the compromise of 1850, but the motion was defeated. On February
15, Mr. Douglas moved to strike out the clause objected to by Mr. Chase,
and insert the following:
Which being inconsistent with the principles of non-intervention by congress with slavery
in the states and territories, as recognized by the legislation of 1850, (commonly called the
Compromise Measures) is hereby declared inoperative and void ; it being the true intent
and meaning of this act not to legislate slavery into any territory or state, nor to exclude
it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domes-
tic institutions in their own way, subject only to the constitution of the United States.
This amendment was at once adopted by the senate, and embodied,
what was afterward known as the doctrine of squatter sovereignty. Mr.
Chase, not having full faith in the declaration as to the true intent of this
measure, moved to add, after the words " United States, " the following:
Under which the people of the territories, through their appropriate representatives,
may, if they see fit, prohibit the existence of slavery therein.
The proposed amendment of Mr. Chase was voted down. The bill
became a law May 31, 1854, having received the approval of President
Pierce. This bill precipitated the feeling of bitter animosity that entered
so largely with the contest of 1866. No attempt can ever be made to
depict the scenes of constant turmoil and violence that obtained in some
portions of the country. In some sections as Kansas, blood was shed, and
civil war seemed imminent. Suffice it to say the anti-slavery party finally
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
469
triumphed, and the two states came into the union free. Again in 1860
and 1864 were the various parties wheeled into line and entered upon
memorable and exciting contests.
The poll-book for the county opens with the year 1867; all records pre-
vious to that date being scattered and imperfect. From this poll-book
for 186t, and the years subsequent, have been gathered the follow-
ing statistics:
OCTOBER ELECTION 1867*
For Governor:
Samuel Merrill 629
Charles Mason 516
yuds^e of Supreme Court :
Joseph M. Beck 631
John Craig 616
Attorney General:
Hugh O'Connor 631
W. F. Barker 516
Representative i6th district :
John Y.Stone 604
Edward Ward 541
County Treasurer:
Wm. H. Taft 1062
James Howard 4
County Surveyor:
David Templeton 559
G. Seeger 42
N. Anderson . . 2
Coroner :
D. F. Eakin 580
D. M. Hamilton 550
yail Tax Proposition :
For 652
Against 157
Z. ieutenant- Governor :
John Scott 629
D. M. Harris 517
Supt. Public Instruction :
D. F. "Wells, (for vacancy). . . 498
D. F. Wells, (full term) 627
M. J. Fisher 516
Senator, ^th district:
A. R. Anderson 628
J. P. Cassady 520
County fudge:
D. M. Mitchell 608
M. D. Lamb 539
Kirt White 2
Sheriff:
E. B. Sampson 581
A. J. Fair 549
John Bishop 1
Drainage Commissioner :
D. B. Harrington 472
L. Ballard 1
C. Anderson 8
L. W. Tubbs 8
County Superintendent:
L. S. Williams 600
A. E. Clarenden . . .\ 525
* Through some unaccountable blunder the election returns for 1868 do not appear on
the election book, which opens with 1867. How to account for this criminal neglect is a
problem hard to be solved.
i^O
HtSTO&Y O*' MILLS COUNTY.
1869.
Governor :
Samuel Merrill 686
George Gillaspj'^ 440
"Judge of Suf rente Court :
John F. Dillon 684
W. F. Brannon 440
Representative lyth District:
John Y. Stone 644
S. W.Williams 447
M. V. Piatt 14
M. F. Piatt ; 6
County Treasurer ;
C. B. Atkins 671
M. Y. Dalrymple 442
I. B. Welpton .- 1
Coroner :
M. H. McCluskey 619
Superintendent of Schools :
J. B. Mallett 676
S. Allis 453
Lieutenant- Governor :
Madison M. Walden. ....... 6S7
A. P. Richardson 439
Supt. of Public Instruction :
Abraham S. Kissell 675
H. O. Dayton 440
Abraham F. Kissell 12
A. S. Kissell (to fill vacancy). 510
Auditor :
D. M. Mitchell 676
M. D. Xamb 433
W. G. Templeton 1
J. R. McBride 1
Sheriff:
J. W. Turner 682
J. R. McBride 427
County Surveyor :
C. W. Spalding 508
D. Templeton 48
John Hanks 1
Proposition to restrain swine and
sheep from running at large:
For 674
Against 292
1870.
fudge Supreme Court {full term) : Clerk of Supreme Court :
Chester C, Cole 693
J. C. Knapp 74
fudge Supreme Court, [vacancy) :
W.E.Miller 700
P. Henry Smythe 45
T.H.Smith 1
James G. Day 705
Reuben Noble 45
Proposition for Constitutional
Convention :
For 116
Against 342
Charles Linderman ,
Wm. Clelland
Reporter of Supreme Court :
Edward H. Stiles
C. H. Bane
50
42
Secretary of State:
Ed. Wright 703
Charles Doer 4S
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
471
Auditor of State :
John Russell 696
W. W. Garner 49
Register State Land Office:
Aaron Brown 702
D. F, Ellsworth 47
Congress :
Francis W. Palmer 701
B. F. Montgomery 126
To Prohibit the Sale of Malt Liq-
uors in Mills County :
For • :. 434
Against 301
County Recorder:
J.M.Powell 752
County Su-pt. {to fill vacancy) :
C. H. Newell 711
Mary Morse 1
Coroner, {to fill vacancy) :
. Josiah Farrar 735
Treasurer cf State :
Samuel E. Rankin 702
W. C. James 49
Attorney General:
Henry O'Connor 696
H. M. Martin 48
"Judge District Court, 3d District :
J.W. McDill 780
District Attorney, jd Judicial Dis-
trict:
Smith McPherson 725
H. W. Morseman 47
Clerk District Court :
T. P. Ballard 728
Ross Hale 1
Lucy Eads 1
County Surveyor, {to fill vacancy):
M. O. Dowd 706
Governor :
C. C. Carpenter 893
Joseph Knapp 659
Wm. Hale 1
Judge of Supreme Court :
James G.Day 895
John F. Duncombe 657
Senator gth Senatorial District :
John Y. Stone.. 845
Wayne Stennett 683
County Treasurer:
D. M. Mitchell ,
Charles W. Spalding 673
W. F. BosbysheQ 1
E. Starbuck 1
1871.
Lieutenant Governor:
H. C. Bulis 896
M. M. Ham 659
Su-pt. Public Instruction :
Alonzo Abernethy 894
E. M. Muram 659
Representative :
J. Wilber 1
A. R. Wright 834
J. J.Morgan 690
E. Starbuck 3
County Auditor:
Jason M. Powell 881
Wm. F.Bosbyshell 661
472
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Superintendent of Schools :
Stephen Peebles 886
Samuel Christy 669
Coroner :
J. B. Stetson 881
J. A. Donelan 668
Surveyor, (^ for f till term) :
J. P. Wilder 507
James M.Kelly 53
J. A. Donelan 1
Recorder, (to -fill vacancy) :
P. P. Pratt 1
Nathaniel Dean 835
J. C. Doze 715
Sheriff:
J. W.Turner 831
Isom S. Wright 700
Surveyor, {to fill vacancy) :
J. P. Wilder 882
James M. Kelly 617
E. Starbuck 1
Drainage Commissioner:
F. M. Henton
M. L. Evans
900
664
Ratifying the Contract with the
B. & M. R. R. R. Co:
For Ratifying 674
Against « 367
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION— 1872.
Presidential Electors :
For Greeley and Brown
electors, Dem. and Lib.
Republican 1292
For Grant and Wilson elec-
tors, Republican 1261
For Prohibition electors ... 7
Auditor of State:
John Russell 1132
J. P. Casady 715
Register of State Land Office :
Aaron Brown 1132
Jacob Butler 712
Daniel Sheward 1
Congress :
James W. McDill 1135
W. W. Merritt 709
fudge of Circuit Court ijth Dist.;
T. R. Stockton 1100
E. E. Ayles worth'. 733
Secretary of State;
Josiah T. Young 1131
E. A. Guilbert 713
Charles Baker 1
Treasurer of State:
William Christy 1133
M. J. Rohlfs 711
D. B. Beers 1
Attorney General:
M. E. Cutts 1131
A. G. Case 691
E. J. Case 122
M. E. Cutts (to fill vacancy). 1045
fudge of District Court ijth Dist. :
J. R. Reed 1130
T. J. Hannah 711
District Attorney I jth Dist.:
H. K. Mcjunkin 10.34
Geo. S.Wright 768
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
473
Treasurer of State :
Wm. Christy 850
Henry C. Hargis 661
Clerk of Dist. and Circuit Courts :
T.P.Ballard 1049
S.C.Osborne 783
Register of State Land Office :
David Secor
R. H. Rodearmel
County Recorder:
J. L. Tryon
Nathaniel Dean
D. Dean
Governor:
Cyrus C. Carpenter 768
Jacob G. Vale 956
Judge of Sufreme Court :
Joseph M. Beck 774
Benton J. Hall 953
Representative :
E. T.Sheldon 744
James Mickelwait 972
Solomon Thomas 1
County Auditor:
D.F.Paul 749
W. H. Taft 979
County Suft. of Schools :
S. V. Proudfit 776
Ed. L. Kelly 947
County Surveyor :
J. P. Wilder 1576
I. H. Bouton 3
G. Seeger 100
E. Starbuck 2
B. F. Buffiington 1
1873.
Lieutenant Governor:
Joseph Dysart
C. E. Whiting
Suj>t. Public Instruction :
Alonzo ^bernethey . . .
D. W. Prindle
County Treasurer:
Geo. A. Bailey
Wm. Hoch
Secretary of State :
Josiah T. Young 851
David Morgan 660
Sheriff:
E. C. Byers
James M. Evans
E. Starbuck
Drainage Commissioner .
I. F. Hendrie
Lee H. Gammon. . . .
Coroner :
D. M. Hamilton
Ross Hale
John Hyde
E. C. Bosbyshell....
John Lidgett
Wm. Hoxsie
J. A. Donelan
C. H. Reno
John Keeler
John Hanson
Dr. Eddy
1874.
Auditor of State :
Buren R. Sherman . .
Joseph M. King
847
660
1051
775
774
955
774
953
795
934
752
967
1
764
969
35
2
1
1
1
4
4
3
1
1
2
817
665
474
HISTORY OF MILILS COtTNTY.
Attorney General:
M. E. Cutts 832
John H. ELeatley 681
Clerk of Supreme Court:
Edward J. Holmes 847
Geo. W.BaU 660
Clerk of District Court:
T. P.Ballard 913
N. S. Phelps 597
G. W.Ball 1
Reporter of Sufretae Court:
John S. RunneUs 847
James M. Weart 665
Congress: '
James W. McDill 881
Aaron Rood 598
Recorder :
J. L. Tryon 1514
D. L. Heinsheimer.
Governor :
Sam'lJ. Kirkwood, (Rep.) 1093
Shephard Leffler, (Dem.). 933
Scattering 10
Judge of Su-preme Court :
Aiistin Adams 1088
William J. Knight 950
A. Adams 4
Senator pth District :
Geo. F.Wright 1087
Benjamin F. Montgomery ^'■i^
Scattering 9
County Auditor :
Jason M. Powell 1045
Wm. «. Taft 950
Scattering 29
Sheriff:
Ezra B. Sampson 924
James S. Hendrie 1073
Scattering 30
Superintendent of Schools :
Frank E. Stephens 1118
Charles B. Christy 862
Scattering 27
Drainage Commissioner :
F. M. Hinton 8
Lee H. Gammon 1011
Scattering 5
1875.
Lieutenant Governor :
Joshua G. Newbold 1090
Emmett B.Woodward 940
Scattering 5
Swpt. of Public Instruction:
Alonzo Abernethy. 1091
Isaiah Doane 946
A. Abernethy 4
Representative :
John Y. Stone 1060
Edward L. Kelley 934
Scattering 13
County Treasurer;
Marshall M. Angell 9^8
Wm. Hoch 988
Scattering 37
Surveyor :
Gustave Seeger 1089
Seth Dean 908
Scattering 3
Coroner:
James I. Rist 190
Samuel T. Brothers 1097
Scattering 32
HISTORY OF WILLS COUNTY.
475
1876.
Presidential Electors :
Tilden and HendricksElec-
tors, (Dem.) 1165
Hayes and Wheeler Elec-
tors, (Rep.) 1453
Cooper and Gary Electors,
(G. B.) 6
Treasurer of State :
Geo. W. Bemis 1454
Wesley Jones 1165
Geo. C. Fry 6
Register of State Land Office:
David Secor 1453
N. C. Ridenour 1165
George M. Walker 7
yudge of Sufreme Court,
{fidl term :)
Wm. H. Seevers 1453
Walter I. Hayes 1138
O. R. Jones 4
yudge of Sufreme Courts
{term expiring fan. /, ^yg :)
James C. Rothrock 350
James H. Rothrock 1102
• W. M. Graham 1166
Congress:
Wm. F. Sapp 1354
Lemuel R. Bolter. 1262
l^strict Attorney, ijtk Dist :
A. R. Anderson 1252
R. G.Phelps 1288
W. S, Lewis 1
Clerk of the Courts.
Thos. P. Ballard 1168
Jacob H. Brown 1391
County Treasurer {to fill vacancy.^
Henry E. Perry 1269
Wm. H. Tait 1319
Pm>r Farm Tax.
For 374
Against 230
Secretary of State :
Josiah T. Young 1454
John H. Stubenranch. 1166
A. McCready 5
Auditor of State :
Buren R. Sherman 1453
Wm. Groneweg 1135
Leonard Brown 6
Attorney General:
John F. Mcjunkin . 1448
J. C.Cook 1167
J. H. Mcjunkin , . 5
Judge of Sufreme Court, {to
fill vacancy :')
Wm. H. Seevera 1442
Walter I. Hayes 1110
Chas. Negus 6
Stfper'nt of Public lustruetiow,
{to fill vacancy .*)
C. W. von Coelln 1450
J.H.Nash 4
fudge District Court, ijth Dist.
J. R. Reed 2597
fudge Circuit Court,ijth Dist :
C. F. Loofbourow 1414
E. E. Aylesworth 1193
County Recorder.
J. L. Tryon....
T.P.Ballard..
2581
1
Drainage Commissioner.
J. H.'Cox 1202
OtisE. AUis 1117
476
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
1877.
Governor.
John H. Gear, (Rep.) 1435
John P. Irish, (Dam.) 1102
D. P. Stubbs, (G. B.) 98
Elias Jessup, (Pro.) 28
C.White 1
Judge of Su-preme Court.
James G. Day 1478
, H. E. J. Boardman 1109
John Porter 87
A.J.Russell 1
Hefresentative.
John Y. Stone 1310.
B. F. Buffington 1233
N. H . Bowman 69
T. A. Stone 1
County Treasurer.
A.D.French 1464
W. H. Taft 1130
James Vincent 45
W. M. McCrary 1
County Superintendent of Schools.
F.E.Stephens 1297
Wm. H. Wright 1325
County Surveyor
Seth Dean 2459
Scattering 4
Lieutenant Governor.
■ Frank T. CampbeU 1471
W.C.James 1004
A. McCready 86
Suft. of Public Instruction.
Carl W. von Coelln 146
G. W. Cullison 1107
S.T.Ballard 85
County Auditor.
Wm. McCrary 1300
H. F. Wilson 1308
J. M. Cresswell 48
W. H. Taft 3
Sheriff.
D. C. Jackson. . .
James S. Hendrie .
M. Weber
1279
1338
34
Coroner.
G. W. Curfman 1367
Samuel Christy 1205
F. M. Powell 70
Drainage Commissioner.
J. H. Cox.! 1342
L. W. HuflFaker 1277
O. E. Allis 75
1878.
Secretary of State.
E. M. Farnsworth (Dem.) . 987
• John A. T. Hull (Rep.). ., 1212
T.O.Walker 1
Treasurer of State.
M. L. Devin 987
Geo. W. Bemis 1211
Auditor of State.
Joseph Eiboech 968
Buren R. Sherman 1207
E. Swearingen 24
Register of State Land Office.
M. Farrington 987
James K. Powers 1212
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
4:77
Attorney-general.
John Gibbons *. 966
John F. Mcjunkin 1210
C.H.Jackson 25
Re-porter of the Supreme Court.
John B. Elliott 966
John S. Runnels 1128
Geo. W. Rutherford 22
E. J. Holmes 84
Congress.
John H. Keatley 875
William F, Sapp 1171
Geo. C. Hicks 156
M. H. Byers 1
Recorder.
S. A. Tipton 870
M.H. Byers 1103
B.O.Sheldon 136
Thos. Wallace 74
Scattering 4
yudge of the Supreme Court.
J. C. Knapp 991
James H. Rothrock 1211
Clerk of the Supreme Court.
Alex Runyon 986
Edward J. Holmes 1121^
John S . Runnels 84
Clerk of Dist, and Circuit Courts.
J. H. Brown 1025
J. E. Robinson 1033
A. Keeler 119
A. J. Anderson 4
Scattering 6
1879
Governor.
John H. Gear (Rep) 1571
H. H. Trimble (Dem) .... 1076
Daniel Campbell (G. B) . . 149
D. R. Dungan (Pro) 31
Scattering 2 '
Supt. of Public Instrcntion.
C. W. VonCoelln 1579
Erwin Baker 1078
J. A. Nash 169
Scattering 2
Senator 8th District.
Alfred Hebard 1579
James Mickelwait 985
N.W.Cook 225
Scattering 2
Lieutenant Governor.
Frank T. Campbell 1607
J. A. O. Yewman 1076
M. H. Moore 148
fudge of Supreme Court.
Joseph M. Beck 1579
Reuben Noble 1084
M. H. Jones 140
John M. Beck 19
Representative.
W. S. Lewis 1369
J. M. Stahan 1293
H. E. Perry 116
Scattering 10
47:8
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
County Auditor.
S. C. Osborne 1384
H.F.Wilson 1359
Scattering 21
Sheriff.
Curt White 1315
James S. Hendrie 1374
Scattering 19
Coroner.
W, S. Townsend 1499
S. Christy 1066
O.C.Forrester 143
Scattering 3
County Treasurer.
A. D.French 2008
B.O.Sheldon 771
Scattering" 18
County Su-pt. of Schools.
Miss Maud Archibald 1378
Wm. H. Wright 1320
Scattering H
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
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480 ^ HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Mills county was not represented in the general assembly until that
body convened for the fourth time. This session began at Iowa City,
December 6, 1852. The member for Mills, who also represented Mont-
gomery, Adams, Page, Union, Ringgold, Taylor and Fremont counties,
was William C. Means. With him, as "floating member," was associated
J. L. Sharp, who represented thirty counties, or nearly one-third of the
state! The senator for the fourth general assembly was G. W. Lucas,
of Fremont county. ,
In the fifth general assembly, convened at Iowa City, December 4, 1864,
the same senator occupied his seat. In the house would have been Rich-
ard Tutt, who was a resident of this county, but who died before taking
his seat. At the extra session of the legislature, July 2, 1856, W. Rus-
sell, a resident of Glenwood, filled the vacancy caused by the death of
Mr. Tutt. December 1, 1856, the sixth general assembly was convened
at Iowa City, and in the senate, representing Mills, Fremont, Page, Tay-
lor, Montgomery, Ringgold, Adams and Union counties, was Samuel
Dalle, of Taylor county. In the house was Samuel H. Moore, of Mills.
In the seventh general assembly, which convened at Des Moines, Jan-
uary 11, 1858, the senator was John W. Warner. In the house was John
M. Daws, a lawyer, who subsequently became a resident of Kansas City.
The eighth general assembly convened at Des Moines, January 8, 1860. ,
Harvey W. English was the senator, and Washington Darling the mem-
ber in the house. In 1862, the same senator, H. W. English, and A. R.
Wright, a farmer, cared for the interests of the county. Mr. Wright was
the first member who represented Mills county alone. In the tenth gen-
eral assembly was Senator L. W. Ross, of Pottawattamie, and Repre-
sentative William Hall. There was no change for the eleventh general
assembly, and these gentlemen were again members of the house, Mr.
Hale being speaker fro tern. In the senate of the twelfth general assem-
bly was Jefferson P. Casady, of Pottawattamie, in the house, the Hon.
John Y. Stone, of Glenwood. From this date on the records in the elec-
tion book, hereinbefore given, the succeeding members and senators are
given.
It will be possible for the interested reader to make from these statis-
tics, various instructive comparisons relative to increase of population and
changes in public opinion, especially the sense of the people in matters of
public moment and marked importance.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 481
MILLS COUNTY IN THE CAMP AND ON THE FIELD.
Active military operations, as comprehended in the single word "war,"
have, unfortunately been the essence of history from the earliest times.
No nation has escaped participation in these great tragedies. Their
names and those of their founders have come down to us on a sea of
blood, and for centuries they embroidered the historic tapestry with bat-
tle scenes and riiind, until they actually battled away existence and found
annihilation.
The stately monuments in national cemeteries, and the thousands of
solitary and unnoticed hillocks beneath which rest the remains of armies
of heroes, proclaim the cost at which the great rebellion which threatened
the national life was subdued. This war, with all its vast and incalcula-
ble losses and sacrifices, formed a chapter in the nation's life, not be easily
forgotten. Lest history report itself in errors and a stolid world refuse to
learn wisdom from the voice of the past, the chapter must be handed
down to posterity.
The memorable political canvass of 1860 being over the people of Iowa,
with their usual patriotic spirit, accepted the result. In the southern
states, however, leading men at once sought to make practical their favor-
ite theories of secession; theories, the abstract correctness of which will
always be admitted, but the excution of which was perhaps utterly impo-
litic and prejudicial to the best interests of the nation. The senator from
South Carolina made the initial move by the resignation of his seat in Con-
gress, three days after the presidential election. Six weeks later his
state passed an ordinance of seccesion, then came the memorable occu-
pancy of Fort Moultrie, and the year 1860 and the first of a long series of
historic events came to an end together. The following year, 1861,
opened inauspiciously for peace. Public men north and south alike has-
tened the course of events to the threshold of war.
On Friday, the twelfth day of April, war was inaugurated, and the first
gun sent its ponderous missive over the walls of Sumter. At half past
one o'clock of Saturday the thirteenth, Sumter fell, the gallant Anderson
surrendered, and the first tragedy had ended. Nor the rush of events was
thick and fast, for the war had actually begun ; men in the north, who
dreamed not but that the threat of the southerner died with its last echo
stood appalled, but up from the south came the bustle and preparation of
war, and the activities and energies of these idle dreamers were at once
awakened to the terrible emergency.
The President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, issued the fol-
lowing proclamation, April 15, 1861:
11
482 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Whereas, The laws of ihe United States have been, and now are
opposed in several states by combinations too powerful to be suppressed
in an ordinary way, I therefore call upon the militia of the several states
of the union to the aggregate number of 75,000 to suppress said combina-
tion and execute the laws. I appeal to all loyal citizens for state aid in
this effort to maintain the laws, integrity, national union, and perpetuity of
popular government, and to redress wrongs already long enough endured.
I deem it proper to say that the first service assigned to the forces hereby
called forth will probably be to repossess the forts, places and property
which have been seized from the union ; and in every event the utmost
care will be observed, consistently with the objects aforesaid, to avoid any
devastation, any destruction of or interference with property, or any dis-
turbance of peaceful citizens of any part of the country ; and I hereby
command the persons composing the combinations aforesaid to disperse
and retire peaceably to their respective ab.odes within twenty days from
this date.
Deeming that the present condition of public affairs presents an extraor-
dinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue of the power in me vested by the
constitution, convene both houses of congress. The senators and repre-
sentatives are, therefore, summoned to assemble at their respective cham-
bers at 12 o'clock noon on Thursday, the 4th day of July next, then and
there to consider and determine such measures as in their wisdom the
public safety and interest may seem to demand.
Done at the city of Washington this 15th day of April, one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-one, and of the independence of the United States
the eighty-fifth. By the President,
Abraham Lincoln.
Wm. H. Seward, Sec'y of State.
When this proclamation was issued by the president the excitement,
which had long been at fever heat, broke forth in unexampled patriotism.
The whole north set to work with energy to prepare for the struggle
before it, and the people of this county were not slow in coming to their
country's aid. There had been "Douglas democrats" [and "Hrecken-
ridge democrats," a few "Bell men," and "Republicans," but now were
forgotten political strife and contention, and most, if not all, were for the
Union, and prepared to give to the government a prompt and effectual
support. Earnest, honest-hearted men sincerely desired to do their duty
to the coimtry. While of ardent nature, strong convictions, and indomi-
table will, they added to the lustre of these endowments by subjecting
them to the severest tests one may know — that of the camp and battle-
field. In June, 1861, company A, fourth Iowa infantry wa^ organized, at
Glenwood, and from that city alone there were eighty enlistments in the
company. The sound of the drum and fife, and the tread of martial men
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 483
filled all the county with the bustle of war, and the long dormant spirit
of 1776 found expression again as her sons prepared to go forth to war.
There were many who placed their names on the enrollment list that
there performed their last great act, for they died on the field of battle.
The war was all the topic of discussion. Men left their plows and women
their spinning-wheels, to learn the news, talk over the situation, and to
counsel with their neighbors. The women became animated with the
war spirit, and bade their husbands and sons go to the defense of the flag
they loved. Many a Mills county soldier went forth to battle, animated
by the patriotic words of lover or kinswomen. Many a husband and
father went with the blessing and "God speed thee" of the wife. Moth-
ers g<ve their first-born to do battle for home and country, and adjured
him to be brave and die, if die he must, a soldier, a name more honored
than which there is none.
But there was work to be done at home, and the women were not slow
to perceive where and how they might be useful. There were sanitary
stores to be provided, lint and bandages to be prepared, a thousand little
conveniences to men in the field to be gathered and sent. All this they
did and more, while husbands and sons and lovers were in the field they,
at home, were praying for the success of those who bore arms in the
loyal cause. Letters were to be written, taking words of comfort and
cheer to the sick and wounded, or inspiring renewed zeal and courage in
the hearts of such as were weary with fighting or the march, and last of
all, but not least, there were homes to be kept in order for for the coming
of peace. Who shall say the hearts and loves of the women of Mills
county were not interested in this struggle, the greatest the world has
ever known. Many buried their fondest hopes, their greatest joy, months
before the dawn of peace, and when the glad news came that the flag they
loved so well had been redeemed, though at the cost of some of the best blood
of the nation, both north and south, if now there comes an occasional pang
when the memory of loved ones steals in the mind, as come these recol-
lections wiU, it should be remembered that these were all they had to
give — a gift which even the dawn of peace cannot alone recompense.
But so long as the nation endures, the heroes of Shiloh and the two Cor-
inths, of Vicksburg and Helena, of Prairie De 'Orme and Mission Ridge,
shall be remembered, when those who have founded nations shall have
been forgotten. A land free in all its bounds to every class and condition
of men is the best, the most enduring monument to their sacrifice and
their valor. Of each one's resting place, may it justly be said :
" Within this lonely grave a conqueror lies ;
And yet the monument proclaims it not,
Nor round the sleeper's name hath chisel ■wrought
The emblems of a faith that never dies —
484 HISTORY OF MILLS COU>fTY.
Joy and amaranth in a graceful sheaf.
Twined with the laurel's fair, imperial leaf;
A simple name alone,
To the great world unknown.
Is graven here, and with wild flowers rising round,
Meek meadow-sweet and violets of the ground,
LeaB lovingly against the humble stone."
But peace has come with its duties, its responsibilities, and its blessings
The powder-begrimmed warrior of yesterday is the husbandman of
to-day. Newer duties demand the attention and care of the veterans of
fhe war — duties which they may not neglect. The war is over, and its
issues are freely, fully accepted.
In the roster of each regiment given below the facts relative to Vhat
became of each person enlisting, and all promotions, and reductions to
ranks are given so far as known, and as fully as the most authentic docu-
ments will admit. No statements of this nature are made save on the
authority of the official reports of the adjutant-general of the state of Iowa,
and may hence be relied upon as eminently correct. Where no other
statement is made it will be understood that the person was mustered out
with his regiment.
THE FOURTH INFANTRY.
This regiment was organized with G. M. Dodge, of Council Bluffs,
as colonel. Of the companies in this regiment company A was enrolled
in Mills county, and ordered into quarters by the govenor of the state in
August, 1861. It was mustered into the service of the United States by
Captain Lewis Merrill, U. S. A., at Jefierson barracks, Missouri, August
15, 1861, under proclamation of the President of the United States, bear-
ing date May 3, 1861. On August 24, the Fourth went to RoUa, Mis-
souri, where it remained until January 22, 1862. From that date until
the 14th of July, 1862, when it arrived at Helena, Arkansas, the regiment
was almost continually on the march, forming a part of the army of the
southwest. The first engagement was that of Pea Ridge,* March 6, 7
and 8, 1862, followed by that of Chickasaw Bayou on the 28th and 29th;
of December, 1862.
On the 10th and 11th of January, 1863, the regiment was in the battle
of Arkansas Post. After this last battle the Fourth returned to the front
at Vicksburg, reaching Young's Point on January 22, 1863. The regi-
ment lay at this point until April 2, when it was ordered to Greenville, a
* The regiment acquitted itself bravely in this celebrated battle, standing a most terrific
Are of grape, cannister, solid shot and shell, for more than three hours. So grand a stand
did the gallant Fourth make that the general commanding said of it in his oflacial report,
" This regiment won immortal honors." It lost, in this battle, fully one-half of all actually
engaged.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 485
point one hundred and and fifty miles up the Mississippi river, and thence
it went to form a portion of the force engaged in the raid up the Deei-
creek valley. On May 2, the regiment started to participate in the active
campaign against Vicksburg, arriving there on the 18th, having been
delayed two days at Jackson to destroy the railroad.
On July 4th, the regiment was again detailed to Jackson, arriving in
time to participate in that hard fought battle. From July 29 to Septem-
ber 22, the Fourth lay in camp at Black river, fourteen miles in the rear
of Vicksburg, when, on the date last named it embarked on a steamer
for Memphis, Tennessee. From this point the regiment set out on the
campaign to northern Georgia, marching by way of Corinth, Tuscumbia,
Eastport and luka, to Chattanooga, which place it reached November
23d. Weary and travel worn as it was, it nevertheless was herocically
brave in the battle of Lookout Mountain on the 24th, that of Missionary
Ridge on the 25th, and again in the battle of Ringgold, on the 27th. On
the third of the following month, December, the regiment went into camp
at Bridgeport, Alabama, and thence to Woodville, remaining until Febru-
ary 26, when it started home on veteran furlough. In April, of the same
year, 1864, the Fourth again started for the field, outfitting at Nashville,
to engage in the campaign against Atlanta, Georgia. From that date on
the campaign was one of continued fighting and weary marches. After
the fall of Atlanta the regiment went with Sherman to the sea, thence to
Washington through the Carolinas, and finally to Louisville, Kentucky,
where it was mustered out July 24, 1865, and was paid, and disbanded at
Davenport, Iowa.
It is eminently proper thatjthe address of General Williamson to this
regiment, many surviving members of which still reside in this county,
should here be given. The address of General Williamson was as fol-
lows:
Hbadqtjahtbrs District op St. Louis, )
St. Louis, Mo., July 6, 1865. )
Fdlow Soldiers of the Fourth Iowa Infantry:
Having received the appointment of Brigadier-General, and been assigned to duty in
another quarter, my official connection with you has ceased. In taking leave of you, I
deem it but right to briefly allude to our past association as soldiers. Four years ago we
left our homes and loved ones to fight for the Union cause. Then we numbered one thou-
sand men. We were undisciplined and knew nothing of war, but we did know that our
country needed our services, and that was enough. Since then we have had more than
three hundred added to our ranks. To-day our whole number is less than four hundred.
Where are the one thousand of our missing companions V Most of them have fallen on
the battle fields from Pea Kidge to Columbia. Some have been discharged on account of
wounds received in battle ; but the saddest thing of all remains to be told; some were
starved to death in southern prison-pens. * * * You, the survivors of our glorious old
regiment, will, I hope, very soon be permitted to go home and enter again upon the duties!
and assume the responsibilities of citizens of the Republic, and of yours, the young State
of Iowa, for which you have helped to make so glorious a name during the war. '
4&6 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
It need not be said to men like you, who have fought on more than thirty different bat-
tle fields ; who, under Curtis, •' won immortal honors " at Pea Ridge, and made the memor-
able march through Missouri and Arkansas in midsummer, who were ordered by General
Grant to place " first at Chickasaw Bayou " on your banners ; who were under Sherman at
" Chickasaw Bayou and Arkansas Post;" who were under Grant through the entire cam
paign of Vicksburg, including Jackson and Brandon ; who marched from Vicksburg to
Chattanooga under Sherman ; who fought with Hooker above the clouds at Lookout Moun-
tain* and were with him at Missionary Eidge and Ringgold ; who were under Sherman
through the entire Atlanta campaign, and participated in every battle ; and who again,
under their great leader, made the famous " march to the ocean," and thence to Washing-
ton, to be good citizens. "Whatever may be said to the contrary, none can appreciate peace
and civil government better than those who have so freely oftered their lives in war to
secure these blessings.
In conclusion, I have only to add that I thank my lucky star that my fortunes as a sol-
dier were cast with you, and I thank you for my " stars." May that kind Providence who
has preserved and directed you through so many hardships and dangers, guide you in the
path of honor and glory in the future as in the past.
Your fellow soldier,
J. A. Williamson.
ROSTER.
William R. English, Major, commissioned July 20, 1861, from captain
company A.
COMPANY A.
Thos. H. Head, captain, commissioned September 14, 1861 ; promoted
from first lieutenant; resigned March 5, 1862; Samuel R. Pike, captain,
commissioned March 5, 1862; promoted from second lieutenant; Samuel
Shields, first lieutenant; commissioned September 14, 1861; promoted
from second lieutenant; George A. Henry, second lieutenant, commis-
sioned March 5, 1862; promoted from first sergeant; v/ounded at Pea
Ridge, March, 1862; Henry R. Blackman, first sergeant, enlisted July 1,
1861; promoted from fourth sergeant; Walter Corfield, second sergeant,
enlisted July 1, 1861; discharged for disability October 3, 1861;Seth Tarr,
third sergeant, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from first corporal; Abner
B. Kearney, fourth sergeant, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from fifth
sergeant; William Burnett, first corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861 ; promoted
from private; John M. Bannau, first corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; pro-
moted from second corporal; wounded at Pea Ridge; John Creech, sec-
ond corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from third corporal; JohnG.
Eckles, third corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted from sixth cor-
poral; George W. Congleton, fourth corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; pro-
moted from seventh corporal; Isaac O. Gibbons, fifth corporal, enlisted
July 1, 1861; promoted from private; died February 28, 1862; George V.
*Frobably do skirmish of the war has been so greatly misrepresented and exaggerated as that of Looli-
oat Mountain. General Orant, a most competent jadge, has said it was hardly worth mentioning; no
Ronthem history mentions it at all, as being too unimportant. In view of the facts in the case, one may
well smile at the graphic, bnt wholly false account of Headley and Kidpath. R. E. C.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 487
Nichols, fifth corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861 ; promoted from eighth cor-
poral; William Thayer, seventh corporal, enlisted July 1, 1861; promoted
from private.
PRIVATES.
Henry W. Armstrong, enlisted July 1, 1861; Jonathan Anthony,
enlisted July 1, 1861; died at RoUa, Missouri, December 6, 1861; Robert
W. Burns, enlisted July 1, 1861; Christopher Brandt, enlisted July 1,1861;
Edmund Bedell, enlisted July 1, 1861; Wm. Creech, July 1, 1861; died at
Rolla, Missouri, January 13, 1861; Levi Crouch, enlisted July 1, 1861,
Manuel H. Campbell, enHsted July 1, 1861; discharged for disability
October 20, 1861; William R. Davis, enlisted July 9, 1861; discharged for
disability December 21, 1861; Geo. W. Dolton, enlisted July 1, 1861;
Francis M. Dolton, enlisted July 1, 1861 ; David W. Douglas, enlisted July
1, 1861; William Davis, enlisted July 9, 1861; discharged December 21,
186J.; Josiah Eccleston, enlisted July 1, 1861 ; discharged March 16, 1862;
Murat C. Ewans, enlisted July 1, 1861; J. R. Folden, enlisted July 1,1861;
Jacob Hutchins, enlisted July 1, 1861; Robert L. Hogins enlisted July 1,
1861; Andrew P. Hogins, enlisted July 1,1861; died at Rolla, Missouri,
January 14, 1862; Ammon Harmon, enlisted July 1, 1861 ; discharged for
disability September 28, 1862; Alfred Miller, enlisted July 1, 1861; died
at Rolla, October 10, 1861; George A. McCay, enlisted July 1, 1861;
killed in battle at Pea Ridge, March 7, 1862 ; Geo. M. Miller, enlisted July
1, 1861; wounded at Pea Ridge; T. P. McReynolds, enlisted July 1, 1861;
Timothy McReynolds, enlisted July 1, 1861; George V. Nichols, enlisted
July 1, 1861; Morton M. Noah, enlisted July 1, 1861; Reuben R. Noah,
enlisted July 1, 1861; Harrison Raines, enlisted July 1, 1861; Benjamin R.
Raines, enlisted July 1, 1861; Jefferson D. Russell, enlisted July 1, 1861;
died at Rolla, January 7, 1862; John Woodworth, enlisted July 1, 1861;
Isaac Withrow, enlisted July 1, 1861 ; discharged for disability May 16,
1862; James Wolf, enlisted July 1, 1861; died at Batesville, Arkansas,
June 21, 1862; Eli S. Wing, Jr., enlisted July 1,1861; Joseph White, en-
listed July 1, 1861 ; Charles Wilkenson, enlisted July 1, 1861 ; died at Pea
Ridge, of wounds, March 9, 1862.
ADDITIONAL ENLISTMENTS.
Oscar T. Cady, enlisted November 20, 1862; Webster Gilbert, enlisted
December 23, 1862; Wm. T. McCammon, enlisted March 18, 1862;
James H. McDonald, enlisted November 28, 1862 ;Or\alle Rogers, enlisted
December 3, 1862; Steven J. Smith, enlisted November 23, 1862; James
I. Gibson, enlisted November 8, 1862.
VETERAN RE-ENLISTMENTS, NINTH INFANTRY.
COMPANY A.
George A. Henry, captain, commissioned April 18, 1863; Lemuel
488 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Shields, first lieutenant, commissioned September 14, 1861; Henry R.
Hackmar, second lieutenant, commissioned April 18, 1863; John M. Ban-
non, second sergeant, enlisted January 1, 1864; Christopher Brant, third
corporal, enlisted January 1, 1864.
PRIVATES.
Henry W. Armstrong, enlisted January 1, 1864; Robt. W. Burns, en-
listed January 1, 1864; Levi Couch, enlisted January 1, 1864; George
W. Congleton, enlisted January 1, 1864; Francis M. Dolton, enlisted Jan-
uary 1, 1864; Murat C. Evans, enlisted January 1, 1864; James J. Gib-
son enlisted January 1, 1864; Robert L. Hodgins, enlisted January 1,
1864; Chas. H. Hopkins, enlisted January 1, 1864; Morton M. Noah,
enlisted January 1, 1864; Reuben R. Noah, enhsted January 1, 1864.
TENTH INFANTRY.*
Wm. Everett, assistant surgeon, commissioner November 24, 1862. ^
FIFTEENTH INFANTRY.
The Fifth regiment Iowa volunteer infantry, was organized in Keokuk,
March 19, 1862. Company F, of this regiment was organized in the
counties of Mills and Fremont, the dates of enlistment extending from
October 10, 1861, to February 22, 1862. The company was ordered into
quarters by the governor of the state, October 10, 1861, and mustered
into the service of the United States by Captain Charles C. Smith, U. S.
A. at Keokuk, November 18, 1861, under proclamation of the President
of the United State of July 23, 1861. It was stationed at Keokuk until
March 19, 1862, when the regiment of which it formed a part, was
ordered to St. Louis, from which time the fortunes of the regiment were
common to company F . The regiment left St. Louis on the morning of
April 1, 1862, and arrived at Pittsburg Landing on the morning of the
6th, and at once entered upon its first battle, at that place. The result was
a loss of twenty-two killed, one hundred and fifty-six wounded, and eight
wounded and missing. The mortality was somewhat increassd subse-
quently by the death of a number of the wounded soldiers. In May 1862,
the regiment was assigned to the third brigade of the sixth division of
the army of West Tennessee, and with that division went into camp near
Corinth, Mississippi. On the 18th of September the regiment was in the
battle of luka, after which it was ordered to garrison that place until the
30th, when it resumed its march to Corinth. In October, on the second,
day of the month, he regiment camped two miles west of Corinth, and
early in the morning of the following day, the 3d, was formed in line of
* There having been but one enlistment in this regiment, it is not deemed necessary to
give any history of its operations at this time. For any information the reader may wish
he is referred to page 335 of this volume.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 489
battle to meet the approaching forces of Van Dorn and Villissigue, in
which attack the total loss in killed, wounded and missing was eighty-
three. From November, 1862, to May, 1863, the regiment did little but
march, except in the month of February, 1863, when it assisted in digging the
canal which was to connect the Mississippi river with Lake Providence,
on the north side of which the regiment was encamped. The operations
of May were, perhaps, similar to those of the preceding months, but all
had reference to the great struggle which was to occur at Vicksburg.
The troops of the Fifteenth did not reach that city until May 31st, being
then tired, sore, and hungry. The month of June was passed with d.
series of other changes, but once matter's approaching the interest of a
battle, and that occasion being on the 20th, when an artillery fight was
had along the whole line, and the regiment formed a line of battle and
marched to the front. In February, 1864, the regiment formed a part of
the force under General Sherman on the expedition to Meridian, leaving
Vicksburg on the 3d of the month. In March or April the regiment was
given a veteran furlough, from which it returned in May, 1864, and went
into camp at Bird's Point, Missouri. On the 25th of May the Fifteenth
left for the seat of active operation in Georgia, then being conducted by
General Sherman. From August, 1864, to December, 1864, the regi-
ment was in an almost continual fight, losing heavily, but winning renown
for gallant conduct. On the 21st of December the Fifteenth arrived at
Savannah, and was ordered into camp. On the 29th the regiment was
reviewed by General Sherman, and complimented " for its appearance,
cleanliness, and regularity of movements." It had mar<;hed, from the
21st to the 29th inclusive, a total of one hundred and sixty miles. The
regiment was in the march from Savannah to Washington, was present
at the surrender of Johnston's gallant army; went thence through the
Carolinas to Washington, participating in the grand review, and earning
applause and commendation for soldier-like bearing. It went into camp
west of the city May 24th, having marched during the month a total of
three hundred and fifty-nine miles. June 1st the regiment was ordered to
Louisville, Lentucky, and mustered out August 3, 4, 5, 1865. The fare-
well order of George Pomutz, lieutenant-colonel of the Fifteenth Iowa,
will be of interest to every soldier serving in that gallant band, and is
given herewith in full.
Headquabtees 15th Iowa Infantkt, Vet. Vols., )
Keak Louisville, Kentucky, July 33, 1865. )
General Oedbk, No. 14:
The commanding officer of the regiment takes pleasure in announcing that the command
is now ready to pass a minute inspection, preparatory to its being mustered out of service
and return home. It tools a few days longer than was anticipated to finish the worls, as it
was deemed all important to have the neglect and deficiencies of former years, back to the
summer of 1863, corrected and supplied; to have the papers, records and books of the
command completed, so as. to save the interests of the government, and at the same time.
490 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
to do full justice to each and all who have ever been connected with the regiment. As the
records stand now, the commauding officer trusts, that they may prove a real benefit in
future to all of tbe members of the regiment, from its first organization to this present
time. The day and hour drawing near when the command will disband to return to their
individual pursuits in civil life, the commanding officer embraces this ocacsion to acknowl-
edge the promptness with which all of his orders were carried out by the officers and men
since he took command of the regiment a year ago before Atlanta, even under circum-
stances during the last year's arduous campaign, that have called for the best settled habits
of discipline, and have taxed, to the uttermost, the energy and well tried endurance of the
officers and men. He cannot forbear now to acknowledge that under the most trying cir-
cumstances he could not notice any slackening on the part of the men in doing their full
duty; that he never heard ot one single instance of murmuring when duty had to be per-
formed; that, on the contrary, he had often been witness to the readiness, promptness and
vigor of execution, and to the gallantry to which the officers and men have met and bravely
surmounted the difficulties arising before them ; thtat as often as they had caused him to feel
proud of their couduct, so they had also elicited on several occasions, the applause and
congratulations of several superior headquarters. He returns his last thanks to all officers
and men for it now.
While he was well aware of having strictly enforced on all occasions the orders, and
prescribed rules of discipline, with a view to secure and enhance the efficiency of the com-
mand, at the same he is not conscious of ever having, in one single instance, either delayed
or omitted to see personally that everything due to the men, was given them, whenever it
was in his power to procure it tor them. Any neglect or carelessness, no matter from
what quarter, was remedied at once, even if this- had to be attained at the cost of an
unpleasant situation resulting personally to himself. He would call the attention of the
command to one object of importance, before the process of disbanding will be gone
through with. The soldiers of the federal army who have fought the hundreds of battles
against the rebellion just closed, and have endured the hardships and despised the dangers
that will even tax the credulity of those who were not present, have shown an example of
exalted patriotism, of paramount love of our country, of its government and of its laws.
Soldiers of the 15th Iowa ! Your record was and is a noble one ! For three and a half
yQars you have borne the banner of the stars and stripes, the emblem of the power and
unity of our government; at the same time as the exponent of your own determination to
assist in upholding that government and its laws, you have carried and defended that ban-
ner through a distance marched and traveled ot seven thousand eight hundred and ninety-
eighty miles, since March, 1863. Out of the aggregate number of one thousand seveniun-
dred and sixty-three men, who have been members of the regiment since its organization,
one thousand and fifty-one are absent, a fearful proportion of whom comprises those killed,
the deo^ased, and the crippled, and the disabled for life. Proof enough of the devotion
of the members of the regiment to our government and to its laws.
Then let our actions and deeds show when we return to our own firesides, that we are
the foremost in obeying the laws of the country we have been fighting to uphold ; that in
the proud consciousness of having done our duty, full and well, we are determined to
keep and enhance the good name we have fairly won ; that we are determined to let our
future conduct ever be that of peaceful citizens in times of peace, as it has been that of
true warriors in time of war.
Geokge Pomutz,
Lieut. Col. Commanding iSthlowa.
ROSTER.
COMPANY F.
Phillip H. Goode, first lieutenant; wounded at Shiloh; resigned May
21, 1862; promoted from second lieutenant March 27, 1862; John Y.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 491
Stone, secoad lieutenant ; promoted from fourth corporal May22, 18i63;
wounded at Shiloh ; Warner McCleland, first sergeant, enlisted October
10, 1861; promoted from second corporal and private; reduced to ranks
January 12, 1862; Francis A. Blackman, first sergeant; enlisted October
0, 1861; promoted from eighth corporal; Henderson Linville, second
sergeant; enlisted October 10, 1861; discharged for disability, July 81,
1862; Bennett Creech, second sergeant; enlisted October 10, 1861; pro-
moted from fifth corporal; reported discharged July 24, 1862; M. J.
Sheperdson, fourth sergeant; enlisted October 10, 1861; reduced to ranks
June 25; discharged for disability July 26, 1862; Jonah M. Parsons,, fifth
sergeant; enlisted October 10, 1861; discharged July 25, for wound re-
ceived at Shiloh; Manly Fox, first corporal; enlisted October 10, 1861;
reduced March 29; transferred to company I, April 1, 1862; Jacob
Slonaker, first corporal; enlisted October 10, 1861; promoted from pri-
vate; Michael B. Dickens, second corporal; enlisted October 10, 1861;
reduced April 8, 1862; reported deserted July 19, 1862; Eli 'Withrow
sixth corporal; enlisted October 10, 1861; discharged for disability July
24, 1862; William H. Shepherdson, musician; enlisted October 10, 1861.
PRIVATES.
James Babcock, enlisted October 10, 1861; discharged for disability
March 31, 1872; William Boyer, enlisted October 10, 1861; wounded se-
severely at Corinth; William Blair, enlisted October 10,1861; wounded
slightly at Shiloh; Watson Cooper, enlisted October 10, 1861;; wounded
(Severely at Shiloh; Levi Davis, enlisted October 10, 1861; died at Jack-
son September 25,1862; Thomas A. Evans, enlisted October 10, 1861;
James M. Evans, enlisted October 10, 1861 ; Francis M. Harnson, enlisted
October 10, 1861; wounded at Shiloh; died of fever June 1, 1862; Green-
bery T. Jones, enlisted October 10, 1861 ; discharged for disability Aug-
ust 25, 1862; Thomas P. Kay ton, enlisted October 10, 1861; George
Kearnes, enlisted October 10, 1861 ; Lewis King, enlisted October 10,
1861; wounded slightly at Shiloh; Asbury S. McPherson, enlisted Octo-
ber 10, 1861; Archibald M. McKee, enlisted October 10, 1861; wounded
severely at Shiloh; W. H. H. McCord, enlisted October 10,1861; dis-
charged for disability June 6, 1862; George Morrow, enlisted 10, 1861;
transferred to company I, March 1, 1862 ; William Morrow, enhsted Oc-
tober 10, 1861; transferred to company I, March 1, 1862; Wm. T.
McCoron, enlisted October 10, 1861; died June 26, 1862, at St. Louis;
David E. Nutt, enlisted October 10, 1861; Joseph C. Reed, enlisted Oc-
tober 10, 1861; wounded severely at Corinth October 3, 1862. John L.
Ryerson, enlisted October 10, 1861 ; wounded slightly at Shiloh ; discharged
December 6, 1862; John L. Forester, enlisted October 10, 1861; Emanuel
F. Tresler, enlisted October 10, 1861; Isaac N. Troth, enlisted October
10,1861; killed in battle at Shiloh; Zimri Troth, enlisted October 10,
492 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
1861; discharged for disability March 1, or June 19,1862; Addison Utter-
back, enlisted October 10, 1861; Sydnor Utterback, enlisted October 10,
1861; died at St. Louis May 31, 1862; Samuel Vanorsdel, enlisted Octo-
10, 1861; H. S. Woodmanse, enlisted October 10, 1861; wounded at Cor-
inth October 3,1862; Deransel N. Gallagher, enlisted February 18, 1862;'
Josiah Hondesheldt, enhsted February 17, 1862; discharged for disibility
October 4, 1862; General L. Hodgin, enlisted Februarys. 1862; James
H. Hodgin, enlisted February 8, 1862; died at Keokuk March 23, 1862;
Job Q. Jones, enlisted January 29, 1862 ; discharged for disability August
25, 1862; Lewis Kelly, enlisted December 31, 1861; wounded slightly at
Shiloh; William Y. Turner, enlisted February 22, 1862; discharged for
disability July 10, 1862; Ezekiel Weeks, enlisted February 3, 1862; dis-
charged for disability July 31, 1862.
ADDITIONAL ENLISTMENTS.
Wm. T. Hatcher, enlisted August 25, 1863.
VETERAN RE-ENLISTMENTS— FIFTEENTH INFANTRY.
COMPANY F.
John Y. Stone second lieutenant ; commissioned May 22, 1862 ; mustered
out Decembet 18, 1864; Isaac Cooper sergeant; enlisted January 1. 1864;
Dudley Durwell, corporal, enlisted January 1, 1864; Jacob Slonaker, cor-
poral; enlisted January 1, 1864.
PRIVATES.
William Blair, enlisted January 1, 1864; Dewis Kelly, enlisted January
1, 1864; Wm. W. Madison, enlisted January 1, 1864; Archibald M. McKee,
enlisted January 1, 1864; Warner Moellen, enlisted January 1, 1864; John
L. Tressler, enlisted January 1, 1864.
TWENTY-NINTH INFANTRY.
There were Mills county men in company B, and K, of this regiment.
Company B was almost entirely composed of men volunteering from this
countJ^ The company was ordered into quarters by the Governor of the
State on September 1, 1862, and mustered into the United States' service
by Lieutenant Horace Brown, U. S. A., at Council Bluffs, December 1,
1863,* under a proclamation of the President of the United States, bear-
ing the date of July 2, 1862.
Company K was composed of men from a number of counties. Mills
being more often represented than any other of the ten counties which
contributed to its enrollment. The company was ordered into quarters
November 13, 1862, and mustered into the service by Lieutenant Brown,
December 1, 1863.* The regiment went to the front early in 1863, being
* In the report of the Adjutant-General this date is Incorrectly printed, for hoth com-
pany B and K, as December 1, 1862. The call to which they responded was not issued by
the President until July 3, 1863; hence the above date of 1863 is manifestly a typograph-
ical error for 1863, to which it has herein been changed. R. B. C.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 493
a part of the army of the Southwest. It received its " baptism of blood,"
so far as any general battle was concerned, in the engagement at Helena,
Arkansas, July 4, 1863. It had, previous to this time seen an occasional
skirmish, but now came the opportunity to tent its courage and its faith
in its officers and cause. On Independence day, 1863, began the strug-
gle, an account of which may be most faithfully given, as follows, in the
report of the commanding officer:
Headquarters Tweuty-ninth Iowa Infantry, )
Helena, Arkansas, July 6, 1864* )
Colonel : — I have the honor to make the following report of the part taken in the en-
gagement of the 4th instant by my regiment. My men were drawn up in line of battle at
daylight, and at half past four o'clock A. m., in pursuance of orders from Colonel Samuel
A. Rice, commanding second brigade, we marched across the bottom at double-quick, to a
position on the Sterling road. Upon reaching the point designated, I found that the enemy
occupied the crest of the hills with their skirmishers, north of battery A, commanding my
position. I immediately sent forward two companies of skirmishers to dislodge arid
drive them back, but finding them too strongly posted, 1 continued to reinforce the lin&
until eight companies were deployed .
In the meantime the enemy had placed a battery of two guns in position, with which
they opened a brisk fire, and moved rapidly upon us, cheering and exulting as they ad-
vanced, being partially shielded from view by a fog which covered the hills at that moment.
Our skirmishers met them with a galling and incessant Are, under which they gradually
fell back, resolutely contesting every inch of ground as they retired. Our skirmishers ad-
vanced steadily and cautiously, and having gained the crest of the hill previously occupied
by the enemy, compelled him to abandon his guns which, after several ineffectual attempts,
he subsequently recovered, and withdrew, leaving one caisson on the field. My men were
under a severe fire for more than five hours, and it affords me the greatest pleasure to
speak of both officers and men in terms of the highest commendation for their coolness
and bravery during the entire action. I saw no flinching or wavering during the day. It
is proper to add that several of my officers and quite a number of my men, who were ex-
cused from duty in consequence of disability, left their quarters and joined their respec-
tive companies when the signal gun was flred.
Any invidious distinctions among the members of my command would not be admis-
sible in this report, but I would not do justice to an accomplished officer should I fail to
acknowledge the efficient services of Lieutenant-Colonel R. F. Patterson during the action,
and the special obligations I am under for the thorough instruction previously given by
him, to both officers and men in the responsible duties and obligations of the soldier, the
importance of which instruction was so forcibly illustrated on the 5th instant. * * *
I regret I have to report that during the engagement the loss in my regiment was seven
killed and twenty-four wounded, some of them mortally — two of whom have since died —
and many of them severely. Among the number are some of my best and bravest men.
The enemy's loss it is not possible to state definitely, as he succeeded in removing many
of them from the field. We buried fourteen of his dead, found the graves of seventeen
more buried by himself, and brought one of his wounded from the field.
I have the honor to be. Colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Thomas H. Benton, Jr.,
Colonel Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry.
To Samuel A. Rice,
Colonel Commanding 13th Biv., 13th Army Corps .
* This is evidently another misprint.
494- HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
The other important battles in which the Twenty-ninth was engaged'
were those of Arkansas Post and Spanish Fort. Throughout all the
service which the regiment saw it maintained the character given it in
the report of the commanding office. It was mustered out at New
Orleans, August 15, 1865.
TWENTY-NINTH INFANTRY.
David F. Eatkins," assistant surgeon, commissioned September 16, 1862.
COMPANY A.
Caldwell, Stuart S., private, enlisted February 19, 1862.
COMPANY B.
Marquis L. Andrews, captain, commissioned December 1, 1861 ; Lewis
M. Deupser, first lieutenant, commissioned December 1, 1862; Edward
T. Sheldon, second lieutenant, commissioned December 1, 1862; Charles
F. Little, first sergeant, enlisted August 9, 1862 ; Isaac M. Warren, sec-
ond sergeant, enlisted August 15, 1862; Andrew J. Van Eaton,, third
sergeant, enlisted August 12, 1862; Fielding J. McClintoc, fourth ser-
geant, enlisted August 14, 1862; Benton P. Taylor, fifth sergeant, enlisted
August, 1862; George A. Davies, first corporal, enlisted August 13, 1862;
Jesse Stranathan, second corporal, enlisted August 14, 1862 ; John M.
Johnson, third corporal, enlisted August 13, 1862; Thomas M. Britt,
fourth corporal, enlisted August 3, 1862; Wm. Stranathan, fifth corporal,,
enlisted August 14, 1862; John T. Dupree, sixth corporal, enlisted
August 9, 1862; John H. McClelland, seventh corporal, enlisted August
22, 1862; Samuel C. Chessley, eighth corporal, enlisted August 9, 1862.
PRIVATES.
John L. Allison, enlisted August 13, 1862; James Anthony, enlisted
August 13, 1862; Albert Anson, enlisted August 7, 1862; Jefferson H.
Alley, enlisted August 13, 1862; James Babcock, enlisted August 9, 1862;
Solomon J. Babcock, enlisted August 12, 1862 ; Green B. Berryman, en-
listed August 12, 1862; Wm. R. Barnes, enlisted August 16, 1862; Eph-
riam H. Birchard, enlisted August 12, 1862; Josephus V. Carnes, enlisted
August 12,1862; Wm. N. Carr, enlisted August 12, 1862; James H.
Cattron, enlisted August 16, 1862; George G. Chambers, enlisted August
14, 1862; Milton P. Chambers, enlisted August 14, 1862; Jacob Cother-
man, enlisted August 9, 1862; Nathan T. Davis, enlisted August 12, 1862;
Thomas G. Davis, enlisted August 14, 1862; John A. Davis, enlisted
enlisted August 12, 1862; Wash. M. Dickens, enlisted August 14, 1862;
James Douglas, enlisted August 11, 1862; Henry L. Donner, enlisted
August 13, 1862; Moses T. Deupree, enlisted August 5, 1862; Franklin
F. Ellsworth, enlisted August 11, 1862; Jesse Endicott, enlisted August
18, 1862; Warren K. Follett, enlisted August 13, 1862; Phillip A. Gayer,
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 495
enlisted August 13, 1862; Charles Hamaker, enlisted August 16, 1862;
John A. Hewins, enlisted August 16, 1862; Hadley J. Hobson, enlisted
August 12, 1862; Isaac HoUister, enlisted August 16, 1862; Luke Hymon,.
enlisted Axigust 14, 1862; Harvey Kempton, enlisted August 15, 1862;
Geo. KnouiF, enlisted August 4, 1862; Wm. M. Latta, enlisted August 9,
1862; Chris. Lookerbill, enlisted August 13, 1862; Harvey Meadows,
enlisted August 5, 1862; Nath. W. Meadows, enlisted August 5, 1862;
James A. Meadows, enlisted August 9, 1862, died at Helena, January 29,
1863; Henry S. Miller, enlisted August 15, 1862; Jos. M. Miller, enlisted
August 15, 1862; Isaac Mullen, enlisted August 11, 1862; Geo. W.
Newman, enlisted August 16, 1862; Henry H. Nelson, enlisted August
8, 1862; Francis E. Nichols, enlisted August 4, 1862; Jesse M. Noah,
enlisted August 9, 1862; Emery W. Pitzer, enlisted August 16, 1862;
Jason Powell, enlisted August 10, 1862; Luard K. Reed, enlisted August
21, 1862; Abraham Roberts, enlisted August 9, 1862; Samuel Savage,
enlisted August 19, 1862; John Sloneton, enlisted August 9, 1862; Robert
Story, enlisted August 9, 1862 ; Nathaniel H. Stone, enlisted August 9,
1862; Oliver W. Stroud, enlisted August 15, 1862; John H. Suits, enlisted
August 13, 1862; Jas. Tarpenning, enlisted August 18, 1862; Garry
Treat, enlisted August 23, 1862; Charles F. Wells, enlisted August 16,
1862; Henry L. West, enlisted August 12, 1862; Ira S. Wilson, enlisted
August 11, 1862; William Wilson, enlisted August 12, 1862; Thomas
Wiles Jr., enlisted August 12, 1862; Robert H. Williams, enlisted August
12, 1862; Arthur O. Williams, enlisted August 12, 1862; William A.
White, enlisted August 14, 1862; William H. Wood, enlisted August 16,
1862.
ADDITIONAL ENLISTMENTS.
Sylvester Cary, enhsted December 26, 1863; Miles M. Harris, eplisted
December 6, 1863; Benjamin F. Ham, enlisted December 29, 1863; Don
Carlos Hoyt, enlisted December 26, 1863 ; Samuel Pursell, enlisted Decem-
ber 26, 1863; Melvin H. Byers, enlisted January 5, 1864; John C. Briggs,
enlisted February 12, 1864; Leroy R. F. Brill, enlisted March 30, 1864;
Stephen R. Carter, enlisted March 24,1864; John Carter, enlisted March
30, 1864; William E. Dupree, enlisted January 5, 1864; William T. Green,
enlisted December 24, 1863; Newton B. Pitzer, enlisted January 2, 1864;
Lewis Sherman, enlisted January 18, 1864; Oliver Stroud, unlisted Decem-
ber 28, 1863.
COMPANY K.
Appier R. Wright, captain, commissioned December 1, 1862; John S.
Miller, first sergeant, enlisted August 13, 1862; Oscar F. Wilson, fourth
corporal, enlisted August 12, 1862; Charles M. Dawson, seventh corporal,
enlisted August 15, 1862.
496 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
PRIVATES.
Moses Banister, enlisted October 1, 1862; Pleasant E. Bogart, enlisted
October 20, 1862; John A. Boswell, enlisted August 16, 1862; Josiah
Enochs, enlisted October 25, 1862; David Evans, enlisted August 11,
1862; George W. Foster, enlisted August 22, 1862; Reuben W. Gilliland,
enlisted August 10, 1862; William Hall, enlisted August 23, 1862; James
P. Haynie, enlisted August 9, 1862; Nelson Homewood, enlisted August
15, 1862; Elijah Jenkins, enlisted August 12,1862; "William Jones, enlisted
August 12, 1862; Henry L. Leroy, enlisted October 24, 1892; John F.
Lambert, enlisted August 10, 1862; John McCulley, enlisted October 24,
1862; George Marion, enlisted August 15, 1862; William Metcalf, enlis-
ted October 20, 1862; Benjamin J. Meadows, enlisted February 2, 1865;
Francis Parker, enlisted December 3, 1862; James L. Pickett, enlisted
October 27, 1862; Horace A. Smith, enlisted October 20, 1862; William
Teague, enlisted August 12, 1862; Charles L. Webster, enlisted August
12, 1862; Henry H. Woodrow, enlisted October 24, 1862.
ADDITIONAL ENLISTMENTS.
Alfred B. Bonner, enlisted February 3, 1864; John R. Bishop, enlisted
January 16, 1864; James Conoran, enlisted December 23, 1863; Charles
Reynolds, enlisted January 16, 1864.
RECRUITS WHOSE COMPANIES ARE UNKNOWN AT THE ADJUTANT GENERAL's
OFFICE.
Thonias Clark, enlisted December 8, 1863; Levi Kilgore, enlisted De-
cember 20, 1863; William Lovit, enlisted December 3, 1863; Lereno
Lyman, enlisted September 17, 1863; Newton B. Pitzer, enhsted January
2, 1864; OHver Stroud, enlisted December 28, 1863.
FOBTY-SIXTH INFANTRY-
This. regiment was enlisted to serve for' the term of one hundred days.
The men in it from Mills county formed part of company K, which was
enrolled in Lucas county, under proclamation of the governor of the
state, for one hundred day's service, dated April 25, 1864. The company
was ordered into quarters May 25, 1864; and was mustered into the
United States service at camp McClellan, Davenport, by Captain Alex-
ander' Chambers, U. S. A., June 10, 1864. On the 14th of June the regi-
ment was despatched to Cairo, Illinois, arriving on the following day, and
on the 17th started to report to General Washburne, at Memphis, Tenn-,
essee. June 27, the regiment was ordered to CoUinsville, Tennessee, to
garrison that post, and to protect the railroad property in that vicinity.
The command returned to Memphis on ^he 1st of September, and on the
tenth were ordered to Cairo, arriving at that place on the 14th. Septem-
ber 16th, found the regiment at Davenport, at which place it was mus-
tered out and paid off September 23, 1864, having seen no service it bat-
tle whatever.
HISTORY OK MILLS COUNTY. 497
ROSTER.
COMPANY A.
PRIVATES.
John E. Blair, enlisted May 8, 1864; George Bannan, enlisted May 8,
1864;Timothy W. C9olidge, enlisted May 11, 1864; John C. Gingry,
enlisted May 18, 1864; Wm. R. Long, enlisted May 20, 1864; Edward
P. Madison, enlisted May 15, 1864; Robert B. Windham, enlisted May
18, 1864.
FOURTH CAVALRY.
Of this regiment company A. was raised in Mills and Fremont coun-
ties, for the greater part. It was ordered into quarters by the governor,
August 26, 1 861, and was mustered into the service of the United States
by Captain Alexander Chambers, U. S. A., at Mt. Pleasant, November
23, 1861, two. hundred and sixty miles from place of enrollment. The
regiment was mustered out at Atlanta, Georgia, August 8, 1865. The
reader is referred to pages 245-246, of this volume, for the engagements
participated in by this regiment, in every one of which the men acquitted
themselves bravely. In Colonel Winslow's history of the regiment for
1864, occurs the following:
" The cavalry of our armies have during the past year engraven, on
the pages of history a record as glorious as that of the dragoons of Mu-
rat and Nfey, and our gallant troopers can point to the campaigns in Vir-
ginia, Tennessee, and Missouri, for results as magnificent and complete as
were ever accomplished by any arm of the service.
"The Fourth Iowa cavalry has been continually on the move since the
first of May, and has materially aided in the success of all the movements
with which it has been connected. Though distant from the two great
military centers, Richmond and Atlanta, our labors and dangers have not
been great or positive, and every one connected with the regiment has
good reason for being satisfied with our conduct, and with the result of
our many expeditions. Four expeditions against Forrest and one against
Price, bear testimony to the fatigues endured, the dangers encountered,
the defeats shared, the victories won. Participating in nearly all the
marches and present at every engagement of my regiment to the 24th of
October last, I am thoroughly conversant with all that these brave soldiers
have undergone and accomplished, yet I confess myself utterly incompe-
tent to give them the credit which they have so nobly earned. Unlike in-
fkntry commands, where losses are sustained on certain days or in par-
ticular battles far apart, cavalr}^ regiments seldom meet with heavy losses
at any Qne time, but every day records the death, wounding or capture of
the trooper, in some one of the innumerable skirmishes or scouts in which,
12
498 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNT y.
as the ' eyes of the army', cavalry are engaged. While the infantry sol-
dier has his seasons of inactivity and rest, the trooper has no day nor hour
which he can call his own, but is aroused at all times and at any moment
by the sound of 'the bugle, calling him to mount and move to the front.
How often does he curse the credulity of his commanding officers, when
he finds that his long ride has been fruitless of results . Very few appre-
ciate what the cavalry soldier endures or accomplishes for his country,
hence I have written the above few words in his behalf."
The gallant Colonel here pays a well deserved tribute to the noble men
of the fourth cavalry. They did deserve all he has said of them and
more.
ROSTER.
COMPANY A. ,
Daniel B. Baker, farrier, enlisted September 3, 1861.
PRIVATES.
David Armstrong, enlisted September 4, 1861 ; William Dean, enlisted
September 4, 1861; William H. Good, enlisted September 4, 1861; Wil-
liam H. Stringfield, enlisted Septembier 4, 1861, promoted to fifth corporal;
George W. Van Doran, enlisted September 4, 1861; Aaron L. Van Dorn,
enhsted September 4, 1861; William S. Hunt, enlisted December 23, 1861,
transferred from company G, February 5, 1862.
FIFTH CAVALRY.
Of this regiment. Mills county men were in companies B and C. The
greater number were in company B, which was enrolled in Douglass
county, Nebraska, and ordered into quarters by the governor of that ter-
ritory, and mustered into the service of the United States at Omaha, by
Lieutenant J. N. H. Patrick, September 21, 1861, under a proclamation of
the President of the United States, bearing date of July 23, 1861. In com-
pany C, which was enrolled in Douglass county, Nebraska Territory, and
mustered into the service September 19, and October 3, 1861, there were
but three enlistments from this county.
This regiment was originally known as the "Curtis Horse," and com-
menced its organization at Benton barracks, near St. Louis, Missouri^
December 20, 1861, pursuant to special order number 70, St. Louis. The
month of January, 1862, was passed in organizing, drilling, arming, and
equipping the regiment for the field, under the direction of Colonel Lowe*
On February 8, 1862, the regiment left Benton barracks under orders,
for Fort Henry, Tennessee, at which point it arrived February 11th.
The regiment was baptized into real war at the battle of Paris, March 11,
1862. On March 27th, it was added to the army of the Tennessee, re-
maining until August 29, a lapse of five months. On the 25th of June,
1862. the regiment of Curtis Horse was assigned to the state of Iowa, and
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 499
called the Fifth Iowa Cavalry. At the battle of Fort Donelson, August
27, 1862, company B was dismounted and employed as skirmishers, and
were sharply engaged for some time in driving the enemy from his posi-
tion. While performing this brilliant deed a battery of artillery opened
on the gallant band, hearing which they were ordered to mount and
charge the battery. In the charge Lieutenant Sumner, of this county,
was so badly wounded that he died at a house near the scene of action,
August 29. The history of the regiment from this time on was that of all
cavalry regiments; engaging in toilsome marches, and reconnoitering
movements, or as guards for posts. The regiment was mustered out at
Nashville, Tennessee, August 11, 1865. The reader is referred to the
remarks of Col. Winslow, of the 4th Iowa, for a general idea of the oner-
ous duties entailed upon cavalry regiments.
ROSTER.
COMPANY B.
Milton S. Summers, first lieutenant; commissioned September 21,1861;
wounded and died August 29, 1862; James H. Wing first sergeant; en-
listed September 1, 1861; taken prisoner August 27, 1862; S. A. McClin-
tre saddler; enlisted September 1, 1861; John Buttler wagoner; enlisted
September 21, 1861.
PRIVATES.
Jacob Adams, enlisted September 21, 1861 ; Samuel Baxter, enlisted Sep-
tember 21, 1861; G. W. Brown, enlisted September 21, 1861. Henry
Edson, enlisted September 21, 1861 ; discharged for disability September
21, 1862; Richard Good, enlisted September 21,1861; C. P. Hughes,
enlisted September 21, 1861; Thomas Hall, enlisted September 21, 1861;
S. H. Hopkins, enlisted September 21, 1861; J. I. Kyniston, enlisted Sep-
tember 21, 1861; James Kisen, enlisted September 21, 1861; Jason Lunce-
ford, September 21, 1861; George Sappin, enlisted September 21,1861;
taken prisoner August 27, 1862 ; Nelson R. Mosan, enlisted September
21,1861; killed in battle at Cumberland ironworks, August 27, 1862;
Thomas Moodie, enlisted September 21, 1861; Bryson Purcell, enlisted
September 21, 1861; died December 5,1861; S. J. Redmond, enlisted
September 21, 1861; L. W. Silcott, enlisted September 21, 1861; Charles
Wheelock, enlisted September 21, 1861.
COMPANY c. •
% PRIVATES.
r
Albert K. Donner, enlisted September 30, 1861; John C. Garvin, en-
listed September 24, 1861; Daniel J. Leives* enlisted September 24, 1861.
500 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
FIFTH VETERAN CAVALRY.
COMPANY B.
Joseph Westman, veteranized January 1, 1864; taken prisoner July 31,
1864; John M. Hughes, fourth corporal; veteranized January 1, 1864;
Charles Wheelock, fifth corporal; veteranized January 1, 1864.
PRIVATES.
John Buttler, veteranized January 1, 1864; Geo. H. Brown, veteranized
January 1, 1864; Samuel Baxter, veteranized January 1, 1864; Warren
Davis, veteranized January 1, 1864; Richard Good, veteranized January,
1, 1864; taken prisoner July 31, 1864; Thos. Hall, veteranized January 1,
1864; John T. Kyniston, veteranized January 1, 1864; David J. Radick,
veteranized January 1, 1864; Landon W. Silcott, veteranized January 1,
1864; taken prisoner Ju^y iil, 1864.
EIGHTH IOWA CAVALRY.*
COMPANY A.
PRIVATES.
Mark Flemming, enlisted July 17, 1861 ; served fifteen months in Fifth,
Missouri cavalry Aaron M. Zook, enlisted July 25, 1863.
COMPANY I.
H. P. Coolidge, enlisted June 15, 1863.
SECOND BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY.
Ralph L. Young, enlisted October 9, 1862.
LIGHT ARTILLERY.
FOURTH BATTERY.
Phillip H. Goode, captain, enlisted November 23, 1863; Loyd A. Nel:
son, quartermaster sergeant, enlisted July 9, 1863; William H. Noah,
third sergeant, enlisted June 14, 1863; Erasmus C. Byers, fourth sergeant
enlisted June 15, 1863; Nathaniel Ham, sixth sergeant, enlisted June 30,
1863; Joel Dunkel, seventh sergeant, enlisted June 9, 1863, served five
years in company F, second United States infantry; John D. Wright,
fodrth corporal, enlisted August 7, 1863; Zimri Froth, ninth corporal,
enlisted November 8, 1863; John Stranathan, artificer, enlisted August 1,
1863.
PRIVATES.
J. T. Anderson, enlisted August 10, 1863; James Baker, enlisted July
27,1863; Spence Boyd, enlisted July 29, 1863; John Barrett, enlisted
October 26, 1863; Pressley M. Cain, enlisted July 29, 1863; Morris T.
*The enlistments for this regiment were made in other states, and some were trans-
ferred from the Eighth Iowa from these regiments, subsequent to its formation.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 601
Deupree, enlisted August 31, 1863; Wm. A. Deupree, enlisted August
19, 1863; John H. Eaton, enlisted August 29, 1863; W. S. Garrett, en-
listed July 18, 1863; Benj. Hodges, enlisted July 29, 1863; Wm. Johnson,
enlisted October 23, 1863;, A. B. McPherson, enlisted August 1,1863;
Amos Monor, enlisted July 18, 1863; Benoni Pool, July 31, 1863; Ezra.
Poquette, enlisted July 9, 1863; David Pierce, enlisted October 26, 1863;
Fred Slaughter, enlisted August 31, 1863; R. M. Skaggs, enlisted Aug-
ust 1, 1863; James Stone, enlisted June 20, 1863; J. C. Walker, enlisted
August 6, 1862; H. F. Wilkinson, enlisted August 4, 1863.
This regiment was ordered into quarters and mustered into the service
of the United States, at Davenport, November 23, 1863, by Lieutenant
Colonel Wm. F. Grier, first United States cavalry. The regiment was
mustered out July 14, 1865, at Davenport.
General History.
BOUNDARIES AND ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS.
The records of the earliest organization of the townships are incomplete.
When the first record appears, in March, 1853, there were in existence
five townships as follows: West Liberty, Plattville, Rawles, Council
Bluffs and Silver Creek.
On March i8, 185J, the county court issued an order for the organiza-
tion of another township as follows:
That so much of the territory of Mills county as lies east of the Nish-
nabotna river, and in the limits of said county, be and the same is hereby
set apart to be organized into a township to itself. And it is further
ordered that the first election in said township shall be on the first Mon-
day of April, A. D. 1853, and that notice for said election be given, and
that the township be called Montgomery.
No further action was taken in the matter of retownshiping the county
until February 27, 1855, when the following order was issued by the
county court:
By request of a number of citizens of Silver Creek township, Mills
county, Iowa, as represented 'by Daniel Goodwin, asking that said town-
ship be divided, and therefore said township is divided as follows, to-wit:
commencing where the county line crosses the Nishnabotna river, running
west on said county line to the center line of township No. seventy-three
(73), and range No. forty-two (42), thence south with said center line to
the township line between township seventy-two (72) and township
seventy-three (73) ; thence with said Une running east to the said Nishna-
botna river, thence up said river to the place of beginning, to be called
Ingraham TOwrNSHip ; the first election to be holden at the house of
James H. Goodwin, in said township; notice being issued to James
McCoy and Eliphalet Lewis, two of the trustees formerly of said Silver
Creek township, but now of said Ingraham township; and it is further
ordered, that the first election in said township shall be on the first Mon-
day of April, A. D. 1855, and that notice for the said election bfe given by
the said trustees.
502
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 503
This order was rescinded March 14, 1855, as appears from the follow-
ing record in the case :
On March J^, 1855, the county court issued the following, William
Snuffin acting county judge:
"Whereas, It was represented to said county jjidge, by one James W.
Goodwin, on the 27th day of February, A. D. 1855, that him the said
Goodwin, and a number of the citizens of Silver Creek township. Mills
county, Iowa, requesting that said township be divided, as it was too
large to be convenient for the inhabitants thereof, and upon said repre-
sentation it was ordered, as recorded on the said 27th day of February,
1855, and it is now ordered by the court, on the presentation of a petition
signed by thirty persons of the new township, to rescind said order, made
by said judge on the said 27th day of February, 1855 ; and it is hereby
ordered that said order for said division of said township of Silver Creek,
the same is hereby rescinded and made null and void."
The record from this time is quite complete, giving the various changes
until the present. It would appear from the records that when the
county officers met and there was no other business to engage their atten-
tion, they diverted themselves by changing the township boundaries and
meddling with the swamp lands. This last named proclivity has cost the
county several thousands of dollars, and the end is not yet.
The next change occurred January 21, 1856, as follows:
" On the application of Samuel S. Jamison, and Harvey W. Summers,
and others, by petition to organize a riew township, it is hereby ordered
and declared by the county court of Mills county, and state of Iowa, that
congressional township number seventy-one (71), and ranges numbers
forty (40) and forty-one (41), and sections numbers thirty-four (34), thirty-
five (35) and thirty-six (36) in township number seventy-two (72), range
number forty-one (41), shall be known as the township of White Cloud,
and shall be established as an election precinct."
In March of the same year, 7th day, was made the following change.
"Now comes Robert Russell and others and files in this court a petition
to organize a new township in Mills county, state of Iowa; and it is
hereby ordered and declared by the county court of said county and
state, that congressional township number seventy-three (73), and range
number forty (40), and three tiers of sections off of the east side of town-
ship number seventy-three (73), and range number forty-one (41), as
prayed for in said petition; and said township shall be known by the
name of Nishnabotna, and shall be established an election precinct, and
the first election in said township shall be held at the house of Michael B.
Hulick in said township."
The townships were permitted to rest in peace until February 16, 1857,
504 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
when they were again all re-organized, with the following names and
boundaries:
"All of township No. 71 and range No. 43 shall be known as Lyons
Township.
"All of fractional township No. 72 and range No. 43, and the west half
of township No. 72, and range No. 43, shall be known and described as
Platteville Township.
" Fractional township No. 73 and range No. 44, and one tier of sec-
tions off of the west side of township No. 73, and range No. 43, shall be
known and described as the township of St. Marys, in place of CouncU
Bluffs township.
" Township No. 71 of range No. 42 shall be known and described as
Rawles Township.
" The West half of township No. 72, range No. 42, and the east half
of township No. 72, range No. 43, shall be known and described as
Glenwood Township, heretofore known as West Liberty township.
"All of township No. 43, except one tier of sections off of the west side
of said township, and the west half of township No. 73, range No. 42,
shall be known and described as Oak Township.
"The west half of township No. 72, range No. 41, and the east half of
township No. 72 of range 42, shall be known and described as Silver
Creek Township.
" The west half township No. 73, range No. 41, and the east half of
township No. 73 of range No. 42, shall be known and described as Town-
ship OF Ingraham.
" Township No. 72, range No. 40, and the east half of township No. 72,
range No. 41 , (except sections 34, 35 and 36 in said township) shall be
known and described as Township of Indian Creek, in place of Mont-
gomery township.
" The township No. 73 and range No. 40, and the east half of town-
ship 73, range No. 41, shall be known as Mud Creek Township, in
place of Nishnabotna township.
" All of township No. 71, range No. 44, and range No. 41, and sections
No. 34, 35 and 36, shall be known as White Cloud Township.
" The above changes and names of said townships shall take place and
be known from and after the next April election in 1857."
No further change was made until 1861, when, at the January session of
the board of supervisors, the following business was transacted.
" Resolved, That the name of Mud Creek township be changed to
Union."
An amendment was offered inserting Anderson, which was agreed to.
The next change occurred January 9, 1879, and was the following:
" January p, /iS/p. — Comes now Jacob Shoemaker, T. M. Britt, and
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTV. 506
one hundred and eighty others, and file a petition asking to have an alter-
ation in the number and boundaries of the townships in Mills county by
creating a new civil township therein to be described and bounded as fol-
lows; Commencing at the the southeast corner of township seventy-
two (72), range forty-two (42), and running thence north to the northeast
•corner of said township and range, thence west to the northwest corner of
the northeast quarter of section five (5), in said township and range, thence
south to the center of section seventeen (17) in said township and range;
thence west to the northwest corner of the southwest quarter of section
eighteen (18) in said township and range ; thence south to the southeast
corner of said township and range ; thence east to place of beginning.
On motion a new civil township, described and bounded as above, is
hereby created, and to be known as Center Township."
The last change to date was made July 6, 1880, and was, perhaps, the
most foolish act the board has yet perpetrated officially. It is as follows:
" In the matter of petition of citizens of Silver Creek township for a
division of said township into two townships, the one to comprise the ter-
ritory without the corporate limits of Malvern, and the other to comprise
the territory within the corporate limits of said city of Malvern. It is
hereby ordered that the petition be granted, and that said Silver Creek
township be divided, the territory without the corporate limits of the city
of Malvern to be one township, and the territory within the corporate
limits of said city of Malvern to be another township."
THE PIONEER.
Lo! here the smoke of cabins curled.
The borders of the middle world ;
And mighty, hairy, half-wild men
Sat down in silence, held at bay
By mailed horse. Far away
The red men's boundless borders lay.
And lodges stood in legions there.
Striped pyramids of painted men.
What sturdy, uncommon men were these.
These settlers hewing to the seas;
Great horny handed men, and tan ;
Men blown from every border land ;
Men desperate and red of hand.
And men in love and men in debt.
506 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
And men who lived but to forget,
And men whose very hearts had died,
Who only sought these woods to hide
Their wretchedness, held in vain !
Yet every man among them stood
Alone, along the sounding wood.
And every man, somehow a man,
A race of unnamed giants these.
That moved like gods among the trees.
So stern, so stubborn-browed and slow,
With strength of black-maned buffalo.
And each man notable and tall,
A kingly and unconscious Saul,
A sort of sullen Hercules.
A star stood large and white awest.
Then time uprose and testified;
They push'd the mailed wood aside.
They toss'd the forest like a toy.
That great forgotten race of men
The boldest band that yet has been
Together since the siege of Troy,
And followed it — and found their rest.
What strength! What strife! What rude unrest!
What shocks! What half shaped armies met!
A mighty nation moving west,
With all its steely sinews set
Against a living forest. Here,
The shouts, the shots of Pioneer!
The rended forests! rolling wheels.
As if some half checked army reels.
Recoils, redoubles, comes again,
Loud sounding like a hurricane.
Oh bearded, stalwart, westmost men.
So tower like, so Gothic built!
A kingdom won without the guilt
Of studied battles, that hath been
Your blood's inheritance, * * * *
Your heirs
Know not your tombs. The great plowshares
Cleave softly through the mellow loam
Where you have made eternal home
And set no sign.
HISTORY pF MILLS COUNTY. 507
Your epitaphs
Are written in furrows. Beauty laughs
While through the green waves wandering
Beside her love, slow gathering,
White starry hearted. May time blooms
Above your lowly level'd tombs ;
And then below the spotted sky
She stops, she leans, she wonders why
The ground is heaved and broken so.
And why the grasses darker grow
And droops, and trail like wounded wirig.
Yea, time, the grand old Harvester,
Has gathered you from wood and plain.
We call to you again, again;
The rush and rumble of the car
Comes back in answer. Deep and wide
The wheels of progress have pass'd on ;
The silent Pioneer is gone,
His ghost is moving down the trees,
And now we push the memories.
Of bluftj bold men who dared and died
In foremost battle, quite aside.
Oh perfect Eden of the earth.
In poppies sown, in harvest set;
Oh sires, mothers of my west ;
How shall we count your proud request?
But yesterday you gave us birth ;
We eat your hard earned bread to-day.
Nor toil, nor spin, nor make regret,
But praise our pretty selves and say
How great we are, and all forget
The still endurance of the rude
Unpolish'd sons of solitude.^ Joaquin Miller.
TO THE PRESENT.
Many years ago the hardy and ambitious sons and daughters, who
first came to Mills county, left their paternal roofs and sought homes
in the untamed wilderness of what was then the West. They were not
the effeminate sons and languid daughters of wealthy parents, who had been
reared in the lap of luxury, for such never dare the perils of a frontier life.
608 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
They had, from their infancy been taught, by precept and example, that
industry and economy which had enabled their fathers to thrive among
the rocks arid hills of Kentucky. Some of them started alone, with knap-
sacks on their backs, rifles on their shoulders, and axes in their hands.
Thus accoutred they bade adieu for a time to the loved ones at home,
and turned their faces westward to seek their future homes and fortunes
in the wilderness. For a time they foUowred the trail of previous emi-
grants, but sooner or later they abandoned this, left the borders of civiliza-
tion, and struck into the forest. Having selected suitable locations and
secured their titles, if the latter were needed, they began preparations
for the future. Temporary shelters were constructed, and clearings were
begun; while this work was in progress these solitary laborers procured
what supplies they required from St. Joseph, the neatest settlement and
many miles away. Their nearest neighbors were sometimes a score of
miles in the forest or on the prairie — and with these they occasionally
exchanged visits or planned for the future. By night thej'^ lay in their
rude shelters on beds of grass, or even boards hewn from the logs they
had felled, to dream of the homes they had left, or those their fancy pic-
tured ; or, in their intervals of wakefulness, listened to the distant howling
of the wolf, or were startled by the near hooting of the owl. Day after
day they toiled on, sustained solely by their hopes and plans for the future.
The work of the adventurer completed, he turned his face homeward,
and with light heart came again to the scenes of childhood. Here were
parents, and brothers, and sisters, to welcome him warmly and listen to
the recital of his experience in the western wild. He received a still more
hearry welcome from another, who, during his long absence, had not
ceased to think of him by day and to dream of him by night. She iistened
to the story of his doings with a deeper interest,, for to her and him they
were matters of equal importance.
A wedding soon occurred, and the last winter of the pair in their native
state was a season of busy preparation for removal to their western home,
interspersed with social gatherings and merry-makings among the scenes
and companions of their childhood. They sat down to their last Thanks-
giving dinner, attended their last Christmas and New Year's festivals
with former playmates and school-fellows, and on the approach of spring
bade adieu to all the old friends and scenes, and departed for their new
home. At length the last settlement was reached. Then they entered
at once upon the realities of pioneer life, for now there were no roads to
guide them ; behind were the last vestiges of civilization ; ahead was a
strange land and deep privation. The clearing of the summer before is at
length reached, and the busy cares of a frontier home life begin. They
passed the winter in the woods — for the early settlers of Mills avoided the
open prairie. The sound of the husband's axe echoed through the forest
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 60&
by day, and the wife plied her evening care in the cheerful glow of the
blazing hearth at night. Their simple fare and active exercise insured
them robust health, and though their surroundings were quite different
from those in the midst of which they had been reared, this was the home
which they had made for themselves, and they were happy in the enjoy-
ment of it. During the summer other settlers had come in, some singly^
others with their families, and neighbors were more numerous and less
distant, and the monotony of their life was varied by an occasional visit
from or among these. This social intercourse among the pioneers had
none of the bad features which have characterized that of later times.
There were among them no conventionalities, no unmeaning expressions
of civility, no unkind criticisms of each other's dress and surroundings,
no rivalries, no jealousies, and no hypocritical manifestation of interest in
each other's welfare. Each rejoiced in his neighbor's prosperity, or sym-
pathized with him in his adversity. These visits were anticipated with
pleasure, and remembered without regret.
Another summer and winter had passed, and changes indicative of in-
creasing prosperity were visible. The clearings had become enlarged and
fenced, glass had replaced the greased paper in the window of the cabin,
a plank door swung on wooden hinges where formerly had hung a
blanket, and some flowering shrubbery was growing beside it. Every-
thing wore an air of thrift. The solitude of the wife was enlivened by
the prattle of her first born. Immigrants had continued to come, and
what was a pioneer residence had become a part of a pioneer settlement.
Faster and faster they came flocking in, taking posessionof the lands, or
pushing into still unbroken tracts, brought new farms into cultivation.
Now pioneer life was lived on a larger scale. The settlers' log cabins
more thickly dotted the wilderness, and the clearings about them en-
croached more rapidly upon the surrounding forests. Everywhere was
heard the ring of the woodman's axe, and seen the smoke from the whirl-
winds of flame that were consuming the trees earlier felled. A variety
of work went on indoors as well as out, which long ago generally ceased
to be done in private homes. Households of those days were in wide
contrast with those of the present. Every good mother taught her
daughters a broad range of domestic duties, from washing dishes and log-
cabin floors to weaving and making up fine linen. For the house was
also the factory, and to none of the good wife's multifarious duties did her
industrious spirit and proper ambition incline her more strongly than to
the making from flax and wool of the fabrics which she and hers might
need. For weeks and months the house resounded with the melody of
the spinning-wheel and loom and other simple machinery, with which
every family answered for itself the question wherewithal it should be
clothed. Mother and daughter were proud to appear, even at meetings.
510 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
in homespun, if they had made it well, and father and son were not
ashamed of the suits which loving hands had fashioned for them.
Twenty years rolled by, and brought with them still greater changes.
The old house was only the wing of a new one that had been built of
squared logs, covered with split-shingled roofc, lighted by glazed win-
dows, and closed by a panel door. A lawn appeared in front, tastefully
ornamented with flowers, and fruit trees were growing on the former site
of the garden. An apiary stood at the margin of the lawn, which was
bounded by a neat white fence. A commodious framed barn had beea
builded, and where the forest once stood were fields of waving grain.
Beyond the scattered groves might be seen the homes of other farmers.
The stream that ran by was spanned by a newer bridge, and the ding-
donging of a saw-mill that had been builded on its bank dould be heard
in the distance. The first born was now a young man. At the well,
which still had its primitive sweep, stood a somewhat portly matron, who
seemed to look with motherly pride at her son as he strode sturdily along.
A middle-aged man was seen walking down the road that came from the
mill. It was he who came here years ago with his knapsack, rifle and
ax. The woman at the well was the young wife who had come with him
a year later. Their industry and economy had been rewarded. They
had acquired an honorable competence. But their sky had not always
been unclouded. They had followed the remains of two of their children
to the grave.
Another interval of twenty years passes. 1880 is at hand — is here.
An elegant mansion stands on the site of the old log cabin, and all its
surroundings show that it is the abode of wealth and refinement. The
stream passes under a new bridge, the old saw-mill has gone to decay,
and the broad prairie is thickly dotted with the homes of new comers.
Spacious fields and elegant farm-houses are seen upon the extended land-
scape. A train of cars speeds over the plain, and the tall spires of
churches point skyward from amongst the houses of the county seat near
by. A gray-haired man is busy with the cattle in the farm-yard ; a portly
woman sits by the stove — which has superceded the fire-place — busy with
her knitting, while some of the grand-children are playing on the floor,'
and others engaged in various kinds of work. Another of their children
has been added to the group in the cemetery, another has settled in an
adjoining town, and two have gone to seek their fortunes in the moun-
tains. Thrice honored, thrice exalted family. The toil of years has
brought a rich harvest; the consciousness of a well-spent life brings peace
to your whitened locks ; and the memory of the trials of other days adds
zest to the enjoyment of the present.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 611
EARLY SETTLERS AND SETTLEMENTS.
There is not a little truth in the trite adage "tall oaks from little acorns
grow." Few enterprises have borne the marks of success at their incep-
tion, and still fewer reforms that succeeded in revolutionizing public sen-
timent or correcting glaring wrongs otherwise than by long and patient
presentment. A single word has sometimes been fraught with the genius
of change; a single man been able to direct; and a single nation the most
important factor in directing the destinies of a world. It is never possible
to foretell all the events, nor all the consequences that hinge upon a single
action, or upon a single epoch. It seems, sometimes, that the sole ele-
ment of success is the ability or will to do and to dare. At such times
men of courage alone can succeed, alone can control. It is not always the
righteous cause which triumphs nor the most justifiable ends that win ;
much depends on the character and mind behind these. In this respect
Christianity presented the ,i.deal character which, through all the changes
of eighteen centuries, has inspired the heart of men with an impassioned
love, has 'shown itself capable of acting on all ages, nations, tempera-
ments, and conditions, has been not only the highest pattern of virtue, but
the strongest incentive to its practice, and has exercised so deep an influ-
ence that it may be truly said that the simple record of three short years
of active life has done more to regenerate and soften mankind than all the
disquisitions of philosophers, and all the exhortations of moralists. The
fact stands prominently forth that an activity born of disinterestedness and
noble purposes, may and does draw within the pale of its influence kin-
dred natures, while it may repress opposing tendencies in lives of the most
variant nature. New countries have the stamp of individual character
impressed on them in a manner that older sections would not brook. This
is due, perhaps, to the fact that the inhabitants are few and scattered,
and in times of imminent peril or distress the most individualized person-
age assumes control. To him, then, ever after the people look, and his
views become gradually to be public property. It is thus that the early
history of any county becomes largely a component part of the history
of its first men — the men who give character and coloring to all its early
legislation.
"The pioneer settlers of 1836, when they first looked upon the broad
acres and beautiful forests of MiUs county, had in reality no compelling
reason for believing that they were not created especially for them, and
for the trial of the manhood that was soon to reclaim them. They came,
not to scenes of pleasure, but to places of most arduous toil. The
land was new, its advantages still unknown, its resources undetermined,
its ancient owners still here. To enter a country so wild, and engage in
512 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
its settlement, implied not only a willing heart, but the ability to do and
to dare, that in other and long settled lands, has made the monarch trem-
ble on his throne, or placed in peril a nation's life. Pioneers are always
brave; and the exigencies continually arising demand a quality of man-
hood that ensures the success of plans of colonization. It is, therefore,
useless to eulogize the early settlers of this county. All were brave, but
all were not good men.
What was done and how is merely the office of our task to described.
In the hearts of many still surviving the memories of these men live, and
that they live to fame and to history is the object of this sketch.
About the year 1844 a series of disturbances occurred in the State of
Illinois, which were not only the forerunners of more serious embarrass-
ments to the general government in later years, but were also of great
moment in t)ie settlement of this county. A new religious sect had been
called into existence in 1827, in western New York, founded by a young
named Joseph Smith, who professed to have received a special revelation
from heaven, giving him knowledge of a book which had been buried
many centuries before, in a hill near the village of Palmyra, whose leaves
were of gold, and upon which were engraved the records of the ancient
people of America, and a new gospel for man.
The east was an extremely unfavorable locality for the growth or re-
ception of these doctrines; hence, those who espoused the new faith re-
moved at an early day to the west. They settled principally at first, in
the State of Missouri, but they were soon driven out, without good rea-
son and without the semblance of authority. Crossing the Mississippi,
they settled in Hancock county, Illinois, founding the city which they
called Nauvoo, and where they built a stately temple. Their number in-
creased rapidly by immigration from nearly every country in Europe; the
new comers unfortunately being mainly though not entirely, persons of low
position and without education. Conscious of their strength they raised
troops and set out at defiance the authority of the State of Illinois. In
the endeavor to reduce them to obedience public opinion turned, as it had
previously done in Missouri, against them. They were unpopular because
of their religious tenets, but for no other reason whatever. They were
prosperous when others were needy, and diligent when others were idle.
Opposition developed itself at the polls in denying to them the privileges-
of citizens and the rights of suffrage. Matters at length reached the point
of open resistance to the authorities of the state. Public attacks were
made upon the city, and in one of these Joseph Smith, the celebrated^
founder of the sect, was captured, as was also his brother Hiram, and in-
carcerated in the jail at Carthage the county seat, and while lying there
were murdered by the mob in July of 1844. Joseph was in the act of get-
ting out of the window when he was fired upon and fatally wounded. He
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 513
was taken into the yard of the jail, placed against the well-curb and rid-
dled vyith bullets in a most brutal and fiendish manner. This attack upon
Nauvoo* brought matters to a crisis, and the people of Illinois determined
to drive the murderers across the Mississippi.
In 1845 an attack was made upon the city, and its many residents com-
pelled to leave the state. The Mormon exodus was one of the most won-
derful events on record, when considered in all its phases. The celebrated
historian, Lossing, thus alludes to it.
" In September 1846, the last lingering Mormons at Nauvoo, Illinois,
where they had built a splendid temple, were driven away at the point
of the bayonet, by 1,600 troops. In February, preceding, some sixteen
hundred men, women, and children, fearful of the wrath of the people
around them, had crossed the Mississippi on the ice, and traveling with
ox-teams and on foot, they penetrated the wilderness to the Indian coun-
try, near Council Bluffs, on the Missouri. The remnant who started in
autumn, many of whom were rich men, feeble women, and delicate
girls, were compelled to traverse the same dreary region. The united
host, under the guidance of Brigham Young, then temporal and spiritual
leader,- halted on the broad prairies of Missouri the following summer,
turned up the virgin soil, and planted. Here leaving a few to cultivate
and gather for wanderers who might come after them, the host moved on,
making the wilderness vocal with preaching and singing. Order marked
every step of their progress, for the voice of Young, whom they regarded,
as a seer, was to them as the voice of God. On they went forming Tab-
ernacle Camfs, or temporary resting places in the wilderness. No obsta-
cles impeded their progress. They forded swift-running streams, and
bridged the deeper floods; crept up the great eastern slopes of the Rocky
mountains, and from the summits of the Wasatch range, they beheld on
the 20th of July, 1847, the valley where they were to rest and build a
city, and the placid waters of the Great Salt Lake, glittering in the beams
of the setting sun. To those weary wanderers, this mountain top was a
Pisgah. From it they saw the promised land — to them a scene of won-
drous interest. Westward, lofty peaks, bathed in purple air, pierced the '
sky; and as far as the eye could reach, north and south, stretched the fer-
tile Valley of Promise, and here and there the vapors of hot springs,
gushing from rocky coverts, curled above the hills, like smoke from the
hearth fires of home."
' The pilgrims entered the valley on the 21st of July, and on the 24th
the president and high council arrived. There they planted a city, the
new Jerusalem — the Holy City — of the Mormon people.
'' *The temple at this place was subsequently blown down. The site of old Nauvoo was
settled by a French population, after its desertion by the Mormons, who used the material
of the temple for new buildings, and for flagging, some of the finest stone being used for
that purpose. "b- b.c.
13
514 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
But many of these persecuted people did not cross the Missouri — they
remained at divers points in the state of Iowa, attracted by the pleasant
climate and beautiful woodlands. Among their stopping places were
Kanesvile, (now Council Bluffs) Silver Creek, Traders Point,'t ,Keg
Creek, the Missouri bottom, and wherever good soil, water, and timber
were found conjoined. Kanesville formed so important a factor in the
early history of Mills county, being the metropolis of western Iowa, that
a brief sketch of the naming of the place may not be out of order. It
was named for Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the celebrated Arctic explorer, and
who was, at one time, a resident of that place. Dr. Kane was born in
Philadelphia, in February, 1822, and was educated in the medical univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated m 1843. He entered, the
American navy as assistant surgeon, and was attached as a physiGian,,to
the first American embassy to China. While in the east he visited many
of the islands, and met with many wild adventures. He returned to. the
United States in 1846, but was soon after sent to the coast of Afric|,
where he narrowly escaped death from fever. After his recovery he
went to Mexico, as a volunteer in the Mexican war, earning the title of
Colonel. He then went to Salt Lake, returning soon after to Council
Bluffs. On the Grinnel expedition in search of Dr. Franklin, he wag
appointed as naturalist, and after his return published the results of the
natural history of the voyage in two superb volumes. In October , pf
1856 he sailed for England, in the hope of regaining lost health, and
thence he sailed to Havana, where he died ]February 16, 1857. On
his return eastward from Salt Lake City, he remained, for a long period,
at Council Bluffs, suffering greatly from severe sickness. During his res-
idence in that place the only abodes were tents, not even a log house hav-
ing yet been erected on the site of that present growing city. When the
place was founded, and a name desired, what better could be done than
give it the name of him who was so prominent a man, and destined to
afterward become famous for his voyages to the frozen ocean?
Kanesville was a most important point to the early settlers of Mills
county. The general government had, at an early day, erected, a flour-
ing mill for the benefit of the Indians on Mosquito creek, and this mill was
the main source of supplies for some years. Another feature of value to
the early settlers was the gun shop at KanesviUe, which the governmeiit
also kept in operation in behalf of the red men. When supplies, were
needed, when that necessary of pioneer life — the rifle— required repairs,
Kanesville was the objective point, and thither the pioneer farmer went.
Previously. to the coming of the Mormons there were no pioneers iaihe
*This place has long since been washed away by the Missouri. The same f^te was the
lot of Bethlehem, the present east Plattsmouth, the town of the present being situated far
to the eastward of its older site. St. Mary's shared a like fate.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 515
county who could properly be called settlers. The first white man, who
afterwards became identified with the county's earlier history, was Henry
AUis. In 1851 he was missionary in behalf of the American Board of
Foreign Missions to the Pawnees in Nebraska, and in 1836 was known
to have been in this county at Trader's Point. He found here at that
time Colonel Peter A. Sarpy, who was engaged in trading with the Indi-
ans at a point on the Missouri river near the site of old St. Mary's. Sarpy
had been in the county at least two years prior to this time ; he remained
for many years, and at length became noted as a ferryman over the, Mis-
souri. His was the first steam "ferry established on the Missouri north
of Nebraska City. He died in January, 1855.
Until 1846 there were no additions to the white population of the county.
As has been above narrated, that year witnessed the advent of many per-
sons of the Mormon laith. coming originally from Illinois. Among them
wer^ Rufus O. Jackson, Franklin Stuart, A.J. Stuart, Otho Wells, James
Eldridge, Frank Eastman, Almond Williams, R. K. Hamar, Russell Rog-
ers, Joseph Harker, George Gates and William Britain. These persons
all settled along Keg creek, at a point which .they named Rushyille;
William Britain was perhaps the very first man to locate at that point,
{tnd may justly be regarded as the oldest and first settler in the county.
He is still living, at an advanced age, in Oak township, hale and hearty,
and proud to be considered one of the few who helped to redeem Mills
county from a wilderness. The town or borough of Rushville had a
very short existence. It died almost as soon as it was born, and the place
that once knew it will know it no more forever. Later in the same year
there came to Lyons township * Messrs. Rix, Whittle, Eggleston, Mat-
thews, McDonald, Burns, Steel, Burdick, Baker, Woth and Rooks, all of
whom were Mormons, and the most of whom came from Illinois. Later,
a number of .the Rushville people went on to Utah, whither the majority
of the Nauvoo populaticn had gone. Joseph Harker and George Gates,
who have both been previously mentioned, built log cabins in the south-
west part of the county, near where Egypt was, and these are supposed
to be the oldest houses erected for dwelling purposes next to that of Wil-
liam Britain. The year 1846 was a momentous one for this county. The
coming of the Mormons and increase of population brought the usual cir-
cumstances of birth and death. The first child born in the county was
A. J., son of A. J. and Eunice Stuart, which event occurred in Octqber of
this year. So far as known, this the only birth of the year. The peculiar
^ctrines of the Mormon faith were presented by James Eastman,
an elder of that faith and the first preacher in the cpunty, if we
except the visit of Henry AUis, the missionary. The place of service was
f, vtin, this, and all other mention, o^o-wnaliips their area as, ^t present defined is meant.
The townships were not so named at the date of first settlement.
516 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
a log cabin at Rushville. It is interesting to note in this connection that
the settlers did not await the erection of houses consecrated to divine wor-
ship, but gathered at one another's homes to listen to the tenets of their
various faiths. Gathered from every land and speaking many tongues,
the earliest people of Mills county entered heartily into the exercises im-
posed by the new departure. The quaint and curious but interesting ser-
vices of the Mormon church were the very first ever held in this county.
This year of 1846 should also be remembered as the one in which the
first ferry over the Missouri was established. Its eastern terminus was
at Trader's Point, and the owner was Colonel Peter A. Sarpy. He seized
upon the necessities of the newly arrived Mormons as a means to enrich
his purse, and carried over all who came through this portion of Iowa on
their way to the Promised Land.
The year 1847 was marked by two features deserving of mention. First,
a large number of those who settled at Rushville and its vicinity recom-
menced their weary march to Utah. Second, those who remained scat-
tered to various parts of the county, and were further strengthened in
numbers by many of their brethren from Kanesville and vicinity. In
April of this year, W. H. Shepperson located in Silver Creek township,
and broke the first sod that plow ever touched in that neighborhood.
There came to Indian Creek township in the same year H. Abel, Joseph
Fletcher, and Lewis Dalrymple, from the eastern portion of the state.
Mr. Abel located on what is now known as the Betts farm ; the others
located on Silver Creek, but the precise point cannot be determined. Mr.
Abel came from Hancock county, Illinois. The only settlement of mo-
ment in this year, was Cutler's Camp, on the farm of Daniel Hews, along
Indian Creek. A number of persons under Alpheus Cutler there located,
but a permanent settlement was not contemplated. Many of them under
the same leader subsequently moved within the borders of Fremont county,
and founded the old village of Manti. The first settler within the present
limits of Rawles township came also in the year 1847. His name was
Joseph Rawles, and from him the township was called. He came from
St. Joseph, Missouri, and laying out his claim on section six, made the
first farm in that township. Subsequently he went to California, where
he died. William Bickmore also settled in Rawles township, but finally
removed to Salt Lake City. Whether he improved any land is not known.
In the present limits of Center township a farm was commenced by Ster-
ling Davis, who was probably the first white settler in that township.
The second birth in the county, and that of the first female child was the
daughter of William and Mary Britain, Caroline L., now Mrs. Dewell.
She was born in a log house at or near Rushville, January 12. Among
other incidents of a notable character connected with this year is that of
the first death in the county. Rev. James Eastman died and was buried
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 517
at Rushville on Keg Creek. The monument or headstone erected to his
memory is almost the sole relic of a town of which few of the living resi-
dent^ of the county ever heard, and that fewer stiU have ever seen. On
this first monument ever placed at the grave of any person in the county
of Mills, is simply inscribed "J. Eastman, died April 10th, 1847, aged 60
years." The headstone is native limestone, and was probably obtained at
the exposure of native rock along the Missouri bluffs. There were two
schools started in this year, but which has priority in point of time, it is
impossible to determine. A man named McCarthy taught one of them,
and his compensation was some fifteen dollars a month, most of which
was paid in provisions, from which we may reasonably infer the school
was a private enterprise and conducted on the subscription plan. No
locality is assigned for its position. Mrs. Spencer, whose husband was
then absent in the Mexican war, taught the very first school in Silver
Creek township in this same year. The school was in her own dwelling.
That of McCarthy was held in the first school-house, erected this same
year, and was, perhaps, at or near Rushville. The number of pupils
whom he instructed was some twenty-five. Another, and the second
death of the year, was that of Mrs. Freeman, who died on section thirty
of Lyons township. The first physician in the county came in 1847, and
was Libeus T. Coons, who afterwards became the founder of Coonville,
and finally went to Utah. He came from the vicinity of Council Bluffs
to this county,-and to that locality fromNauvoo.
It would doubtless be a matter of extreme interest to trace the emotions
and thoughts of these early residents were such a thing possible. They
came, many of them, from the older and more populous east ; left behind
them all the advantages of a high civilization, the comforts of pleasant
homes, friends and associations made doubly dear by long and constant
intercourse. They came to what? Hardships and toil, but for these they
cared little. There were hopes to be realized, plans to be developed,
farms to make and homes to build. Whatever of romance we may wish
to attach to their lives, there was little in reality. Their coming, it should
be remembered, was not always a matter of election. They did not come
to a land then a wilderness altogether from choice, but because stern
necessity made it imperative. Some of them were driven from pleasant
homes for religion's sake. Others came because the population of the
eastern states was rapidly increasing through imigration, and the stern
law of increase made removal necessary. They came hither because the
west offered more extended opportunities and contained the promise and
potency of success in life.
I In the year 1848, the population of the county was subject to the same
increase as in the year next preceding. There was no great influx of
population, such as had occurred in 1846, but it was more slow and des-
518 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
tined to be come permanent. There came to Silver Creek in this year
Greenberry Jones, Daniel Moody, William Wolf, Jonathan Kerns, NdaK
Cotton, and Benjamin F. Merritt. The last named came from the state
of North Carolina. Among the inhabitants of Silver Creek there 'had
been up to this time no physician. But now came a Doctor Spurgeon,
from Missouri, who was the first to care for the sick and sore distressed.
In the same year Washington Lewis located in Indian Creek township,
and is thus entitled to be called one of its earliest settlers. The first gen-
tile preacher in the county dates his advent from 1848, and was the Rev.
Martindale, who held services in Lyons township in the interests of the
Methodist Episcopal faith. In the neighboring township of Rawl^,
matters of very great interest were transpiring. The first school had
been opened on section seven by EH Withrow, who came from Fremont
coiinty ; the weaknesses to which flesh is heir had been treated by the
first resident physician, Dr. John Scott, who was also the postmaster at
Wahbonsie P. O., instituted that year but now extinct. Among the new-
comers, as settlers, to Rawles in 1848, were A. H. Berger, James Wood-
land, and Samuel Berger,, the last named coming from Cedar county, Mis-
souri. The only event of note in Silver Creek township was the build-
ing of the first school house, a log structure erected by the citizens and
at no cost whatever except that of the labor necessary. In Anderson oc-
curred the first male birth in the township, that of Charles, son of William
and Maria Matthews. In Platteville township there had located the first
settler, a man named O'NTeal, who came from Hocking county, Ohio. The
first cloth known to have been woven in the county was this year made by
Mrs. Holman, who resided about two miles southwest of Glenwood. The
foiindations of Coonville were laid in this year, by Libeus T. Coon, Silas
Hilman, Ira Hilman, William Britain, G. N. Clark, and a number of oth-
ers, who were attracted by the beautiful site of the town. J. W. Coolidge
had come in the earlier part of the year, from near the present city of
Council Bluffs, and had found a suitable location near Keg creek, south-
east of old Coonville.* While many other facts of minor importance oc-
curred, evidencing the substantial growth in prosperity and populaHon,
none of them are worthy of especial mention. All had more or less in-
fluence in shaping the after destiny of the county, but they were the
usual experiences of life.
The year 184^ was ushered in when spring opened by the coming of
James Berger and Mrs. Nancy Berger, to Rawles township. The first
school of that year opened at the house of Dr. Scott, and he taught the
pupils gathered under his charge in the interval of his more strictly pro-
fessional duties. The school was conducted on the subscription plan, for
-*A11 other fact* pertaining to the early settlement and growth of Goon ville will be found
in the history of Glenwood.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 519
free schools were unknown at that date in this county. In the winter a
sbiriewhat notorious event had transpired in the same township. James
Woodland, an early comer, had die!d at his house under suspicious cir-
(Snasftances, and been buried on the farm of Joseph Rawles ; his death
was never properly investigated, and while exciting suspicion could not
be legally investigated, for at the time of which we are writing Mills
county was stiU unorganized. Soon after his death his brother, William,
married his widow, and both left for parts unknown ; thus occurred the
first mystery within the borders of the county, but it has had frequent
like experiences since.
'*In Lyons township had located Michael Kerns and W. E. Dean, both
coming from Missouri. In Indian Creek had located Peter Huntsman,
from Maryland, on section twenty-seven ; H. Abel from Canada on sec-
tion twenty-one; and a Mr. Davis on the same section with the last
named. In the same township, in the winter, John Simons, son of James
and Sarah Simons, had been born, making his birth one of the earliest in
this portion of the county. A like event, the very first of its kind, had
taken place in Platteville township, being the birth of Albert, son of
James and Rachel O'Neal. Only one settler was known to locate
in Silver creek township, and he came in October. His name was R. L.
Herritt. In Anderson township had located James Fry, John Holden and
John Mclntyre, all from Indiana. In the same township the first birth had
occurred, being that of Fanny, daughter of Noah and Lucretia Cotton,
on the twenty-fifth of September. Up to this year the residents of the
county were without a mill. This is one of the most important fea-
tures of a newly opened country, and indispensable to its people. Kanes-
ville on the north, Oregon, Nebraska City and even St. Joseph on the
south were the only pomts where flour and meal could be had. The en-
terprise of J. W. Coolidge intervened to supply this much needed adjunct
of pioneer life. In the summer of 1849 he built a mill on Keg creek,
which afterward became the site of Gordon's mill. The venture proved
s?iccessful, trade commenced and grew, and he soon opened a store in
connection with. it, selling, probably, the first merchandise ever imported
to the county. The site of the mill adjoined Glenwood, of which place
Mr. Coolidge became an early and valued settler.
The year 1850 added largely to the population of the county. The set-
tlers sought houses in almost every part of its territory, and especially
along the streams. Many of them came from thickly wooded and hilly
countries, and these facts led them to seek- the same kind of territory here.
Few, if atiy, farms were being selected on the open prairie, for prairie
farming was then an untried experiment in western Iowa. Along streams
and in or near groves of wood were to be fbund the most desirable loca-
tions for farffis and future homes, and these the settlers eagerly and rapidly
520 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
occupied. As usual, Rawles township contributed its full share to the
events of the j'ear. Among the newly arrived settlers were Lawrence
Rains, in June, and William J. Rains, then a lad, who passed his time in
school. Among the first or early births was that of a daughter of Joseph
Rawles. In the early spring a daughter of Lena Aitney died, and was bur-
ied on section seven.
A commodious log school-house was built, but two years afterward it
burned to the ground, being the first conflagration of that kind in the
county. George, a son of James L. and Nancy Berger was born, on
September 4, thus entitling him to be placed among the historic worthies
of the county's earlier days. The first cloth known to have been made
in Rawles township was this year woven by his mother, Nancy Berger,
in Silver creek township.
Mrs. Merritt has the honor of weaving the first cloth, which was also
made in the winter of 1850. Julia Barnes and George Clark had both
become residents of Plattville township, and Mrs. Hoyt had taught one
of the first schools in the township of Lyons, at her own house, the pupils
numbering ten, their tuition being paid by subscription. There are
preserved remembrances of but two settlers in Lyons for that year, John
and William L. Lambert, both coming from Kentucky. A like number
are remembered as having settled in Anderson township, Augustus Rich-
ards, from Virginia, who located on section 10, and Samuel Badham,
from England, location not known. The remaining settlers located in
the older portions of the county, and their identity has been lost among
the numerous names known to have come in that year.
The year following, 1851, witnessed the first marriage in Indian Creek
township. The oldest daughter of Abel Carey, Melissa, was.married to
a Mr. Silket. In the same year occurred the first death in the township,
that of Homer Hoyt, who was buried a little north of what is now known
as the Carey burying ground. On section 21 was built a log school-,
house, after the manner of the early settlers, by gratuitous labor, and if
not the first, it was at least one of the earliest in the township. In Oak
township, October 3, occurred the first birth, that of Thomas Gunsolly.
William McPherson and William Kesterman, both located farms in
Rawles township, as did also Luke Wiles, all three of whom afterward
became largely and closely identified with the county's interests. Among
the old residents who came in that year were J. H. Buckingham, from
Missouri, to Lyons township, William Reed to the same locality, David
M. Buckingham, also from Missouri, to Lyons, Simon Troth to Lyons,
Geo. R. McKnight to Lyons and John Haynie to Plattville.
In this year 1851 the county was properly organized as a body politic
in the commonwealth of Iowa. From this time on the matter of growth
in both numbers and prosperity is very marked. It may be well to pause
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY, 621
here a moment and consider the character of the new-comers, for this
may properly command attention at a most critical period in the county's
history. Of adventurers there were few or none now being added to its
population. Most of the incoming settlers had definite objects, and came
to realize plans and hopes of long standing. They had come from Illi-
nois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, the New England states, and a few from
the south. Unlike these later comers had been the first settlers. They
came unwillingly, and tarried with equal regret. Driven from pleasant
homes and a prosperous city there was in their hearts a vague unrest —
not unmixed with bitter and hostile feelings. The objective point of their
weary and dangerous journey lay far to the westward, and thither their
faith looked in the hope of rest and peace. Here there was no surety,
there was the promise of plenty — here hostile, or at best indifferent, men
might at any moment wrest from them that which they had, there their
possessions would at least be secure.
So many of them had left for the far west the year following their
advent here. In this year of 1851 many of them cast their first and last
ballot and aided in organizing the county. While the events we have
narrated were transpiring, the gentile population of the county had
increased. Already, in the neighboring county of Fremont, strenuous
endeavors were being made to wrest from the Mormon population of that
county the strength and prestige which superior numbers insured. It
remained now to accomplish the same object here, and to this the gen-
tile population addressed all its energies. Opposition first found expres-
sion in denying the rights of suffrage ; in disallowing the privilege to sit
on juries; and in open hostility to the judge of the district court, as has
elsewhere been shown. Hence, these causes led to the final removal of
the immediate followers of Brigham Young to Utah. Many still
remained, and becoming interested in the county's prosperity contributed
largely to its material wealth, and made both excellent and exemplary
citizens. As has been said, of a far different nature was the coming of
the later settlers. A feature, however, that amounts to a peculiarity
deserves especial mention. Many of the pioneer settlers of Mills had
performed a like work in states to the east and south. They came to
accomplish the task of reclaiming from a state of wildness these new
and rich lands. This done, they again went onwards, in their pioneer
work ; ever in the van, and ever braving the dangers and trials of new
or little known sections. Hence it is that the earliest settlers remained
but a few years, and then moved from the county. With the year 1851
the arrivals were so numerous and the population became so scattered
that it is a matter of excessive difficulty to trace their location and the
subsequent changes made. Hitherto, there had been few settlements, or
aggregations of settlers made. Glenwood had been founded as an
522 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
offshoot from Rushville, Bethlehem, afterward East Plattsmouth, had
been started,'and the now extinct Wahbohsie had a struggling existence in
the southwest; In the east and south no permanent villages had been
established, nor had any attempt in that direction been made. Some
short time previously a town called California City had been started in
Platteville township by Daniel Ambrose, and George and James Clark,
the exact date of which is not known.
In 1852 the principal events of interest belonged to Platteville and
Anderson townships. In the latter the first death of the year was that
of Augustus Richards, on December 10, who was buried in Farm Creek
graVeyard. This year, in the same township, appeared the first physi-
cian. Dr. John Johnson, who came from Ohio, and afterwards moved to
Missouri. The first services of the Methodist Episcopal church in Ander-
son, were conducted by Elder Peter Cooper, at the house of Widow
Richards, and were the funeral services of her husband. The first school
was also opened, taught by Miss Mary E. McClenahan, now the wife of
D. Hougas! The students numbered nine, and the compensation was
eight dollars per month. In Plattsville township was built a hewn log
school-house, on section eight, the first building of that nature, so far a»
can be learned, in the township. No school was held in it until the fall.
In the spring a school had been opened on section thirteen, by Miss
Angelina Mayfield. E. Gilliland,* who still resides in the township, came
from Missouri to Platteville. The settlement of this township was slow,
and these were all known to have come, with certainty, in that year. In
this year the first marriage in Rawles township, relative to which has
been preserved the name of the officiating clergyman, was that of John
Wolf to Julia Kesterson, by the Rev. Mr. Towner. On the 28th of
August was born Alvira, daughter of William and Alvira Huntsman, in
Indian Creek township, one of the first in that portion of the county. Of
newcomers in this year the following names have been collected: Jesse
Miller, who located on land now occupied by the poor farm ; Henry Saaf^
from Missouri, to which state he had gone in 1842, and who settled in
Oak township; T. M. Blair, in Rawles, from Missouri, Alfred B.
McPherron, A. Williams, Urbin Williams, Richard Estes and W.
Newell, all of whom located in Rawles township. To Lyons township
c^me R. Shaw, Sarah Haynie, William Estes and George Foldeux. S.
C. Pitzer and F. M. Britt, from Missouri, located in Center township, and
made farms. In White Cloud settled James Hughes, one of the oldest
residents in the township. Among these persons may have been some
who were rough and uncouth, but beneath the rugged exterior beat true
- *8hort biDgraphieail sketches of maay ot the earlier settlers will be found in the closing
part of this volume, grouped under tlie several townships in which they now reside. To
them the reader is referred for all other facts be may wish to know.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 52S
and manly hearts. They were necessarily frugal in their habits, and this
gave them' courage to endure the severest trials, aiid withstand the
harshest "blows of fortune.
The facts of preceding years were repeated in 1853. In Rawles town-
ship the first marriage of the" year was that of David Utterbackto Rachel
Allison, by Rev." Mr. Armstrong, of the Methodist Episcopar church,
fle had followed tlie pioneer Methodist preachers — Revs. Cannon anid
Witter — who came as missionaries of that faith. The Christian Churcli
of Wahboasie, was this year organized, being the first church organiza-
tion in the county. Elsewhere will be found a history of the church,
together with the names of its original membership. In Anderson town-
ship was born Calvin A., son of John and Harriet Richards, in the month
of December,. and this is supposed to be the first male birth in the town-
ship. It is, at all events, one of the earliest. Among the settlers who
came to Rawles in this year were Fred. Terraberry, Joseph Munsiriger
and Isaac Townshend. In Oak township settled J. M. Warren, E. H.
Buffington, from Illinois, and J. H. Cotton, fi-om Lafayette county, Mis-
souri. Other old settlers are John Chambers and S. Barbee in Center
township, M. J. Martin, in Glenwood village, Charles L. Epperson, in
Lyons, and William Hoxie, in Plattsville township, who came hither from
the state of Michigan.
In 1854 was built the first school-house in Anderson township, on sec-
tion thirty-five. No money was expended, the material being logs and
the labor furnished gratuitously. Mary A. Cotton died in this township
December 9th, and hes buried in the Cotton graveyard on section thirty-
six. The second female born in this township was Violet, daughter of
Samuel and Mary Badham, in the month of November. In other por-
tions of the county nothing usual or worthy of special mention occurred.
New comers located in nearly every portion of the county. In Lyons
were J. A. Tipton, John Gillens, Thomas Connor, John Jackson and
James Hubbard. H. P. Fowler came from Lafayette county, Missouri'^
and located in Oak township, as did, also, John Hutchens, who came
however, from Andrew county, Missouri. In White Cloud occurred its
first marriage, that of Pleasant Silket to M. A. Hughes, October 5, the
ceiremony being conducted by Rev. E. A. Morris. The first female child
born in this year, so far as relates to White Cloud, and was Sarah V.,
daiighter of James and Caroline Hughes. J. J. Kenady died and was
buried south of the old village of White Cloud. To Rawles township
came John M. West, Daniel Terryberry and John A. Davis. In other
portions of the county numerous fai-ms and homes were commenced, by
Joseph Foxworthy, Charles Kesterman, Wilham H. Rodman, among
many others.
' It is impossible to follow further, thus minutely the settlement of the
524 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
various parts of the county. Arrivals occcurred almost daily, and the
pioneer work was over. It might be remarked, however, of the county
as a whole, that the homes of the early settlers were often hastily erected,
and not intended for permanent occupation . Adverse fortune often led to
their long habitation, but they began now to disappear and to be replaced
by more substantial dwellings. To-day there stand on their sites many
beautiful, and sometimes costly homes, made bright and cheerful with
contentment, and refined by all the appliances of civilized art. Little more
remains than to now list the names of such as had become prominent citi-
zens of the county. Among the names will be seen many who have
extended a powerful influence in directing the course of events in the
county. They were men sterling and true, whose contact with other men
and with circumstances made them self-reliant and energetic. Nothing
so much as pioneer life serves to develop real manhood, nothing so much
leads to independence, nothing is so effective for discipline. These men
were, many of them poor, but pride entered not to disturb their homely
joys. The strife and contentions incident to political contests and hopes of
preferment, were reserved for a later day. Petty jealousies, it is true,
sometimes occurred, but mutual dependence and kindred interests forbade
their fostering.
1855, G. W. Patrick, W. S. Viola, from Ohio, A. Lewis, F. M.Wilson,
H. C. Sheppard, D. O. Briggs, A. R. "Wright, from Indiana, James Lam-
bert, T. K. Hammond, who located in Lyons township. In Rawles
township settled O. B. Russell, James Boyd, William E. Utterback and
A. R. Graves. To White Cloud township came Stephen D. Davis, Jas.
M. Summers, William Van Doren, H. W. Summers, and many others.
1856 and 1857 witnessed the coming of William Weaver, William G.
Summers, Valentine Plumb, W. B. Wilson, J. W. Devore, Thomas R.
Kayton, Frank Moore, John Graham, from Indiana, John Tinker from
Wisconsin, Henry Kisby from Wisconsin, but originally from England,
Henry Russell, M. W. Hurlburt, M. C. Pearse, John Butier, R. H.
Hurlburt, Solomon Jones, H. A. Norton, John Byers and L. D. Prindle.
These persons with numerous others located farms at divers places in the
county. To follow them through all the subsequent changes made would
be impossible and without interest. Enough has been said to indicate
the rapid advances being made in the matter of population, and the char-
acter of the men now commencing their residence in the county.
Those coming later than 1857 could hardly be properly considered as
early settlers. They came not to the wild prairies of an unorganized
county, but to one rescued to civilization, recognized as a body politic, and
with a population among the thousands. To them many of the older
scenes were indeed familiar, but now the old things have passed away.
To-day the residents of the county look back with pride and with amuse-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 525
ment, a peculiar mingling of emotions, to the things that were. The busy-
hum of newer industries and modern interests have served to detract
attention from these old time events, but they have a value which the
present should sieze and turn to its advantage.
THE COUNTY PRESS.
There is no power that deserves to take so prominent a position in a
community or country as the press. It occupies a position far over that
of any other, the clergy not excepted. This circumstance arises not from
any deterioration of the clergy themselves, but chiefly from the general
diftusion of knowledge among all classes. We do not look to the clergy
for superiority of erudition; the scientists, the philologist, the historian all
come in for a share of respect for their learning. Once the distinction
between the clergy and the laity meant something; it means very little,
to-day. When only those who could read or write belonged to the church,
each member was called a clerk, or clericus, or clergyman. But the
clergy of to-day are not those who preach from the pulpit once a week,
but those as well who preach from the editor's chair. As James Free-
man Clarke, remarks, the editor has as much right to put "reverend" before
his name as the preacher has. The editor wields a mightier weapon than
any clergyman can. He influences the public mind for good or evil daily
and the Sunday paper has snatched from the pulpit its ancient power, its
traditional prerogative. Instead of dealing with questions, the very nature
of which renders them unknowable, and therefore impracticable, the editor
comes to our door with the live issues of to-day. The latest, the best,
the most valuable of the thoughts and doings of men all over the globe
reaches us every morning to sway our passions, enlist our sympathy, or
arouse us to duty. Nor is this the sole prerogative of the city dailies, but
that also of the country weekly newspaper. These latter come to homes
of toil, homes where the busy cares of life absorb so great a portion of the
time that all but the weekly visitant remains necessarily unread. The
power of the type is felt in such hours, felt as no minister's sermons ever
are.
The newspaper is the poor man's library. It comes to him almost the
sole exponent of national policy, and the source of his ideas of political
economy. Moral lessons are conveyed, lessons which, if heeded, would
lead the race of men to a higher moral life. Religion, the passing influ-
ence of an hour, has no claim on the press, which, if not directly by its
records of disaster and death, point out the causes of evil as no purely
mental or abstract theories of wrong ever can. Probably there is nothing
526 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
that so soon arouses a nation to a sense of its danger, points out the rem-
edy for public deterioration, and leads men to consider the causes of
things as the paper. When the national existencee as a union of all the
state was threatened, it found its way to the homes ot brave men who
promptly responded to the demand for aid made known to them by the
press. But it also brought the glad news of peace. If its utterances
sometimes seem dark and ominous, it is none the less often cheerful in
its aspect on current events. Business without it would be impossible.
Changes in prices occur which involve millions, but are known in time to
avert impending disaster. On a question of great moment to the nation,
long and sometimes angry debate is had, but the news thereof appears in
the next morning's paper; and men are, in a measure, prepared for any
issue. So to it let its meed of praise be given, and let its support be
equal to its importance.
The first paper published in this county bears the date of Thursday,
May 1, 1866, and was duly baptised into the world of newspapers undejr
the name of The Glen-wood Times. The first paper ever printed is still in
existence, and is the property of Mrs. J. W. CooUdge. It is full of typo-
graphical errors, as the second paper printed was used for purposes of
correction. On page three the editorial page, appears the prospectus,
from which the following is taken :
" Experience having taught us that nothing tends more to promote and
advance the welfare and interest of a county than a well conducted news-
paper, and feeling confident that the interests of southwestern Iowa de-
mand the publication of a reliable news journal — one that the business
man, mechanic and farmer can rely upon — one that will be useful as a
family paper — we have undertaken to furnish such a paper. The Times
will contain a variety of news of a local and general character, present-
ing it readers at all times with reliable information relative to the prosper- '
ity and growth of Western Iowa and Nebraska, a faithful chronicle of
the events of the nation, and a correct journal of foreign news. '
" We ask the kind indulgence of such of our patrons as this number
may not prove acceptable to, as this is our first essay in the editorial
department. We promise to make amends in the future for whatever
failings there may be."
The paper was a seven column folio, and presented rather a neat
appearance when fresh from the press. It was edited by J. M. Dews,
and for its motto there was adopted '* with all your getting, get understand-
ing." The first article is a poem entitled "An Invocation to Spring," by
Richard Coe, which is here transcribed as being appropriate to the date
of the paper in which it was printed, and presenting the additional inter-
est of having been the first poem printed in the county:
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 527
Spring! Beautiful Spring!
Come to this desolate dreary world of ours,
Come with thy breath of balm, thy gift of flowers,
Thy gentle birds that sing
In sunny bowers;
Come with thy gladsome hours ;
Spring! Beautiful Spring!
Earth is aweary of the Wintry sleep,
And longs to waken into life again;
To see the budding vines and graces creep
Along the cheerful plain;
For thou wilt bring
O! Beautiful Spring!
These and like beauties in thy train!
Come with thy children three —
The stormy April that weepeth all the day,
The fickle April, and the flowery May —
Oh! 'twere a happiness to see
Far up on high.
Thy clear blue sky.
Like a bright, beauteous, and eternal thing,
Spring! Beautiful Spring!
What time the primrose with a keen delight.
Comes peeping upward from the fallow ground;
What time the swallow in his rapid flight
About the barn door circleth round and round;
I love to walk abroad and trace
On Nature's face
The gladness of thy coming, and to sing
With bird, and flower, and bee.
Sweet praises unto thee.
Spring! Beautiful Spring!
Come, then, sweet Spring!
Come to this deselate, dreary world of ours;
Come with thy breath of balm, thy gift of flowers ;
Thy gentle birds that sing
In sunny bowers!
Come with thy gladsome hours,
O! Beautiful spring!
And bring, ay, bring anear.
Sweet childhood of the year,
Joy, health and freshness on thy dewy wing
Spring! Beautiful Spring!
528 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Among the other principal contents* of the paper are " Adventure at a
French Party," " The Minister and the Fiddle," " From Ft. Pierre-
Sioux Treaty," " On Pruning Fruit-trees," " Debate on the Memorial in
the Senate," which latter article occupies some three and a quarter col-
umns. The matter at issue pertained to some territorial affairs in Kansas,
and the discussion was one both fiery and exhaustive. On the same page
is an article on " Mr. Jefferson and his Daughter," which contains a letter
from the president to that lady that would be read with marked interest
to-day. On the editorial page is a graphic account of the death of
Crockett, who died as few men have ever died, his body riddled with
musket balls, and drenched with his own blood. " In the agony of death,
with a terrible grasp, he brought his last weapon upon the head of the
nearest assailant, and fell victoriously across his body into the arms of
death." There is also a brief history of Page county, and a view of the
business of Glenwood. A single death is recorded — that of William
Brower, who died of consumption. The columns are filled with shorter
notes, some humorous and some complaining. A letter, signed by
"Unknown," calls the attention of the citizens of the county to The
limes as being an enterprise in which they ought all to be interested and
to which they should give united support. There are the usual number
of medicines — " never known to fail " — advertised, and the business cards
of lawyers, physicians and merchants. In the advertising columns of the
third page occurs a notice, which it is deemed best to transcribe:
" EXHIBITION.
"An Exhibition of the Massacre of Joseph and Hiram Smith, at Carth-
age jail, Hancock county, Illinois, at the Court House in Glenwood, on
Saturday evening. May 3d, 1856. Also the Nauvoo Legion listening to
the last speech of Gen. Joseph Smith. Also a review of Great Salt Lake
City, accompanied by busts of Joseph and Hiram Smith, and also the
twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints;
together with a number of rare and curious specimens, by
"Francis Brown."
On the second page is given an account of a meeting relative to the
swamp lands, held in the court-house by the citizens of the county, on the
23d of April, " to protect the citizens and county against the incursions
of foreign speculators upon the swamp land domain of Mills county."
That the men convened were decided to stop the abuse complained of is
evident from the third resolution which was reported and adopted as fol-
lows:
Resolved, That we call upon all the citizens of our county to stand up -
en masse in opposition to the grevious wrong which is sought to be en-
forced against this county and its citizens, and that if law and justice will
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 529
not prevail, and protect that which law has given, then humble submission
ceases to be a virtue, and pur rights we will have, cost what it may."
A fvirther resolution was adopted to " withdraw or be advised to with-
draw all dealings with, and patronage of any man who has infringed or
may hereafter attempt to infringe upon the bona fide pre-emptor or the
rights of any citizen to and in the swamp lands of the county."
The pohtics of the paper was democratic. The Times was published
for little more than a year when it ceased to exist.
The Times was followed by The Thought "devoted to progress in agri-
culture, science, politics and literature." It was owned and published by
L. Shields, and edited by J. L. Sharp. It adopted for a motto "Pierce
out Our Imperfections with Your Thoughts." Number one, of volume
one, appeared July 24, 1856, and like its predecessor was a seven column
folio. It was democratic in politics, and a large portion of the first page
of the first issue was devoted to the proceedings of the democratic state
convention, held at Iowa City, June 24, 1856, and to the democratic con-
gressional convention, held at Ottumwa, June 30, 1856. Other subjects
on this page are, "A Fortunate Kiss," "A Key to British Philanthropy,"
"Great Excitement in Gentry County," this last article being an extract
from the St. yo. yournal under the head of " Mobocracy Triumphant,"
the main point in the article being the taking of a prisoner from the hands
of civil officers and hung. The last page is devoted to "British Out-
rages," a circular relative to the establishment of the State Agricultural
College, a few brief sensational articles and local advertisements. On the
second page occurs the obituar}' of Isaac Tyson, a young man, aged
twenty-three, and the victim of consumption. An anonymous contribution
signed by Fidus, gives the readers an insight into the natural advantages
of Mills county.
The second paper to be established was the Union, under the editorial
management of J. R. Tyson. The paper had a short life and then passed
into the hands of other parties. The editor, J. L. Sharp, opened the edi-
torial page with a statement of the aims and plans of the paper. Among
other things he said:
" The Thought will be devoted chiefly to the dissemination of correct
information relative to this region of our common country, and of each
particular town, city, county and neighborhood upon either side of the
great Missouri valley, in its middle division. To accomplish this we will,
at no distant day, have secured the services of reliable correspondents in
each particular locality.
" We shall condemn whatever we believe to be wrong among men, in
religion, morals, society or politics, and approve the right, and will
denounce all dereliction of duty, in national, state or county officers,
L 14
530 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
especially those in high places who so far.forgei their duty as to ofTer to
give or take a bribe in any shape.
"In politics we are Democratic; that political association, in our opinion
being nearest the right thing, we co-operate with them. But while we
are this, we shall not feel at liberty to dictate to our fellows what shall
be their political faith, but will at all times fully concede to them the same
privilege claimed for ourself, — the choice of their own political associates;
may respect the man while we condemn the principles of his party, and
will, at all times, be ready to assign a reason for the 'hope that is in us.' "
Other articles to claim the attention of the reader on this page are,
" Our Purpose," " Honesty in Politics," " Party of Principles," "Arrival of
the Salt Lake Mail;" under which last caption it is stated that the trip
bringing that mail was made in nineteen days, notwithstanding the "roads
were in a terrible condition." The third page is devoted almost solely to
advertisements and legal notices. The Thought was finally abandoned,
for the reasons which caused a like proceeding with reference to the
Times.
THE GLENWOOD WEEKLY OPINION.
The Opinion may be properly called the first permanent newspaper of
Mills county. Prior to its first issue, several attempts had been made to
establish a newspaper in the county, but they resulted in failures, as has
been seen. April 16, 1864, Thomas Paxton Ballard commenced the pub-
lication of a five-column folio paper, modestly headed " Our Ofinion."
The Hon. Wm. Hale was its first political and general editor, assuming
the duties of the position on the 6th of August, 1864, and continuing until
April 1, 1865. At the commencement of the second volume the paper
was enlarged' to a six column folio, having during its first year assumed
the name it now bears, " Glenwood Jfeekly Oj^inion." Mr. John R. Huft-
man became a partner at this time, but retained his interest only a short
time, when he disposed of it to the Hon. John Y. Stone, who assumed
the editorial duties, and continued as editor and manager until June 15,
1867, when John T. Deupree purchased Mr. Stone's interest. November
9, 1867, Mr. Deupree sold it to one A. E. Clarendon, and with No. 49 of
volume four, Mr. Clarendon's name appears as editor, and the paper is
enlarged to seven columns. With No. 5 of volume five, F. P. Morgan
and E. D. Lunt, the latter at present editor and proprietor of the Perr^
Pilot, appear to be owners, and continue to be until February 5, 1870,
when Mr. Ballard purchased the interest of Mr. Lunt. November 12,
1870, the paper was enlarged to eight columns, its present size. March
11, 1871, Mr. Morgan disposed of his interest to the " Opinion Printing
Company" who own it at this time. Since the date last mentioned the
editorial chair has been occupiedsuccessively by W.P.Robinson, Thomas
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 531
L. Stephens, Fred. Harris, and C. M. Shultz, the latter retiring in Octo-
ber, 1877. The interval to January 1, 1878, was filled by W. P. Robin-
son. From that date the present editor, Mr. Charles A. Croney, has
edited and managed the paper.
The Opinion is now, and has been since its first issue, an unwavering
exponent of the principles of the republican party. It is the leading paper
of the county, and has established a reputation as one of the few leading
papers of the eighth congressional district. From a feeble beginning it
has reached the proud position of being one of the most complete county
newspapers in all that constitutes a first-class job and newspaper office.
It has made a host of warm, personal friends during its career, and per-
haps many enemies, in a political way, but has aimed always to be fair
tovv^rds its opponents while it dealt them sturdy blows. In the matter of
caring for the interests of the whole people, its policy has been to advocate
tji^t which has seemed best for the whole county, regardless of locality,
and pursuing steadily this course it has come to be lookgd upon by all the
people as their paper. Its family of readers is large, many of them hav-
ing been continuous readers of it from its first issue.
THE HASTINGS PLAINDEALBR.
This a new enterprise and not yet beyond the stages of infancy. The
first issue bears the date of March 20, 1879, and was edited by H. C.
Ayres, the proprietor and publisher. In politics it is devoted to the prin-
ciples of the national greenback party, of which it is an able and fearless
exponent.
THE MILLS COUNTY CHRONICLE.
This paper was started in the fall of 1869, by H. A. Copeland, at Mal-
vern, who was its editor and publisher until July 14, 1876, when it was
taken to Emerson and the name changed to The Emerson Chronicle. It
was conducted by Fred Boehner, then a mere boy of fourteen years of
age, from the time of its removal to Emerson until May 16, 1879, when
Woods & Hall became the publishers and proprietors. On the first of
March, 1880, it then passed into the hands of A. G. Parrish, the present
publisher. The Chronicle is republican in politics, and devoted to the
interests of the party it has espoused. It is a six-column quarto, and the
largest paper published in the county. It has considerable influence, and
takes a high rank amongst the papers of the county, being devoted to
the various interests thereof, and a ready supporter and exponent of any
measure promising to aid the material interests.
I THE MILLS COUNTY REPUBLICAN.
\ This paper succeeded The Mills County Chronicle when, in 1876, the
532 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
latter was removed to Emerson. It was established in the same year
that its predecessor was moved, by a joint stock company, and edited by
Robert Aiton. It has changed owners several times. In 1880 it was con-
solidated with The Leader. This last paper was established in Septem-
ber, 1875, by H. G. Rising, who published it until the following year. It
then passed into the hands of J. J. Morris, who continued to publish it
until November, of 1880, when the consolidation mentioned was perfected,
The title under which it now appears is The Refublican-Leadcr^ and
managed by Messrs. Parrish & Morris. Its politics are indicated by its
name.
THE MILLS COUNTY JOURNAL.
was established in 1872, the first number going to press July 31, of that
year. The editor and proprietor was C. W. Sherman, who has sinc6
been actively connected with the paper. When started, the country was
engaged in the memorable presidential campaign of that year, and it be-
came necessary for the paper to take a decided stand upon the topics of cur-
rent political interests. This it did, its politics being liberal-democratic,
and into the canvass the paper entered honestly and heartily. The cam-
paign following, the paper advocated the anti-monopoly movement, which
, was successful in this county by a majority of more than two hundred, and
in which the paper wielded a deserved influence. In 1874 a half interest
in the paper was sold to S. W. Harmon, but a year afterwards was repur-
chased by Mr. Sherman. In 1876 Mr, John R. Howard became associated
in the conduct of the paper, but retired a year afterwards. In that year
The fournal supported the candidacy of Samuel J. Tilden for president,
and has since been an ardent supporter of the democratic nominees, though
thoroughly and completely independent in its expressions of opinion with
regard to public and party policy. The paper was started as a twenty-
eight column folio, but was enlarged several years ago, to thirty-two col-
umns. In November last the enterprising editor began the publication of
a daily edition of The yournal, containing sixteen' columns, and has thus
far been successful in his venture. The prospects of the daily are very
encouraging, and with its prosperity comes constant improvement. The
W eeJcly yournal is now in its ninth year of publication ; and the list of
advertisers and patrons proves it to be a paper of considerable influence.
It is racy and rich at times, and always replete with the latest news. It
steadily advocates all matters of public interest, and to it not a little of the
prosperity of the county, in its later years, is due.
THE PACIFIC JUNCTION GAZETTE,
edited by J. D. Morris and E. B. Parrish, was ^established December l,!
1880. It is the youngest paper in the county, but growing wonderfully
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 533
in favor and influence. In politics it is independent, and in all matters of
public interest on the right side and outspoken. It is a four page, eight
column sheet; and perhaps is the freshest and newsiest paper in the
county. The names of its editors are a sufficient guarantee of ultimate
and enduring success.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION.
There is nothing more remarkable in our time than the great advance
in the matter and methods of education. This has necessitated new
modes of mental culture, and placed in the hand of the educator new
material to aid him in reaching broader and grander results. Among the
changes which the new education has wrought is the recognition of cer-
tain philosophical facts in the training of youth, the importance of due
attention to the hygiene of school-room life and study, and the place of
new studies in the educational curriculum of the common school. Time
was, and not far back, when the "three R's" were deemed the only essen-
tials of an education; when to be merely a fair reader and mediocre
writer was the ultima thule of the educational possibilities of the day.
This has changed, and the history of the change is one of that long strug-
gle against the prejudices in favor of the oldest methods of the old schools
in which the early settlers had been educated and to which they had
become attached ; a struggle in which the county is still interested ; one
that comes to it laden with the accumulated facts of ages, hoary with
years, yet beneficent in influence ; a struggle in which opinions and theo-
ries covered with honors have been marched off the stage of action and
supplanted by facts and principles which it has cost years of toil to dis-
cover, and more years still to establish.
The result of all these is that it is now not only conceded, but very gen-
erally demanded that the teacher should be subjected to a thorough course
of training before commencing to discipline other minds. To meet this
end not only have normal schools been established and normal courses
added to the curricula of the colleges, but summer normals, at the expense
and under the auspices of the county, have been established to meet a
demand ever growing greater. The raison d'etat is that there is a need
in popular education that may only be met by first meeting a like need
felt by those who have that work in charge. The teacher occupies but
partly the high place of an apostle of complete civilization- — for nothing
less is his task and that is his place — a preacher of complete manhood and
womanhood. Instead of drilling boys and girls upon the multiplication
table, he is to profoundly affect human, destiny for good. That there is but
534 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
a feeble demand for this highest type of teachers, arises not only from an
unconsciousnees of the immeasurable value they are of to mankiftdj but
also from the imperfect style of teachers that now stand before the public.
There is probably no question in which the citizens of a county are so
directl}"^ interested as this same one of teachers of known and tried ability.
The time has long since passed when any person could teach school.
The claims of to-day can no longer be met by the appliances of even a
decade ago, for experience is beginning to show that teaching, like every
other department of human thought and activity, must change Vvith the
changing conditions of society, or it will fall in the rear of civilization and
become an obstacle to improvement. The educational problem of the
day is how to get more meaning into the training of the schools; a mean-
ing that shall excite the youthful mind to the highest type of intellectual
activity and vigor; that shall educate for lasting national life. A nation's
safety lies wrapped up in the intelligence of its people. And as the scope
of human activity and thought are ever widening, so the claims of culture
are ever increasing, and the state has the right to expect due attention to
them from its constituency. By the general diffusion oi knowledge only
is it possible to put wisdom at the helm of state; keep mediocrity out of
responsible offices; remove corruption from places of trust; banish vice
and peculation and so sweeten the fountains of public morality that justice
and fairness shall be the condition between all classes of men in all the
relations of life. To this is opposed, oftentimes, the foolish objectibi
that " too much book learning is not to the best interests of individuals.'*
Nothing is more forfeign to a true spirit of culture and progress, or more
fruitful of invidious results, than that the matter and aim of educatiori are
not akin to the most common-place aifairs of life. Education is intensely
utilitarian, directly so; there is not an avocation to which it has not
brought its benison by way of improvement or correction.
An illustration from that kind of labor to which our country owes its
institutions and its perpetuity — husbandry — may be in point. In early
ages the products of agriculture were thought to be the gifts of various
divinities, who gave or withheld according to their caprice. The goldeft
grain was the special bounty of Ceres — just as Minerva bestowed the
olive and Bacchus the wine. The seed grains did not quicken except by
favor of the rural god, who kept watch and ward over this process; theif
sheep and their bees were under the guardianship of Pan, and a troojj of
frolic fauns brought back life to the fields, and opened with their busy
fingers the buds of spring. Over all the operations of nature was some
presiding divinity, and, as they were prosperous or adverse, they inferred
that the divinity was kindly or malignant. But since that time the phys-
ical sciences and chemistry have given to. the farmer a new heaven and i
new earth. The lightnings are no longer the manifestatiorls of an ailgfy
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 535
divinity, but an indispensable agent in the scheme of vegetable growth
and production. Noxious elements, once the source of untold miasm and
death, are constantly eliminated from the air he breathes — taken up by
the lungs of the vegetable system, and transmuted into valuable and use-
ful forms. Now, his culture comes to temper the austere sky, his enter-
prise rolls back the forests like a scroll, and their appears a more genial
sun, until the frozen circle itself seems pushed northward, and abundance
smiles where unassisted Nature was stern, and niggard, and unfruitful.
The field of improvement is yet boundless, though the most beautiful of
the sciences are his handmaids. A vast change in the direction and ten-
dency of thought is that from the time when
" The sacred seer with scientific truth
In Q-recian temples taught the attentive youth,
With ceasles? change, how restless atoms pass
From life to life, a transmigrating mass,"
to that of to-day when men's thoughts are turned outward toward Nature
seeking the cause and explanation of its phenomena, not in the " influence
of the gods who haunt the lurid interspace of world on world, where
never creeps a cloud nor moves a wind, nor ever falls the least white
star of snow, nor ever lowest roll of thunder moans, nor sound of human
sorrow mounts to mar their sacred everlasting calm," — but in Nature
itself. Men are bound to question Nature, and where shall that question-
ing better begin than in the common school room, surrounded by proper
and appropriate influences, and under the guidance of skilled and trained
teachers. The work of such a teacher will be more than a mere per-
functory discharge of mechanical duties; such a teacher will never be
content with the orderly management and systematic communication of
other people's results. Agassiz recognized in 1871 the need of teachers,
trained not alone in the common branches, but in science, for how else
shall the attention, of hundreds of thousands whose alma mater is the
common or district school, otherwise learn to read the truths that lie like
diamonds on every hand, or nod smilingly out from every flower? Said
Louis Agassiz: "The times seems to have come when to the received
methods and approved topics of popular education, such branches of
physical and natural science should be added as have acquired real impor-
tance for the business of life during the last fifty years. There is only one
difficulty in the way of this most desirable result. There are no teachers
to be had, whatever efforts might be made to -introduce these studies at
present, and the demand is likely to become more pressing every day. It
would seem, therefore, to be the part of wisdom to consider what may be
done to prepare the way, and I hold it will be best to organize a special
normal school for the training of scientific teachers. The world will
require them everywhere before many years are past." It is the happy
636 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
lot of the teacher of to-day to live in one of those most eventful periods of
intellectual and moral history, when these oft-closed gates of discovery and
reform stand open at their widest. How long these good days may last
none can tell. It may be that the increasing power and range of the scien-
tific method, with its stringency of argument and constant check of fact,
may start the world on a more steady and continuous course of progress
than it has moved on heretofore. It is for those among the teachers of
this county whose minds are set on the advancement of education and
educational methods, to make the most of present opportunities, that even
when in future years progress is arrested, as checked it may be, it shall
be arrested at the higher level.
Aside from the qualifications that should be required in teachers, there
is another important feature of the common-school system that should by
no means be overlooked — that of the superintendency. It is now a rec-
ognized fact that a system, the workings of which are as complicated
as is our common-school system, needs some responsible head to which
the teacher in trouble or in doubt may appeal. This is found in the high-
est school officer in the county — the superintendent of schools. The very
nature of his task and the duties of his office make it imperative that he
should be a man of large experience and broad views, able both to advise
and corfect. It is an office indispensable to the workings of the system as
now constituted, and is more effective, and most affective when fitness is
considered as the sole recommendation. It is not only a notorious but a
disgraceful fact, that the aims of the office are defeated by party ends, and
its usefulness abridged by unwise partisan selections. From the school
and its direction, its teaching and its teacher, all questions of a political
nature should be banished. The school-room is not the proper place for
their discussion, and the selectioniof a superintendent on a political basis
alone, is a most flagrant error. To insure the efficiency of the office, men
of sterling worth, tried in school methods and able to direct, should be
elected, and the choice ought to be unanimous, and made with a view to
the highest interest of the patrons of the school.
Another feature of equal if not of greater importance is the retention of
good teachers. The educational interests of a county can usually be
safely intrusted to the care of professional teachers. Their avocation
makes them necessarily jealous of their reputation, and jealousy of this
kind almost invariably leads to greater and more enduring successes.
The eariier teachers, and this is not meant altogether disparagingly, kept
school rather than taught, and even then their duties were confiined to
a few months' task in winter or summer. Aside from the few paltry dol-
lars they saw in it, they had no interest in their occupation, and were con-
stantly leaving the teachers' ranks for other and more renumerative em-
ployment. It is a sad fact that this same evil prevails to-day, and the
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 637
necessities of education demand that it should be remedied. Greater per-
manency in the vocation of teaching must be guaranteed, or talent and
culture will be induced neither to enter or remain in the work. So long
as this remains a prevailing neglect, the schools will be shorn of their
greatest efBciency, and the development of youth into a nobler manhood
prove a failure. After city and township districts select suitable men and
women to take charge of schools, and find that they possess the requisite
qualifications, let them allow no moneyed nor any other consideration to
influence these successful teachers to withdraw from their tested positions.
Unless this principle more commonly obtain, continual experiment must
necessarily take the place of a true educational philosophy.
There is another feature rapidly becoming a part of the common school
system which promises the greatest results. That feature is the normal
institute work, now being annually inaugurated and conducted through a
term of weeks in this county. The system has been tested in other coun-
ties, and with the most flattering success. The amount of work com-
pressed into a short month's study in one of these summer normals is
truly astonishing. The county superintendent vigorously co-operates in
this matter, and thiis new life and enthusiasm is infused in the teachers
present.. To foster this new adjunct of popular education should now
become one of the main self-imposed duties of school officials through-
out the county, for thus will be given them the better classes of teachers
— classes ever becoming stronger in their avocation from both study and
experience. While a certain per cent of new teachers must continually be
presented it is not necessary that employment be given them because they
are cheaper. The country districts especially suffer from this inimical
policy, a policy which, while it annually saves a few dollars, ruins very
often the educational capabiUties of a ckild. The school-room blunders
of experienced teachers are often grievous and many; it is hence the
height of folly to subject a school to the immeasurably more disastrous
ones of totally inexperienced teachers.
Passing from these general considerations to the purely historical phase
of this chapter, it may be remarked that the progress in educational mat-
ters and interest has been commensurate with the material growth of the
county in other respects. The attention of the reader is now invited to^
summary of this growth.
It must not be supposed that while the pioneers who settled these prai-
ries and valleys were busy redeeming the wilderness and surrounding
themselves with domestic comforts, they forgot to plant the seeds of those
institutions among which they were reared. As soon as a sufficient num-
ber of children could be gathered together the school-house made its
appearance, rude at first, like the primitive houses of the settlers, but
adapted to the circumstances of the people in those times. Pioneer
538 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
school-houses were usually log structures warmed in winter by fire-places:
similar to those in the pioneer houses. Slanting shelves were used for
desks, and in front of these were benches made of slabs. These were for
the "big scholars." A row of similar benches stood in front of these upon
which the smaller pupils sat. The buildings were sometimes without
doors, and paper was made to subserve the purposes of window glass.
The books then in use were such as would not be tolerated now. , Web-
ster, Dilworth, Pike, Daboll or Murray were their authors. These books-
were well adapted to the capacities of those who had mastered the
branches of which they treated, but not to those of beginners. The meth-
ods of teaching were then quite different from the present. The early set-
tlers, as had been their fathers before them, were reared with full faith in
the maxim, "spare the rod and spoil the child." The first teachers were
usually anxious that pupils should not spoil on their hands, and many old
men retain a vivid remembrance of what school discipline was in their
boyhood.
An account of the exercises during half a day of school in the olden
time would be amusing, though, in some respects, it is an open question
whether modern customs are all great improvements. Many, can remember
that when word was passed around, "master's comin'!" a grand scramble
for seats occurred, so that every one was found in his place and a suspi-
cious kind of order prevailed when the august dispenser of wisdom en-
tered. It must be admitted, however, that notwithstanding the miserable
text-books then in use, and the, in many respects, awkward methods of
teaching which prevailed, the schools of that period furnished some axcel-
lent scholars; perhaps, almost a larger proportion than those of the pres-
ent time. It is not meant that people then knew more ; indeed, if the
truth must be told, they knew far less. But ability to conquer intricate
problems, and without aid, is almost a thing of the past in the country
school. More that is really necessary to and applicable in life is now
taught, to be sure, and herein lies the great superiority of the common
school of to-day.
It is not necessary here to state where or whep the first school was
taught, and the first school-house built. For facts of this nature the reader
is referred to the chapter on old settlers and settlements, where will be
found quite a complete account of the facts relative to the early schools..
It remains now to call attention to the subjoined statistics*, the study of
which will present the county's educational advantages and resources as
no words can.
♦The matter composing this table was Icindly furnished by county superintendent, Miss-
M. Maude Archibald.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNf V,
539'
STATISTICAL TABLE.
TEACHERS,
SCHOOL
HOUSES.
Ift. of BubdisttictB
or same ot inde-
pendent dist'cts.
the latter marked
With an *
Salary per
liidnth.
Between 5
and Zl
yre of age.
Nuiiber.
o
•Wearins
Independent No. 1.
Fairview
*EmerBon
*Tabor
♦Sandiland
'Osfrorn Valley. . .
♦joxworthy
•Farm Creek... .
♦South Grove
Plckefell
Maple Grove
•Silver Creek
•Mt. Vernon
♦Center Line
Burr Oak
♦Pleasant Hill....
JFalnnt Grove
Forrester
♦Snnbeain
♦©olden Hill
♦West Liberty
♦Slynn
^etal
district No. 2....
♦White Cloud No. 2
♦HcClain
♦District No. 4..
♦District No. 6..
Keyptone
♦Hillsdale
♦Sunrise
center
Bozelder
WnwoodTp
Pjatteville Tp
Bsrrett......
fngraham Center.
♦Hastings
♦Anderson
Union Villey
♦Indian Creek
Raiirie Valley. .
•BdVer
JGltenwood
♦Benton
JBIm Grove
♦Elicelsior
♦Prairie Creek...
Hifrles Tp
♦Eeypt
♦Spring Valley...
.♦Cfentef' ■.■.!!■.■.". ■.".'.
§{, Mary's
Mr
nfeSsaHt Valley .
♦Pleasant Grove. .
Summary . .. .
m
l64 20|469 49 99
830.00
32.00
60.00
42.00
28.00
30.00
35.00
32.50
823.00
25.00
33.75
31. 2.^
34.00
29.66
33.50
25 00
25.00
35.00
io.iin
21.00
.31.00
33.00
83.00
35.00
35.00
40.00
34.00
as. 50
25.00
29.00
28.no
28.75
33.00
32.00
27.00
43.00
38 00
35.00
30.00
25.00
2a!o6
35.00
33 00
25 00
32.50
53.00
35!66
37.00
82.50
33!66
29.00
35.00
35 00
35.0(1
36.00
75.00
35.00
28.00
45.00
27.00
35 00
34 00
27.00
29 00
27.60
35.00
45.00
30.00
'2606
31.00
30 00
46.00
35. on
26.00
29.00
28 on
28.00
25.00
27.00
36.66
35'66
72
190
17
18
95
14
21
12
387
34
34
12
9
1P5
31
43
156
19
18
22
190
21
19
17
18
405
37
37
15
19
148
37
20
16
28
33
166
21
23
23
26
46
50
155
37
56
68
44
142
22
67
56
30
30
138
26
14
40
26
28
417
71
48
47
24
240
55
30
44
45
'219
32
13
33
S2.00
2- 66
1.06
1
1.30
1.65
1.79
1,791 2,230 3,617
3.66
1
1.78
1 27
2.37
2.18
1
1
3.07
.80
1 25
1
.94
3.00
6.40
.48
1.67
1.59
2.00
1.84
1 31
70
1.26
1.13
1.35
2.50
1.33
1 11
1.45
1.31
1.16
1 33
1 50
1.47
1.50
1.26
3.80
2.04
2.89
2.79
2.18
.79
1
1.60
1
1.57
1
1.80
S 430
S 30
3,600
6,600
800
250
1,000
250
800
3,000
1,000
600
1,000
300
im
400
500
700
600
400
400
300
800
400
400
100
400
400
60C
200
1,400
600
1,600
3,U00
800
200
4,500
400
600
700
500
500
15,000
600
400
425
4,650
7,500
500
500
4tlO
500
3,700
500
800
1,000
100
3
16
150
10
100
100
100
26
100
25
'"7
12
., 71 7 877,305 Sl,3,54 123 8,13,300
$ 2.70O-
600'
3,66»
100-
3,900
400
35
f This thonld be 16.25.
540 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
TEMPERANCE.
There is a suggestion of the completest misery in the bare mention of
this word. That not only men, but women, in an advanced period of civ-
ilization,—men and women who not only profess but very frequently act
upon a high code of morals — should indulge in fostering a love for strong
drink, with scarcely a protest against it, is one of the most startling facts in
moral history. It is, however, perfectly normal and in no degree incon-
sistent with the doctrine of natural moral perceptions, while it opens out
fields^f ethical inquiry of very deep, though painful interest. It is here
proper, perhaps, to explain more fully the meaning of this last sentence,
but in its explanation is involved, in not a few cases, the cause of a life
made unhappy by drink. By natural moral perceptions are meant here-
ditary proclivities, hereditary likes and dislikes. If, in the modern pscy-
chology there is any one fact thoroughly substantiated it is that mental
habit and individual tastes not only may be, but actually are, transmitted
through several or long lines of generations. And among these may be
included diseases and the germs of disease, aberrant mental peculiarites
and tastes for sensual indulgences or enjoyments that are in themselves
demoralizing and damning. From time immemorial men have indulged
in the fruit of the vine or its product, have sedulously employed intoxicat-
ing beverages, first as stimulants, then for the mental pleasure or exhilira-
tion they confer, and why? Oftentimes through hereditary desires, and
then again from sheer determination to cultivate a taste for these bever-
ages on the recommendation or example of others. And so the tide has
ever increased, and with it has increased the amount of human woe,
wrong and crime. Vain have been all attempts to stay the tide ; vain
have been protestations and entreaties ; vain has been prohibitory legisla-
tion ; in the natural order of things the disease — for it is nothing else — has
fastened itself upon the human race, and there is no outside power that
can stay it.
Locked in the heart of the victim of strong drink is the only safeguard,
the only potent agency to stay the tide, and that agency is self-will. We
may hedge the sufferer around with the arm of the law, may bring to his
, aid all the moral forces we can muster, may present the incentive of vir-
tue or the example of pure living, all of these would be in vain until the
man rises in his might and asserts his manhood, his power over himself.
Th^ mightiest barrier a man can oppose to the sway of passion or to the
bent of inbred desire is self-knowledge. The old Greek proverb of "kno^y
thyself," meant more than a mere index to a true philosophy of the mind;
it pointed to the only sure safeguard within the possession of man against
crime and against self-abuse in any direction.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 541
Sad, indeed, has been the temperance liistory of the human race. Who
could tell the myriads of brave hearts and noble minds which have fallen
as victims to its absence. Lives untold have been wrecked, possibilities
unmeasurable have been defeated, promises without number brought to
nought, hopes on which rested the joys of millions have been wrested
away, claims which pure hearts only could meet have gone unsatisfied,
and homes without number have been depleted of all that is bright or
holy in life. There was little exaggeration after all in the beautiful hyper-
bole of Hume, when writing of this same topic, who said : "To tell the
ravages of this curse it would require the heavens for a canvass, the oceans
for color, the forests for a pencil and a Job for the artist."
To measure the value of an opinion or a system it is not alone sufficient
to examine the ideals of its originators, it requires rather a knowledge of
how far those ideals have been realized among the people. Its value as a
savior must be reckoned by the work done, rather than the good inten-
tions or hopes of the founders. Measured by this criterion little has been
done in Mills county. From almost its earliest formation there have
been organizations — church and special— and what has been accomplished?
Nothing! The Washingtonian movement swept over the county and
many, for the time being, were gathered in its folds ; it was gone, and the
safeguards went with it. The creeds have been tried, but are powerless
to stay the cravings of the unholy thirst, or take away the inborn desire.
The Good Templars have had their day, — but refusing the privileges of
their order to those who most needed their help — forming themselves into
a kind of righteous aristocracy — aside from ostentatious bluster — and
blunder — they accomphshed nothing. The strong arm of the law has
been appealed to, only to be overwhelmingly defeated by both grand and
petit juries ; the interest and religion of men have alike been sought with
a corresponding result. Temperance congresses and conferences have
met, talked, prayed, passed resolutions— some of which never found the
light — and were forgotten. Names innumerable have been presented to
legislative bodies in the form of petitions, and when the opportunity came
to vote for rum it was eagerly seized, and their record on the petition for-
gotten. Away with these ideas! They have resulted in more hypocrites
and made more pseudo-reformers than all the cloisters of Europe ever
sent forth. What is needed is action like that of the women of Ohio,
who, when her recreant brother trembled and excused himself, went forth
axe in hand to do valiant battle. Out of the heart of Ohio came the im-
petus that has saved more men than all the temperance organizations, and
women led the van. If some of her sex lead men to ruin, there are
thousands more who may lead them to virtue and sobriety. They are the
only bright feature in the temperance history of this county, and to them
must be given the praise for all that has been wrought. Such organiza-
,542 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
tions as now exist in the county may be found in the history of the respec-
tive towns to which they belong. This is one of the questions which,
like the ghost in Hamlet, will not down. Look at it in whatever light one
may, it possesses a vast political importance in the sense of public econ-
omy. Where to engage it, and how, is a problem that can only be solved by
•concerted action at the ballot box. The evil finds its strongest entrench-
ment in legislative halls, and to be successfully attacked, the onset must
be made at the polls and the election of men of known, pronounced, and
uncompromising temperance views should be placed in legislative positions.
True, this is not, and ought not to be made the one feature that shall com-
mand the elective franchise, but it is an essential without which no man
should receive a ballot.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
The groves were God's first temples. Ere man learned
To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave, ,
And spread the roof above them — ere he framed
The lofty vault, to gather and roll back
The sound of anthems^n the darkling wood.
Amidst the cool and silence he knelt down
And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks
And supplications. — Bryant.
"No man liveth to himself alone." So reasoned those God-fearing
men of old when first they came to Mills county. They came, not to
old and well established towns, where are found the "lofty vaults," but to
regions sparsely settled; not among men accustomed to homes of luxury
and elegance, but to farming districts, where now first were beginning to
"be heard the hum of honest industry and faithful toil. The men among
whom they came had little in common with the object of their mission.
They were men whose sole thought was of broad acres and material
wealth. The travel-stained preacher of that olden time, strong in consti-
tution and vigorous in mind, stronger still in faith and powerful in prayer,
sought out these sturdy men and brought to their very doors the consola-
tion of the gospel. For these very messages hearts were aching, and
many were the souls forced to cry out: '-Oh that I knew where I might
find him!" The seeds of virtue have been sown by a good Providenee
in all hearts, and they will spring up everywhere to His glory, if carefully
iiurtured. They are not wholly the result of learning and cultivation, and
it is not only in old and refined communities that the lovely flowery of an
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 543
■exalted morality shed their perfume. The early men of God knew this
principle and recognized, too, the importance of its culture, and so devoutly
addressed themselves to the task. It is well-nigh impossible to correctly
estimate the value of the work of these men ; to estimate their influence
on the character of this growing county. Welcomed everywhere, for
the news they brought from other homes, as well as for the " good tidings
of great joy," they went from place to place, greeting with smiles and
cheerful words the old; with counsel or reproof the young. Many and
varied were the duties devolving upon them. A sermon here, a burial
yonder; now a wedding, and then summoned to the bedside of a penitent
sinner, what wonder the coming of these men was attended with bles-
sings.
It is the essence of Christianity that it be aggressive. It wars upon vice
in all its forms, and brooks not even the appearance of evil. Checked,
and for the time being thwarted in one direction, it only gathers energy
for a greater onset in another, prepares and plumes itself for a more sub-
lime flight. If men will not embrace its offered salvation, it goes to them
with invitation and warning. This missionary element of Christianity
alone enabled its propagation under circumstances so trying; and the men
who were its embassadors were thoroughly imbued with the same spirit
that sent Paul into Asia and Luke to the Gentiles. It was the same spirit
that prompted those noble men of God to hie them away to the jungles
of Asia, or brave the wilds of Africa — men whose names make bright
the pages of the church miltant, and will add a brighter lustre to the
church triumphant. What though its story lacks somewhat of the tragic
brilliancy of political intrigue and plotting; what though it has not startled
the world by those grand discoveries that make science so great a power
in the land — discoveries that enable us to tell the myriad stars that people
space, that impress us with wonder at the power and greatness of the In-
finite! What though it partakes of the nature of none of them? Has it
not brought to bear on man's intelligence the highest motives to virtue?
Let the records of the past years testify to its power. Let the hallowed
memories that stretch aback down the years of the past answer. This,
too, was done when gilded churches were not ; when the elect of God in
the common-school room listened to the life-giving word from the lips of
men sent of God. And who were these men? Were they not morally
brave to dare the scoffs of an untried and untempered west? Were they
not men whose love for the fallen outweighed every personal considera-
tion so that they gave all for Christ? Where was their power? Was it
not in that element of a truly noble character that men prize above all else
— sympathy.'' Ave, and that was the pripciple which made the Son of
God so welcome a visitant in the lowly homes of Palestine. It was a prin-
ciple which bound their own hearts, as it did Christ's, to those in suffering
544 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
or distress. Here in these scenes of toil and strife, afar from the busy life
of great cities, that mysterious power gave these holy men access to hearts
and homes; an access that paved the way to conquests greater than an
Alexander or a Napoleon ever achieved — conquests that marked their
track, not with fire and blood and sword, but with tears, and vows, and
resolutions which have culminated in (many glorious lives. What was
done the residents of this county know full well. What to do, the line of
duty plainly indicates. How well their trust has been executed, how
nobly their mission accomplished, none so well know, as those still living
who enjoyed their ministration. In view of the grand work so well done
under the guidance of Providence, we may exclaim in the language Of the
great apostle Paul: "O, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways
past finding out."*
Nevertheless, there were some distinctive features attaching to the
preaching of the gospel in the earlier days. The work of the ministry
was as much itinerant in its character as was' ever the mission of Paul.
There was painfully evident the want of the permanent and regular moral
influence of settled religious institutions. Hence arose the necessity for
annual demonstrations, or special efforts which are now denominated re-
vivals) and which owe their origin both to the scarcity of places for wor-
ship and the itinerant character of the preaching. The Methodists of
that early day took advantage of this feature and in establishing the cir-
cuit, laid the foundations for future permanency. The circuit rider has
been made immortal by the writings of Eggleston, and however over-
drawn his descriptions may seem to be, they are quite faithful pictures of
what has once been a real state of affairs. The men who thus presented
the gospel had an eloquence all their own. Their fame travelled before
them. The people, naturally sensitive and enthusiastic, were readily
moved by the vehement declamations of these pioneer preachers, and
their audiences were alternately dissolved in tears or awed to profound
feeling. There was a boundless field for strong, earnest, and unlettered
eloquence, and they improved the opportunity. They had little to expect
from pecuniary support, and less from that prescribed reverence and in-
fluence, which can appertain only to a stated ministry. Hence, it not
infrequently happened that they won respect and gained influence through
personal encounter; and if successful, completely gained the hearts and
heads of their uncouth audience. Ambition, intrigue, honors and loaves
did not then, as now, seem the prime motives to labor. Their task was
at once often thankless, attended by exposure, and with little prospect of
emolument.
Amid such circumstances as these and under influences as discourag-
*Romans, xi, 34.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 545
ing did the religious history of Mills county find root. Among the names
of those who early contributed to the organization of the moral forces of
the county are those of the missionaries, Cotton and Witter, Rev. Mr.
Armstrong, Peter Cooper, and others whose names appear in another
place. Upon these men and such as these did the rehgious interests of
the county depend, and right well did they discharge their task. Numer-
ous churches have been founded in all portions of the county, a brief chro-
nological history of which here follows.*
The first church to be established was the Christian church of Wah-
bonsie. The article of organization is very brief, bears the date of
March 9, 1853, and is as follows: "The disciples of Rawles town-
ship, Mills county, Iowa, knowing it to be their privilege and duty to live
together in a church baptistry do give themselves to the Lord and one
another, taking the gospel of Christ for the rule of faith and practice."
This confession of faith and article of organization was drawn up by
Elder John Mullis, who was its first pastor. His residence was some
fifty miles away, and his visits to the charge numbered only two or three
in each year, while the services continued, when commenced, for two and
sometimes three weeks. The names of those who original!}' sub-
scribed to the above article of organization are Thompson Blair, H. P.
Allison, Henry Cotreal, James McCord, Benjamin A. McCord, Christian
Goodwin, Susan Cotreal, Elizabeth Estes, Mary Allison, Ellen Hayes,
Jemima Hayes, Elizabeth Kerns, Mary McCord, Sarah Blair, Allen
Watson, Michael Kerns, Rachel McCord, Charles Utterback, Garrett
Dennison, Talbert Haye^ Nancy Linnville, and Elizabeth Linnville. In
1870 a church building was erected costing one thousand doUars. The
dedicator}' sermon was preached by Rev. M. Delevan. July 11, 1872,
the church was dissolved by mutual consent, but on the 14th of the same
month was again organized, forty-two of the old members re-entering the
organization. Since the society was first founded there has been a total
membership of two hundred persons, many of whom have moved away,
others have died, and a few have been expelled. It, at present, numbers
twenty-five persons. The last pastor to minister to the church was the
Elder Simeon Wright.
United Brethren in Christ, of Indian Creek township. This
society was organized in the year 1855, with an original membership of
eight persons. They were Ephraim Cary, Deborah Cary, Shepherd
Gary and wife, William Hutchens and wife, and Mary J. Crouch. The
society is in good condition but owns no house of worship. The pastors
have been Henry Cumber, J. M. Dosh, P. P. Landon, John Burt, J. M.
*The churches of the towns and villages are here omitted. They will be found else-
where.
15
546 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
DufEeld, James Hubbard, Richard Armstrong, William Cramson, and
the present pastor, Rev. Philip Surface. The membership is now twen-
ty-six.
Methodist Protestant Church of Rawles township, was organ-
ized as Mt. Olive Mission June 16, 1860, and called, in connection with
other points. Silver Creek circuit, after August 8, 1868. As originally
founded the members, among others, were Luke Tipton, Mary Tipton,
Saul Tipton, F. M. Wilson, Jane Wilson, Daniel Shuman; Mary J. Shu-
man, J. M. McKesson_and wife, John Day and wife, John Bratton and
wife, George Foster and Agnes A. Foster. In 1873 a frame church was
erected, costing the society twenty-one hundred dollars, and in the follow-
ing year it was set apart for divine service by E. S. Brown of the Iowa
Conference of the Methodist Protestant church. The society has enjoyed
the pastorate of J. M. Young, William Tipton, J. C. Hunt, William Van
Vleet, S. A.Tarkington, W. W.Paul, John McCollister, S. A. Talbet,
George W. Robinson, D. T. Beckwith, J. McCauley and S; C. Child.
The present membership is seventy. The first official members were J.
M. Young, pastor; William Tipton, secretary; J. M. McKesson, local
preacher; S. M. Wilson, class leader and now secretary of Iowa Confer-
ence M. P. church; J. A. Byers, class leader; and stewards, George Fos-
ter, John Day and J. A^ Byers. The church was organized by William
Tipton and has become one of both interest and influence.
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints of Oak township, was organized in October, 1861, by Elder
Charles Derry. The members originally forming this society were
Mary Britain, Mary A. Britain, Eliza A. Britain, John Sivers, Mary A.
Sivers, Frederick Wellborn, Ann Wellborn, Henry Kisby, (Elizabeth
Harmstone, Ann Leader, Frederick Cunington, Henry Cureden and
others. The services of the society were for a long time held at the
homes of members, and at other times at a hall rented in the city of Glen-
wood. The membership is at present about twenty. The pastors have
been Charles Derry, Henry Kisby, Henry Curedon, William Britain, G.
E. Deuel, E. F. Hyde and Garrett Walling. The rise of the original
church to the successor of which this society belongs may be elsewhere
found in this volume. The organization of which the Oak township church
is a member dates from April 6, 1860. From that time to April 6, 1881,
its principles have been disseminated in every part of the world, until at
that date its membership numbered twelve thousand eight hundred
twenty-seven souls. It was reorganized by Joseph Smith, the son of the
martyred president of the original organization, though long years after
Brigham Young led the majority into apostasy, and introduced the inno-
vation of polygamy, an innovation with which this society holds no sym-
pathies.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 547'
Fairview M. E. Church, of Rav/les township, was organized August
25, 1861. No names of original members have been preserved, and no
record of the pastors. It is therefore impossible to present the reader
with these interesting items. The present membership is eleven, though
there are some thirty names enrolled on the class/ book. For a number
of years a Sabbath school was sustained during the summer months, but
efforts in that direction ceased in 1878.
The Church of St. Bonefatzins, of Oak township, was organized
in the year 1865, with John Finken and wife, Matthias Finken and wife,
Matthias Kuhl and wife, Peter Kuhl and wife, Nicholas Kuhl and wife,
Peter Lich and wife, John Weber and wife, John Little and wife, Mary
Kirsch, A. Coll and wife, P. G. Linden wife and Michael Jaspers and
wife as original members. In the same year a frame church was built at
a cost of eight hundred dollars, and dedicated the same year by Father
Daxacher, of Omaha. The pastor now ministering to the church is
Father O'Reilly. The membership comprises twenty-five families.
Salem Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, of Oak township,
was organized in the year 1867. The original members were John H.
Plumer, C. Plumer, William Plumer, Henry F. Plumer, F. Plumer, F.
Bicher, Henry Saar and wife, Charles Green and wife, Henry Green and
wife, H. Spetman, F. Spetman, H. Pusa, F. Spelling, John,. Fred and
Hans Shoning, Hans and Henry Kruse, John Dietcher, Jacob Young and
John Saar. In the year that the church was organized a brick edifice
was erected for purposes of worship, at a cost of three thousand five
hundred dollars. In the same year it was dedicated to Almighty God by
Charles Hoofmaster. The pastor is L. Fesner, who ministers to a con-
gregation comprising some thirty families.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Rawles township, on section
29, was organized in 1871. The original members were William Kester-
son and wife, Hannah Utterbach, Elizabeth Utterback, Celia Troth,
Isaac Ventis and wife, Elizabeth Kesterson, J. B. Falden and wife, M. A.
S. McPherron, and others. A frame church is owned by the society,
built by William Kesterson, but it has never been formally dedicated.
The first pastor was the Rev. Mr. Kelly, who organized the church. A
successful Sunday-school has been in operation for a number of years,
and adds to the interest and work of the church.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of White Cloud township dates
its organization from January, J STi. The original membership consisted
of Thomas P. Kayton, Celia A. Kayton, E. P. Cook, Mary Cook, Isaac
Miller, Susannah Vist, J. S. Tindall, Susannah Tindall, George Hilton,
Mary Hilton and J. C. Miller. The society owns no church, and wor-
ships in the Sunbeam school-house. The pastors have been E. W. Sage
Ezra Cary, John Elliott, William Patterson, L. W. Archer, Rev. Manary
548 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
W. F. Marh and C. E. Lynn. The church now numbers twenty-two,
and maintains a Sabbath-school in connection with its other services.
Elm Grove Christian Church of St. Mary's township dates its
existence from January, 1871. The original members were Samuel
Barston, E. Barstonn, D. D. Wilson, Sarah H. Wilson, Aaron Town-
send and wife, Henry McLauftin and wife, Reuben Gillen and wife, Han-
nah Clark, E. Wilson and wife, Mrs. Mary Pierce, Mrs. Mach and others.
The society possessing no church holds its services in the school-house
and at private dwellings. The pastors have been W. A. Denton, and
elders Miller, Pursel, Warn, Hardeman and George Wagner. The
membership is now eleven.
These various societies, together with the city churches, have all been
alive to the religious interests of the county. It would be simply impos-
sible to attempt to measure the vast good the}' have accomplished, the
peace they have brought to minds disturbed on account of sin and its
consequences, to understand how fully and completely they have shed
light into darkened minds, and to value the lives they have recovered to
humanity and to God. Though each holds its peculiar dogmas, and
adopts each its special creed, they have, in the main, been united in their
efforts to discharge the trusts devolving them. Knowing full well that
controversy leads men away from religion and things divine, they have
contented themselves with that strongest of all arguments, and the one
most productive of good — faithful and christian living. The years of the
past only afford an earnest of what may be accomplished yet in the
future, and to still greater results should the religious element of the
county address its energies. These brief sketches of churches cannot
fail to bring to mind many incidents and scenes, some painful, others
blessed, in the lives of many who may read them, for most are identified
with some one or another of them. But they ought also to awaken them
to lives of renewed and consecrated endeavors.
CRIMINAL HISTORY.
The record of crime in the county, could it all be written, would form a
volume by itself. By crime is meanf all that does violence to the laws
of the land, the laws imposed by custom, or those sensibilities to which
protection is insured by the moral sense of the community. Taken in
this view the record is both long and startling. But in the narrower
sense of personal violence and grevious personal injury, the county can
by no means claim immunity from crimes of both a revolting and horrible
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 549
nature. Some of these have received the attention of grand juries, and
aroused public sentiment to a point of high excitement, and only occasion-
ally have the perpetrators been brought to justice. It has almost seemed
that the blood of the innocent have called in vain for vengeance. The
wheels of human justice revolve but slowly, and rarely surely. Occa-
sionally has justice been meted, but with a sparing hand ; at other times
the most fearful crimes have been consummated, one in the history of this
county especially, implicating many yet living, and have been compassed
under the auspices of those riotous gatherings known as lynchers. The
Lawn case will long be remembered as the most dastardly and unwar-
ranted crime ever perpetrated in the state. No matter how men may
hope to excuse themselves, or to stay the reproaches of conscience, a
deed of this kind must lead to long hours of remorse and self-condemna-
tion. And the surer still will this occur when it is remembered that an
armed mob of many men attacked two defenseless fellows, enticed them
from the jurisdiction of another county to this, and without the semblance
of justice or the consciousness of right proceeded summarily to hang
them. It is to be regretted that the facts in this celebrated case cannot
be gleaned in order to give its history, for crime of this nature deserves
naught but the severest condemnation, even to the extreme penalty of the
law.
It is not pleasant to dwell upon crime in any form, and less than all
other crimes, the crime of murder. There have been given therefore
the three most celebrated cases in the county's history, the facts of some
of which are scarcely known to even many who were residents at the
time they were committed. A deep and abiding hatred of these forms of
violence is one of the best features of public sentiment to-day, and the
law-loving citizen could but wish his county had no such record. And
yet it must be recorded that through the negligence of officials and the
law's delay there has never been a single conviction for murder in the
first degree, and not one judicial execution, while there are several clear
cases of homicide on record in the county. May the future be free from
crime of this class, and the fair name of Mills foreyermore untainted.
THE MURDER OF JOHN KRETZINGER.
In November of 1856, William Winters shot and killed John Kretzinger
in Glenwood. The men had been about the town all day of the 20th,
eating and drinking together, and as usual for men under such circum-
stances, had some misunderstanding or difficulty in the forenoon. By-
standers had supposed the matter amicably adjusted. In the afternoon
Winters seemed to be anxious to shoot some one, and handled his revolver
in a manner so careless as to endanger the lives of persons on the streets.
Several parties attempted to get possession of the dangerous weapon, but
550 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
were deterred from fear of personal danger, Finally Kretzinger walked
towards Winters with both hands up, saying, " He will not shoot ; I'll get
it away from him." As Kretzinger approached Winters fired, the ball
taking effect in the left temple. Kretzinger lay in a precarious state until
that night, and then quietly passed away. Winters was indicted in the
February term of the district court, 1857, and plead not guilty, and filed
his plea to that effect. The trial began at a special term of the district
court, held at Glenwood, commencing June 2, 1857. The presiding judge
was E. H. Sears, of Sidney, Fremont county, Iowa. The prosecuting
attorney was Hon. J. W. Russell; the counsel for the defense being W.
S. Graff, Hon. Ben. Rector, and J. A. Harvey.
After the organization of the court the proceedings began by impan-
nelling the following jury : Julius Barnes, William Madison, Thomas E.
Burns, George Clark, N. A. West, J. L. Shields, Harvey Summers, Moses
Mumpstead, Henry Raines, Edward Gilliland, Peter Hunter, and Charles
Kesterson. After the reading of the indictment the counsel for the prose-
cution addressed the jury as follows : ,
'■'■Gentlemen of the fury:
"The oath which you have just taken imposes upon you grave duties,
and hearty and solemn responsibilities. The prisoner at the bar stands
before you charged with one of the highest crimes known to human laws;
he is charged with having, with malice aforethought, taken away from a
fellow being that life which God can alone give, and alone has a right to
take. He has been arraigned and plead not guilty to the indictment, anS
put himself upon the county for trial. For him, in this instance, you are
that county; he is in your charge, and you have sworn to make true de-
liverance between him and the state, and a true verdict to render accord-
ing to the law and evidence given you. It is your duty to divest your-
selves of all prejudice and bias, and enter upon the discharge of your very
important duties, with perfect impartiality, and to decide this cause ac-
cording to the law and the evidence as given in court. You should not
let your sympathies for the deceased, nor your resentment, nor abhorence
of the homicide committed in your midst, influence you in the least, but
should let all your acts be squared by impartialit\' and candor. You have
important and delicate duties to perform, both to the accused and to so-
ciety. While you should be careful that no feelings of hatred, spite or
illwill towards the accused should influence you in your deliberations,
you should be equally careful that no feeling of sympathy for the prisoner
move you from the strict line of duty. The peace, morality and safety of
society, depend upon a firm and efficient execution of the laws and the
prompt and impartial administration of justice. And while you do justice
to the prisoner you should not be unmindful of society, and of the obliga-
tion which you have assumed to it by the oath you have just taken."
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 551
Counsel here proceeded to take the evidence in the case, deducing sub-
stantially the facts as first above given. After the opening argument by
the counsel for the prosecution, the defense addressed the jury, resting
their case upon the ground of a "delirious and insane condition of the mind
of the defendant at the time of the commission of the deed under which
he acted, superinduced by the continual indulgence in the use of intoxicat-
ing liquor for several days previous thereto, connected with the series of
petty annoyances and provocations of those by whom he was sur-
rounded."
After the conclusion of the addresses to the jury the court charged that
body as follows:
^'■Gentlemen: The office you are now called on to exercise is the most
solemn duty that ever falls to the lot of man to perform, and calls for your
serious, calm and deliberate consideration. The life of a human life is in
your hands; by your verdict his destiny for time will be fixed. Prejudice,
hatred or illwill against the accused on the one hand, and human sympa-
thy on the other, should have no influence on your minds in arriving at
your final decision. Judge as you would be judged is your high and res-
ponsible duty. Remember that the spirit of the law is not vindictive.
While it is its first object to protect society from the vicious, it is not so
much its object to punish as to reform the delinquent and protect and
preserve itself. But the first great object of !aw is to protect the lives
and persons of those placed under its care, and where it fails in this it fails
in the primary objects, for which it was instituted, and to do this, to an-
swer the end of its creation, proper, salutary and adequate judgment must
be inflicted, strongly, yet justly and mercifully inflicted. And it is your
duty gentleman to apply these considerations to the case now to be sub-
mitted to your decision.
"With the facts in that case the court has nothing to do. The law has
made you the exclusive judges of the facts and I cheerfully leave them
where the law has wisely placed them. But the law makes it the duty
of the court to lay before you the rules ot law by which these facts are to
be governed. And to that law your attention is now called.
"And first: It is not every killing that the law calls murder. There is
such a thing" as justifiable homicide — as where it is done in self-defense,
and is actually necessary to protect oneself from death or great injury, or
where it is done in the protection of a member of his family, or becomes
necessary to enforce or execute the laws, and it may also be justifiable
under certain circumstances, even in the protection of property. And
. again, killing may in some cases be excusable — as where a man commits
the act when not in the possession of his, reason — a man is not accounta-
ble for his acts when actually insane — as a temporary insanity produced
by his own wilful act. But
552 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
"Second: Killing a human being with malice aforethought is murder —
malice is the essence of all crime. But malice may be express or implied.
Express malice is where one out of actual ill-will deliberately takes the
life of another. Implied malice is where one without manifesting any
particular ill-will deliberately kills another, or where he does an act show-
ing a reckless disregard of consequences, the immediate and natural
result of which is the death of a human being — or where he does the act
in the deliberate attempt to commit another crime; and by our statute
that crime must be a felony. By malice aforethought, is simply meant
that the accused actually formed the determination to kill the person
alleged to have been murdered. The length of time for which such deter-
mination had been formed is immaterial; it is enough if the accused at the
time of the commission of the act, without sufficient cause, actually
intended to kill the deceased. But
"Third: To constitute murder in the first degree, there must be not
only malice aforethought as above explained, but there must be a wilful,
deliberate, and premeditated killing. The term deliberate is here the
controlling word that distinguishes the first from the second degree of
murder; and it is to be taken in contrast with the word haste or the want
of time to deliberate — and without this element of deliberation your ver-
dict should not be for murder in the first degree. But the time necessary
to form a deliberate intent, is a matter left wholly for your consideration,
and from your knowledge of the operations of mind as applied to the cir-
cumstances of this case you are to decide. But
"Fourth: It is contended on the part of the defendant that the prisoner
at the time of committing the act, was in a state of mind that rendered
him incapable of forming a deliberate intent or determination, and there-
fore that he could not be guilty of the crime alleged, not being account-
able for his acts at the time. This renders it necessary for me to define
the law to some extent governing such a state of facts. And to do this
it will be necessary to give the legal distinction between delirium tremens
and intoxication. For although delirium tremens is the result of intem-
perance, and therefore in some sense is voluntarily brought on, yet it is
distinguishable, and by the law is distinguished from that madness which
sometimes accompanies drunkenness. If a person suffering under- delir-
ium tremens is so far insane as to render him irresponsible, the law does
not punish him for any crime he may commit. But if a person commits
a crime while intoxicated, under the immediate influence of liquor, the
law does punish him. It is no excuse, but rather an aggravation of his
offense, that he first deprives himself of reason before he does the act.
There would be no security for life and property if men could commit
crimes with impunity, provided they would first make themselves drunk
enough to cease to be reasonable beings. And, therefore, it may be a
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 553
■ery important inquiry in this cas^ whether this homicide was committed
vhile the prisoner was suffering under that marked disease of delirium
remens, or in a fit of drunken madness. If the prisoner, while sane, made
timself intoxicated, and while intoxicated committed a murder by reason
if insanity, which was one of the consequences of that intoxication, then
le is responsible in point of law, and must be punished. This is as clearly
he law of the land as the other rule, which exempts from punishment
cts done under delirium tremens. It may sometimes be difficult to de-
ermine under which rule the accused comes. But it is the duty of the
ury to ascertain from the evidence, on which side this case falls, and to
lecide accordingly;
"It may be material for you to know on which party is the burden of
iroof in this part of the case. It is incumbent in the prisoner to satisfy
ou that he was insane when he performed the fatal act, for the law pre-
umes every man sane until the contrary is proved. But if the contrary
ias been proved, the law does not presume that the insanity of the pris-
ner arose from any particular cause, to make out this necessary element
1 it. For the charge then assumes this form, that the prisoner committed
murder, for which, though inSane, he is responsible, because his insan-
y was produced by, and accompanied a state of intoxication. The state
lust satisfy you of these facts, which are necessary to the guilt of the
risoner in point of law. If you are convinced that the prisoner was in-
ane to such an extent as to render him irresponsible, you will acquit him ;
nless you are convinced that his insanity was preceded by intoxication
nd accompanied that state, in which case, if you are satisfied from the
vidence that he committed the act, as alleged in the indictment, with mal-
;e aforethought, or that it was a wilful, deliberate, and premeditated act,
rithout provocation, you will find him guilty of murder in the first degree,
iut again:
"Fifth: It is contended by the defense that if the prisoner was sane,
nd therefore accountable for his acts; still that the crime was committed
y the prisoner while smarting under provocation so recent and so strong,
lat the prisoner might be considered as not being at the time, in his then
ate of mind, the master of his own understanding, and, therefore, could
3t be guilty of murder, and if the jury are so satisfied from the evidence
lat this allegation is established, they cannot find the prisoner guilty of a
gher crime than that of manslaughter, for it is a well settled rule of law
tat, where death ensues in heat of blood, on immediate provocation,
ere having been no previous malice, the offense is manslaughter, and
ly assault in general,, made with violence or circumstances of indignity
)on a man's person, if it be resented immediately by the death of the
fgressor, and it appears that the party acted in the /leaf of blood, upon
at provocation, will reduce the crime to manslaughter, or if the deceased
554 HISTORY OF MII,LS COUNTY.
is approaching the prisoner in a menacing attitude, showing an evident
design of assaulting him, and the prisoner, without premeditation and in
the heat and excitement of the moment, does an act which results in the
death of the assailant, the verdict should be for manslaughter only. But
in all these cases if there has been, after the provocation, sufficient time
for the blood to cool, and for reason to resume its seat, before the mortatl
wound is given, the offence will amount to murder. The law then by
which you are to be governed in this case may be briefly summed up as
follows.
"First: If you believe from the evidence that the prisoner at the tiin(2-
he killed thp deceased, was so insane as not to comprehend the nature
and consequence of his act, and thus render him irresponsible, you will
acquit him.
"Second: If you believe from the evidence that in the possession of a
sane mind or from the immediate influence of intoxication, he willfully,,
deliberately, and premeditatedly, and without provocation, killed the de-
ceased you will find him guilty of murder in the iirst degree.
"Third: If you believe from the evidence that the prisoner withmalite
aforethought, but without deliberation or premeditation, or without the
fixed intent, to do the act, and without sufficient provocation killed the
deceased, you will find the prisoner guilty of murder in the second de-
gree.
"Fourth: If you believe from the evidence that the prisoner committed
the crime while smarting under a provocation so recent and so strong that
he was not in his then state of mind, the master of his own understand-
ing, you will find him guilty of manslaughter.
"And remember, gentlemen, that nothing is to be presumed against the
prisoner — every presumption is in favor of his innocence until his guilt is-
clearly proved, and every reasonable doubt is to be given to the accused.
For while the law is strict in its punishment of the clearly guilty, it is not
unjust in its exactions, but makes some allowance for the imperfection of
human nature, and is not averse to that rule of mercy dictated by human-
ity, which holds, that it is better that the guilty should go unpunished
than that the innocent should suffer. Gentlemen, the case is with you —
in your hands are the issues of life and death to the accused — let your
verdict be such as your deliberate judgment shall dictate, and your con-
sciences approve, in view^ of that higher tribunal, to which we are all
approaching and before which we must all appear, for final judgment and
unending doom."
The case was then given to the jury, and they retired, remaining in
consultation until eight o'clock in the evening when they returned with a
verdict of murder in the second degree. In accordance with this verdict
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 565
the prisoner, William Winters was sentenced on the morning of June 6,
1857, to a term of ten years hard labor in the penitentiary at Ft. Madison.
THE KILLING OF LEWIS KING AND E. S. PALMER BY ARANTHUS BRIGGS.
This affair occasioned not a little excitement in every portion of the
county. The facts below are gathered from the local papers at the time
of the homicide:
" Yesterday morning our citizens were startled by the intelligence of a
horrible murder which was committed about three miles east - of Tabor,
in this county, on Thursday night. It appears that at about sunset on the
evening in question a man named Lewis King attempted to go across the
field or yard of a Mr. Briggs, ostensibly to hunt cattle, but was warned
oft by the owner who forbade him stepping a foot on his premises. King
was apparently determined to cross, and went back after assistance. He
soon returned with a man named Edward Palmer, a hired hand of his,
and the two proceeded to pass the forbidden line. Briggs was armed with
a shot-gun and revolver, and threatened their lives if they stepped across.
They disregarded his threats and advanced toward him. He then fired
one barrel of the shot-gun over their heads, and shortly after brought
Palmer to the ground with the other. King then ran after Briggs, when
after a sharp tussle the latter drew his revolver and shot the other dead.
This is probably Briggs' account of the affair, and is the story related by
the messenger who arrived here early yesterday morning in search of the
coroner. At the time he left both the bodies were lying in the lot where
they fell. It is said that an old quarrel between the parties of several
years' standing was the main cause of the affair. Another account says
that King's cattle were held by Briggs for depredations on his place, and
King was endeavoring to take them by force. The young man. Palmer,
one of the killed, was formerly from Corry, Pennsylvania, where we
understand, he has relatives." — Glenwood Opinion, April 2^, i86g.
The issue of the following week contained a more complete account as
follows:
THE KILLINO OF KING AND PALMER.
" We gave last week, a hurried statement of the affair which resulted
in the killing of L. A. King and E. S. Palmer, by Aranthus Briggs, near
Tabor, on the evening of the 22d ult. The following are the facts in the
case, so far as could be ascertained at the coroner's inquest:
" It seems that King, whose farm adjoins that of Briggs, came to the
premises of the latter, and from his horse inquired of Briggs where the
road was. Briggs replied that it passed around his field. King then said :
' I am going through here,' meaning that he intended to pass through
the other's premises. Briggs replied: 'you cannot go through here.*
King declared that he would, and, dismounting, proceeded to lay down
556 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
the bars. Briggs, who was milking his cow, then arose and forbid his
entering the premises. King seeing that the other had a revolver, turned
and rode rapidly toward home. Briggs finished his milking and went
into the house, and in about thirty minutes saw Kin^ and his hired man,
Palmer, coming up the road on horseback, at a full gallop. They
scarcely stopped at the bars, but laying one or two down, forced their
horses to leap over, and with heavy, loaded, blacksnake whips, having the
lashes wound around their wrists, steered directly toward Briggs' door,
in which he was standing. Briggs warned them repeatedly not to enter
his premises, and as they still approached him menancingly, he fired one
barrel of his shot gun over their heads. They failed to heed the warn-
ing and as they neared the door, with Palmer a little ahead, Briggs raised
his gun and planted a load of buckshot in the latter's breast and neck,
bringing him to the ground. King then road his horse over Briggs,
knocking him down, and about the same moment was himself thrown
from his horse, but immediately jumped up and made for Briggs, who
was considerably stunned. The latter, however, managed to regain his
feet, and received a blow from King's whip upon his arm. They then
clinched, and King threw Briggs, at the same time calling out, ' come on
Palmer, by God, we've got him!' Palmer, however, was hors du combat,
and couldn't rally much to speak of. Briggs, finally, by a desperate effort,
turned his antagonist and both arose to their feet at once. Briggs started
to run around the house, while King, who had dropped his whip, seized
a spade and started in pursuit. Briggs then drew his revolver and fired,
as he claims, at random, the ball striking King just back of the ear, and
passing through the brain. Briggs then started with others, who had
arrived upon the spot, and gave himself into the custody of Justice Hough.
The latter, acting as coroner, held an inquest the following day. Briggs
was taken before Justice Rist, waived an examination, and was released
on bail. The wounded men lived but a few minutes.
"King is said to have been notoriously ligly and quarrelsome, and his
summary taking off appears to give pretty general satisfaction in the
community. He leaves a widow and three children. Palmer was a sin-
gle man and in King's employ." — Glenwood Opinion, May i, i86g.
Briggs was tried, and after several attempts to convict him he was
finally acquitted. He was at one time in the far west when the date fixed
for one of his trials came on. Without money and means of conveyance
he at once began the toilsome journey home, to be tried on a question
which involved even his very life. Notwithstanding this, he came, was
tried and acquitted. Popular opinion said that no guilty man would thus
imperil his life and willingly place himself in the prisoner's box on trial
for his life, when once he was safe from the jurisdiction, of the court.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 557
THE CREECH-JOHNSON CASE.
There are such things as "sports that kill." At a time of festivity and
general good-feeling at a shooting match near Glenwood, June 25, 1853,
occurred the killing of a Mr. Creech by Lewis Johnson. Mr. Creech
had, in company with others who loved the pastime of Nimrod, been
hunting through the brush and undergrowth in search of game, south of
Glenwood. In the course of their expedition they encountered a party
of men engaged in target shooting, upon the results of which large sums
of money were being freely betted. They had been at the scene of
shooting but a short time when Lewis Johnson brought forth a young
man, who, he claimed, could mark the highest score of any man in the
party for a certain sum of money. Mr. Creech stepped forward and
promptly accepted the challenge, and the shooting began. On footing
the score it was found that Mr. Creech had won. Johnson dissented
from the decision of the judges and declared that he would "fight before
he would give up the money." Creech agreed to call the shooting a
draw, for he was a favorably disposed person and willing rather to suffer
imposition than to engage in any kind of violence.
The proposition so made exasperated Johnson to such a degree that he
at once made an assault on Mr. Creech, struck him on the head a violent
blow with his gun, and also in the face, the ramrod entering the eye. From
the wounds received Mr. Creech died in forty-eight hours. Johnson was
arrested on a charge of manslaughter, had a preliminary examination and
was held to answer. He was then started for Des Moines for incarcera-
tion, but on the way his captors were served with a writ of habeas cor-pus,
and he was taken to Council Bluffs, where he was subsequently tried and
acquitted. But the ends of justice were not to be defeated in this man-
ner. Four years later, in company with his son John and another person,
he was thrown into the Missouri river at Plattsmouth and drowned.
However reprehensible lynch law may seem to be it cannot be said that
the guilty often escape. When justice is slow, or when her demands are
unsatisfied men will take the matter into their own hands, usually suc-
cessfully if not wisely.
CITIES AND TOWNS.
Aside from the security that results from aggregations of individuals
there are numerous other causes that lead to the founding of cities and
villages. "Man is a social animal," wrote a famous French naturalist of
the last century, and herein is the immediate cause of their location in
communities. Kindred business interests and avocations, tastes and pro-
-558 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
clivities, the desire to enjoy the luxury and elegance of the highest type
of civilized life all act as levers to impel men to union of interests and
homes. For long years the settlements in this county hardly deserved
the name. A few families had collected, and had built themselves homes
which they did not intend to be permanent ; but the laying out of an
•extensive city had not occurred to them. Where these settlements were
and who composed them the reader may learn from another chapter. It
is intended here to present merely an epitome of the history of the several
villages and towns in the county.
GLENWOOD.
The city of Glenwood is beautifully located among charming vales and
glens, surrounded with an abundance of native forests that lend both pro-
tection and artistic effect. Nature has here done her best. Stretching
away in the distance the valley of Keg Creek may be seen from most of
the prominent points in the city, while over and far beyond it rises hill
after hill lending a roughness to the landscape that accords well with the
city's general surroundings. It is but a few miles to the westward of the
geographical center of the county. Six miles away the Missouri may be seen
in the west, an occasional glimpse of which lends a charm to the view in that
direction. Mostly on the hill-side and in the glens, the city may best be
seen and its beauty appreciated from the southern aspect, across the
valley of the stream. The site of the town seemed attractive to some of
the Mormons who had located at Rushville in 1846, and when about to
change their residence they fixed upon this beautiful spot. In the spring
of 1848 they first came to the site of the present city of Glenwood, and
located Coonville, a village so-called from Libeus T. Coon. He came
with William Britain, Silas and Ira Hilman, G. N. Clark, J. Everett, and
many others who afterwards became prominent in the early history of the
city. But these men were not the first to note the beautiful scenery and
recognize the opportunities the site presented. Long ages before an
older race, perhaps an autocthonous people, had here lived and carried
on the occupations of their primitive civilization. It is an instructive fact
that Glenwood is on the site of an old town, once covered by the habita-
tions of that mysterious race called the mojmd-builders, and the remains
of which are even yet to be found in almost any part of the city. Frag-
ments of pottery, hunting and war implements, shells used perhaps as a
medium of exchange, domestic articles of various kinds are of frequent
occurrence in various parts of the city, and at points in the country cir-
cumjacent. They did not build dwellings as do the later denizens of the
town. Their houses appear to have been excavations in the peculiar soil
of the loess, circular in form, from six to eight feet in depth, covered with
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 559
poles and bark and earth, and entered from above by means probably of
ladders of wood or thongs.
On the site of some of these, extremely interesting relics have been
found. In one excavation an article of pottery was found, placed in the
center of the lodge or dwelling, with charred wood about it, indicating
that the occupant had taken a sudden departure never again to return to
his home.* The discoverer long years afterwards entered his dweUing
by means of the spade, and rescued from oblivion the story of his haste
and perhaps death. Whether some dire calamity befell him alone of all
the village, or whether the destruction of homes and perhaps of life was
universal at the hands of an invading horde shall never be known. It is
not with feelings .of an ordinary character that one walks the streets of
the modern citj'' and knows he is treading where, ages ago, men of an-
other race may have thronged. Could they return to the scenes with
which they were once familiar, how would they start with amazement at
the presence of a civilization far beyond their ken !
To a site so replete with prehistoric associations did the early residents
of Coonville come. The first house was built in the summer of 1848, on
the northeast corner of the town site, and remained a monument of pro-
gress and enterprise, until the summer of 1861, when it was destroyed by
fire. The next house was completed a few days after the erection of the
first one, and is still standing in the town— a log cabin, some ten feet by
twelve, now rapidly going to decay. There are associations of another
character than doihestic connected with this building, for in it the first
school ever opened in Glenwood was taught, by D. H. Solomon, aft-
erwards, and still a prominent attorney in the county.
J. W. Coolidge moved to Coonville from beyond Keg creek, where he
had built the first mill in the county, in 1848 or 1849, and opened a store,
the first in the place, in which he carried a general stock of merchandise .
Mr. Coolidge lived for many years, an honored and respected citizen of
the town, among the first in every enterprise of a public nature. He is
one of the few to whose energy Glenwood owes its existence. He was
the first postmaster, and held that position for many years. His son Wil-
liam, was the first white child born in Glenwood, in December, 1849.
After the town had fairly started accessions to its population were ex-
tremely numerous and valuable, for the men who came were of the class
that lead to lasting results, and build for definite purposes. Many came
from other parts of the county, most of the older residents from old
Rushville, while many more were new-comers to the county and to the
west. In 185;? a great impulse of emigration seemed to pervade the
*For many of these faxits in the archaeological history of Glenwood the writer is in-
debted to 8. V. Proudflt, Esq., of that city, whose intelligent interest and enthusiasm has
led him to a careful study of these remains. R. E. C.
560 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
eastern states and many thousands of the staunch farmers, lawyers,
clergymen, business men, and men of no business came to the west. It
was at this time that Glenwood began to erect more substantial business
houses and dwellings, which spoke not only of prosperity but of per-
manency.
The name of Glenwood was given to Coonville by an act of the general
assembly approved January 12, 1853, when the place was selected as the
location of the permanent seat of justice. Four years afterward the city
was incorporated, and in the same year, 1857, the court-house was built.
The first mayor was J. A. Donelan, anfl the recorder was C. G. Hayes,
as is gathered from the official record by which the wards of the city
were divided and bounded. The record is as follows:
An Okdinance regulating the number of wards in the city of Glenwood and defining their
boundaries :
Be it ordained by the city of Glenwood: Section 1. The city of Glenwood shall, for all
' municipal and election Purposes concist of three wards and three alderman in each ward
the boundairie shal be as follows.
Sec 2 all the territory Lying South of the center of Sharp St Shal constitute the first
ward.
Sec 3 All the territory lying north of the center of Sharp st and west of the center of
Walnut St shall constitute the Sec ward.
Skc 4 All of the territory lying north of the center of Sharp St and east of the center
of Walnut Shal constitute the third ward.
Sec 5 All ordainances or parts of ordinances heretofore Passed conflicting with any of
the Provisions of this ordinance, are hereby repealed.
Sec 6 This ordinance to be in force from and after its Publication according to Law.
Passed Jan 17th 1857
J A Donelan Mayor.
C. G. Hayes Recorder.
During the year previous to its incorporation Glenwood received its
greatest influx of population. In ^hat year business interests gathered a
new impulse, emigration to and beyond the county Contributed to this
end, buildings went up in every direction, there was a scarcity of labor and
lumber, and all things were promising fairly. Up to this time the struc-
tures were all frame buildings, but in this year several brick yards were
opened near the city and a new class of business houses and dwellings
put in an appearance. The building of the new court-house in the year
following contributed largely to this industry, which has fronj that day to
this, been a most important one in the county.
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
With the settlement and growth of towns a hundred necessities spring
into being, demanding each its appropriate share of attention, and prom-
ising each its own measure of good. By far the most important of all
these is the common school. In direct proportion to the attention paid to
it, does the common school add to the sum of human happiness by in-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 561
creasing the sphere of human usefulness and duty. The more earnest
the spirit that prompts to action, the broader and grander are the results
attained. The scope of the educator has been enlarged; he partakes
very much of the relation of an advisor as well as instructor of youth.
Recognizing that youth cannot be driven, and that under proper guidance
each may find his own sphere of labor and usefulness, he has ceased
turning the undivided attention of the student to the "three R's," and
called him into far wider and grander fields of study. At best he may
only lay the foundation of an education, then the leading branches of
human knowledge become varipus departments of valuable training
under the title of individual self-culture. The great mass of human infor-
mation in its purest and most valuable type is obtained when school days
have been ended and the text-book and teacher are replaced by the stern
activities of life and that harsh old pedagogue — experience. This much
is a recognized fact in modern education, and the common school adapts
itself to the needs of the hour. To-day it is educating statesmen and
leaders of public opinion; those who plead for human rights and those
who present eternal spiritual truths. It is the educational factor of the
age, the moulder of the nation's future, and in its recognition the city of
Glenwood has cause for self-congratulation. It is a proud feature that it
has good schools and able teachers — made more effective far by an en-
thusiastic and liberal minded board of education. The school building
that makes so promising a feature in the city is well suited to the pur-
poses of education. It is a splendid brick structure, which complete, cost
the city not less than twenty-five thousand dollars. For the statistics of
the city schools the reader is referred to the chapter on education. The
brick school-house erected in 1856 was superseded by the present one
erected in 1866, exactly ten years later.
CHUBCHES.
The moral interests of the community have been always carefully sub-
served. From the earliest days of its history Glenwood has enjoyed the
ministrations of the gospel of peace, and listened to the eloquence of
capable men. The earliest services of this character were held in the
homes of citizens. Later, when the city's population increased and acces-
sions to the churches became more considerable, houses of worship
became necessary, and were accordingly erected.
Grace Methodist Episcopal Church is the oldest organization in
the city and dates from the year 1852. The membership was then very
small, and no records exist to show either the number or the names. In
1854 a frame church was built at a cost of nearly fifteen hundred dollars,
evidencing the prosperity which attended the society. In 1876 this was
16 I
562 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
I
replaced by the present brick structure, costing the society some six thou-
sand dollars. It was dedicated in the same year by Bishop E. G.
Andrews, formerly of Des Moines. Since its organization by the Rev.
Mr. Armstrong, who was its first pastor, the church has been ministered
to by the Reverends Isaac Kelley, Woolsey, Bunn, Peter Fish, Conger,
H. H. Oneal, J. W. Todd, W, P. Golliday, Israel Mershon, A. H.
ShafTer, Peter St. Clair, A. P. Hull, J. M. Beck, Fred Harris, W.C. Mar-
tin, H. S. Curl, and the present pastor, J. C. Eckles. The present mem-
bership is two hundred strong, demonstrating that the society has been
prosperous in a marked decree, and faithful to the trust imposed on it.
First Congregational Church of this city was organized October
18, 1866, by the Rev. John Todd, now of Tabor, and an early comer to
the neighboring county of Fremont. The membership was originially
composed of D. C. Briggs, Catherine Briggs, William Hopkins, Mrs.
Clara H. Bosbyshell, Mrs. Bannau, and Cornelia Williams. After four
years of successful operation this second society in the city built a church
edifice, of brick, at a cost of some five thousand dollars. The structure
was begun in the year 1857, but was not completed until 1860, and dedi-
cated in the same year. The pastors who have ministered to its audiences
have been the founder, the Rev. John Todd, who supplied the pulpit
mainly, until 1860; Rev. Mr. Tingley from 1860-1861; A. V. House, from
1863-1865;0. W. Cooley, from 1865-1867; S. I). Storrs, from 1868-
1869 ; J. K. Nuttings, from June 1869 to March 1873; John Alexander,
from 1873-1877; A. Rogers, from 1877-1880; and the present pastor,
Rev. J. B. Sharp, who began his labors October 1, 1880. The church
has been very prosperous during all these past years, and now has a mem-
bership of one hundred and fifty-six. The deacons at present are Daniel
C. Briggs, I. A. Sprague and J. K. Sheldon.
The First Baptist Church, of Glenwood, dates its existence from
July 4, 1857, at which time it was organized with the following persons
as members: O.N.Tyson, Catherine Tyson, William Hobson, Sarah
Hobson, Lucinda Brown, Jacob Adams, Rachel Adams and Catherine
Wickham. Eleven years after its organization, or 1868, the society built
a brick house of worship, costing nearly six thousand dollars. The build-
ing was dedicated in September of that year by J. C. Otis, who was its
first pastor. In addition to that gentleman the following persons have
served the church in the capacity of pastors, Edwin Cady, S. C. Sale, T.
F. Borchers, and the present pastor Rev. F. W. Parsons. The member-
ship is now one hundred forty. Since the organization of the church
there have been received, by baptism and letter, three hundred sixty-five
persons. Manj^ have gone to their reward, others have removed to dif-
ferent fields of labor, and a few have lost their interest in matters eternal,
and left the good old ways of faith and salvation. But the career of the
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 563
church has been a most prosperous one, and right well have been dis-
charged the trusts imposed upon it.
CrVIC SOCIETIES.
The organizations usually included in societies of this kind have long
existed in the city. The interests that find men together in communities
lead to towns and cities, many who are brothers iri respect to secret fra-
ternities, and discovering one another's identity and standing, they soon
form the nucleus of a new and influentinl association. This has been true
of Glenwood. The masons were the first to come and the first to band
themselves together.
Glenwood Lodge, No. 58, A. F. & A. M., was organized March
19, 1855, by authority of a dispensation granted by James L. Hogan,
M. W. G. M. of Grand Lodge of Iowa, with Samuel T. Marks, W. M.
D. 0-. Oaks, S. W.; Achilles Rogers,). W.; William Street, Secretary;
George Hepner, treasurer ; B. S. Reeder, senior D. ; L. B. Kinney, junior
D.; A. H. Burtch, tyler; A. W. Holister, and A. B. Walstan as charter
officers and members. The membership has increased to fifty-eight resi-
dent members, and many who have gone to other states and cities. The
lodge is in a very flourishing condition. It is a matter that should be
known to all that in this lodge did the plan of bringing the Iowa asylum
for feeble minded children to Glenwood have its inception, and here was
the influence mainly exerted that attained that object. The lodge is to
be congratulated in having done so noble an act for humanity, and so po-
litic an act for the state.
Mt. Gerizim Chapter No. 59, Royal Arch Masons, was organ-
ized November 21, 1870, with the following charter members and officers.
C. W. Spalding, H. P.; T. P. Ballard, king; A. E. Smith, P. S.; E. C.
Jlosbyshell, scribe; W. H. Anderson, treasurer; H. J. Rockwell, secre-
tary; C. H. Newell, chaplain; Charles P. King, C. H.; L. W. Russell,
R. A. C; R. H. Daniel, G. M. third V.; D. L. Conger, G. M. second
v.; W. G.L. Templeton, G. M. first V.; W.R. English, tyler; Benjamin
Harrison, F. W. Patrick, P. St Clair and' Henry Hastings. The charac-
ter of the chapter may be well judged from the men who formed it, and
its nucleus and influence was assured from the outset.
Glenwood Lodge No. 97, 1. O. O. F. was instituted under a charter
issued by the Right Worthy Grand Lodge of the State of Iowa, dated
October 9th, 1856, and signed by John Pope, grand master, and William
Garrett grand secretary. The charter members of the lodge were James
Mullen, Thomas J. Jones, Joseph Horsfall, Saul Hibbs, Davis W. Black-
mar, James A. Donelan and W. R. English. The first meeting was held
October 30th, and the following officers were elected: James Mullen, N.
G.; Joseph Horsfall, V. G.; James A. Donelan, Secretary; and Thomas
564 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Jones, Secretary. The meetings were for a long time held over Hinch-
man's drug store. For several years the lodge was very prosperous, hut
during the war it lost many members, and from a variety of causes fell
into a decline. Many members went into the army, others died, and a
number of prominent members left the county. A few, however, man-
aged to keep up the organization until January 3, 1867, when the affairs
of the lodge were wound up and the charter surrendered to the Grand
Lodge. April i, 1871, M. Miller, A. J. Russell, J. A. Donelan, D. B.
Lufkin, D. M. Meyers, and H. O. Standish petitioned the Grand Lodge
for a restoration of their charter. The following were the first officers
of the lodge after its reinstation: M. Miller, N. G.; D. L. Conger, V. G.;
A.J. Russell, Treasurer; P. P. Ballard, Secretary. The lodge rapidly
increased in membership, and was, at one session of the Grand Lodge,
declared to be the banner lodge of the State, having received fifty-two
initiates in one year. The meetings were held in the old post-office build-
ing, since destroyed by fire. In January, 1875, the lodge took possession
of their present hall, which is one of the finest in the state. Since the
organization there have been 193 persons admitted to membership. The
number of active members as shown by the January report of 1881, is ■
ninety-five. The Past Grands of the lodge are M. Miller, J. A. Donelan,
T. A. Davis, D. B. Lufkin, A. S. Ober, G. W. Downs, S. Mershow, E.
Starbuck, T. W. Ivory, R. H. Brent, D. L. Heinsheimer, A. J. Hight, Jas.
S. Hendrie, J. M. Hixson, and C. W. Shaw. The officers of the present
term are: J. W. Laraway, N. G.; Thos. A. Brown, V. G.; Wm. Hoch,
Treasurer; Byron Mershon, Secretary; C. W. Shaw, Permanent Secre-
tary. They at present occupy their hall in Lufkin's block, in connection
with the Western Star Encampment and Glenwood lodge No. 33 K. of
P. The financial condition of the lodge is good, considering the heavy
demands that have been made upon its treasur}'. There is nearly $500
in the Widow and Orphan's fund, which is at interest. H. C. Ayers, of
Hastings lodge, was its last representative in the Grand Lodge, and is the
present D. D. G. M. of this district. Of late there has been a revival of
interest and the lodge is now in a healthy and prosperous condition. Lodge
meets every Tuesday evening.
Western Star Encampment No. 90, I. O. O. F., was chartered
October 18, 1876, by the Grand Encampment of the state of Iowa. The
charter members and officerd were T. P. Ballard, C. P.; C. F. Foster,
H. P.; J. M. Powell, S. W. J. S. Hendrie, J. W.; J. M. Hixon, Scribe;
M. Miller, E. F. Landon, George Schindel, Thomas Bowman, R. B.
Parish and Charles Deyboos.
The only other secret fraternity represented in the city of Glenwood is
that of the Knights of Pythias. Glenwood Lodge No. 43 of this order
was organized February 25, 1879. Dating its foundation from so recent
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 565
a day it has comparatively little history, and scarcely anything can be
presented to the reader aside from the names of the founders, and the
position they held in the organization. They are W. F. Laraway, C. C.
and P. G. C; Seth Dean, Prelate; J. M. Shaffiier, William Dumdi, I. G.;
W. H. Parsons, M. G. Burke, H. G..Cilley, P. C; R. Brent, J. S. Hen-
drie, M. of E.; E. W. Coe, H. B. Williams, T. W. Tolman, J. S. Frazee,
M. H. Beyer, V. C; M. G. Edwards, M. of A.; C. C. Sprague, D. A.
FarreU, A. J. Russell, H. F. Wilson, M. of F.; A.Davis, John Hettin-
ger, P. B. Laraway, D. Jones, C. W. Lufkin, K. of R. and S.; W. R.
English, O. G.; and Louis Sovereign. The membership it> now forty-
four, showing the prosperity of the organization and the favor in which
it is held. The lodge convenes each Thursday evening, is fully uniformed,
'and doing excellent work in advancing its distinctive principles.
The only other civic organization is a military company, organized
December 1, 1880, concerning which no further information can be given.
ASYLUM FOR FEEBLE-MINDED CHILDREN.
During the civil war of 1861-65, measures were taken to care for the
children of those brave men who fell in defense of their country's flag.
On a preceding page* of this volume will be found an account of the
various places selected as the site of these institutions. The act, which is
there mentioned, establishing the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at Glenwood
bears the date of 1866.
Under the general act of the legislature of that year providing for the
establishment of an Iowa soldiers' orphans' home, a commission consist-
ing of Hons. W. F. Sapp, of Council Bluffs ; W. C. Sipple, of Fremont
county; Addison Oliver, of Monona; Judge Pendleton, of Sioux City;
and W. Hale, of Mills county, was appointed to designate a location and
site for a western branch. This committee met at Council Bluffs on July
4, 1866, and after due deliberation the city of Glenwood and the present
site was agreed upon. The fifteen acres of ground on which the build-
ing was erected and now stands was a donation to the State by Mills
county as an inducement for the location of the western branch at Glen-
wood.
It will be noted from the page hitherto cited, in March, 1876, the sol-
diers' orphans were to be removed from all the other institutions to the
one at Davenport. With this act the objects that created the institution
ceased to have any connection with it. Two days thereafter the follow-
ing entitled act was passed by the Sixteenth General Assembly:
* Pages 199-301.
566 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Chapter 153 of the acts of the Sixteenth General Assembly, entitled an act to proivide . for
the organization and support of an asylum at Glenwood, in Mills county, for teebk
minded children.
Be it Enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa:
Section 1. That there is hereby established at Glenwood, in Mills county, in this State,
an institution to be known as the asylum for feeble minded children, and the property of
the State at that point, including buildings and grounds heretofore used for the western
branch of the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' home shall be used for that purpose. Said institu-
tion shall be imder the management of a board of trustees, coQsisting of three persons,
two of whom shall constitute a quorum for business. Said trustees shall be elected by the
General Assembly, and at least one of them shall be a resident of Mills county. They
shall hold their oiflce for two years, or until their successors are appointed and qualified.
They, or either of them, may be removed at any time, by the Governor for incompetency or
bad behavior on good cause shown. Any vacancy created from any cause shall be filled
by the Governor when the General Assembly is not in session.
Sec. 2. The purposes of this establishment are to care for, support, train and instruct
feeble minded children.
Sec. 3. The board of trustees shall appoint a superintendent, whose duty it shall be un-
der the direction of the board, to superintend the care, management, training and instruc-
tion of the Inmates of the asylum and the management of its finances. He shall give a
bond to the State of Iowa, in such sum as the board shall require, to be approved by the '
board, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties. He shall make quarterly
settlements with the board, the latter being represented by the resident trustee, assisted by
the county Auditor. The Auditor shall receive three dollars per day for his services while
so employed. The superintendent shall be removable by the board at its pleasure.
Sec. 4. The board of trustees shall have the general supervision of said asylum and all
its affairs, and shall adopt such rules and regulations for the management of the same as
will carry into effect the provisions and purposes of this act. They shall elect one of their
number president, and another treasurer ; they shall also elect a person, who may or may
not be one of their number, secretary. The treasurer shall give such bond as the board
shall require, conditioned for the faithful accounting of all moneys that come into his
hands. The secretary shall receive three dollars per day for the time he is actually
employed during the sessions of the board or under their direction. Said board shall
meet on the first Wednesday in November of each year and at such other times as two of
their number may direct. All of said meetings after the organization of the board shall be
at the asylum. The full compensation of the members of said board shall be mileage,
such as is allowed by law to members of the general assembly.
Sbc.5. There shall be received into the asylum, weak-minded children, between the
age of seven and eighteen years, whose admission may be applied for as follows :
First. By the father or mother, or by either of them, if the other be dead or adjudged
to be insane.
Second. By the guardian duly appointed.
Third. In all other cases, by the board of supervisors of the county in which such child
resides. It shall be the duty of such board of supervisors to make such application for
any such child that has no living, sane parent or guardian in the state.
Sec. 6. The persons for application for admission into the asylum shall be such as the
trustees shall prescribe, and each application shall be accompanied by answers under oath
to such interrogatories as the trustees shall, by rule, require to be propounded.
Sec. 7. For the support of said institution there is hereby appropriated, the sum often
(10) dollars per month for each child therein actually supported by the state, counting the
actual time such child is an inmate, and supported by such institution, and upon presenta-
tion the auditor of the state, for each month, of a sworn statement of the average number
of children supported in the institution by the state, for the preceding month, the auditor
shall draw his warrant upon the treasurer of state, in favor of the treasurer of the board
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 667
of trustees, for such sum. In cases where the parents or guardian are ahle to do so,
they are to support the child, or children whose adncission they apply for; and such abil-
ity to support shall be determined by the board of supervisors of the county in which
such children reside.
In cases where the parent is able to pay a portion of such support he shall do so, and the
balance shall be made up by the state ; and the board of supervisors of the county where
such child resides, shall decide how much such parent or guardian shall pay. The super-
intendent in his sworn monthly statement shall show the number of such children as par-
tially paid for, and the amount which the state is to pay, which amount shall be included
in the auditor's warrant. In all cases where the parent or guardian pays under the provis-
ions of this act the board of supervisors of the proper county shall require such "security
for the amount to be so paid as the said board of trustees shall prescribe. All salaries for
officers and compensations for teachers and help shall be paid out of the support fund, ex-
cept as otherwise herein declared. No more of said support fund shall be drawn than is
necessary for the purposes for which it is appropriated .
Sec. 8. The expenses ot transmission of children to the asylum shall be paid out of the
support fund, in cases where they are supported by the state. In other cases by the parent
or guardian .
Sec . 9. The board of trustees shall make a full report of the disbursements of the asylum
and its condition, financial and otherwise to the general assembly at each regular session
thereof.
Sec. 10. The inmates of the asylum may be returned to the parents or guardian whenever
the trustees may so direct.
Sec. 11. There is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in treasury, not otherwise ap-
propriated, the sum of three thousand dollars ($3,000), or so much thereof as maybe neces-
sary for furnishing the asylum, the same to be paid upon the order of the president of the
hoard, as it may be needed.
Sec. 13. There is hereby appropriated the further sum of two thousand dollars for the
next two years to aid in paying the salaries of officers and teachers, and for help, but no
part of this shall be drawn unless th? support fund is found insufficient, and then upon the
order of the president of the board as the same may be necessary.
Sec. 13. There is hereby appropriated out of any money in the state treasury, not other-
wise appropriated, the sum of one thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary,
for the purpose of making such repairs of the said building and grounds as may be needed,
to be drawn upon the order of the president of the board of trustees.
There is further appropriated the sum of two hundred dollars, or sO much thereof as may
be necessary for the purpose of purchasing school-books and apparatus for said asylum, to
be drawn as aforesaid.
Sec. 14. The superintendent may, under the direction of the board, appoint a matron
and steward, and appoint such teachers and employ such help as may be needed.
Sec. 15. The term "feeble minded children," shall be construed to include idiotic chil-
dren between the ages of seven and fifteen.
Sec. 16. This act being deemed of immediate importance shall take effect and be in
power from and after its publication in the daily State Register and Iowa State Leader,
newspapers published in Des Moines, Iowa.
Approved March 17, 1876.
Under this act the buildings were at once set apart by the state for the
reception of the unfortunates who should need its care.
It is interesting to note the incipient steps leading to the establishment
of this institution. They seem to have been inaugurated by Dr. C. T .
Wilbur, superintendent of the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-minded Children,
who addressed a circular to various influential men in Iowa, under
568 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
date of February 4, 1876. In this circular he stated that the ratio of poor
children, who are idiotic or feeble-minded, to the population of Iowa, was,
at least, one in every one thousand. Up to that date there seem to have
been taken no steps looking to the care of these children. The attention
of Dr. Wilbur was directed to this matter from the' frequent applications
made to him to receive pupils from this state into the institution of which
he had charge in the adjoining state of Illinois. In the circular referred
to, he cites a letter to him from a resident of this state, a copy of which
is appended:
June 10, 1874
C. T. WiLBtTK, Jacksonville, III. — Dbab Sir : — Enclosed find statement of our poor cMld.
I sincerely hope It will be satisfactory and that you will take charge of him for one year at
least.
My wife has completely broken down with the care and anxiety incident to the case and I
greatly fear the result of the further continuance of it.
Doctor, do /or the sake of our common humanity, consent to take him for a time at least,
for the sake of the respite it will give my wife and family.
I think you can help the case wonderfully, and that he can he taught enough to make
the care of him less burdensome, in case you cannot have him remain continually.
I feel that one in your position must have full sympathy for those thuk aifiicted, and
that there is no need of a lengthy letter to arouse it.
We must have help from some source, and I hope you will stretch out a helping hand.
Let me hear from you by return post — state terms of admission, and when we can bring
him to you, and don't deny the appeal.
Yours very truly,
J. H. W.
The wards of the Illinois asylum all being full, beyond the real capacity
of the institution, the application could not, of course, be entertained.
Two years later the same individual renewed his application, and this was
the immediate cause of the circular. But there were others, and in this
state, whose attention had been called to the matter in a most thoughtful
manner. The real originator of the movement in Iowa, is Dr. W. S.
Robertson, of Muscatine, and who subsequently became a member of the
first board of trustees. To the intelligent and philanthropic co-operation
of the Hon. John Y. Stone, of Glenwood, the project was presented to
the attention of the general assembly, and the act last above cited was
passed, and the institution for the feeble-minded of Iowa, began its exist-
ence. Besides Dr. Robertson, the remaining members of the first board
of trustees were Hon. J. W. Cattell, of Des Moines, and A. J. Russell,
Esq., of Glenwood. On April 26, 1876, the trustees held their first meet-
ing at Glenwood, and organized with Dr. W. S. Robertson, president,
A. J. Russell, treasurer, and J. W. Cattell, secretary. The first act of
the board was to examine the property heretofore held as a Sol-
diers' Orphans' Home, and now about to be devoted to a new use.
In a report to the general assembly bearing date of November 7,
1877, the trustees say with relation to this property that: "The removal
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 569
of the soldiers' orphans to the home at Davenport had taken place about
a year and a half before, and the house and farm, although ostensibly in
charge of a janitor, had been shamefully neglected and abused. The
fences were broken down and the lumber destroyed and carried away;
the windows were broken; many of the doors off the hinges; the floors
broken and otherwise damaged in many places, and the floor in one large
dormitory so polluted and filthy as to demand its removal and a new one
substituted; the walls were begrimmed with smoke and dirt; the cellars
reeking with offensive odors emanating from piles of decayed and decay-
ing vegetables and every conceivable variety of filth and garbage; the
■drains were obstructed or filled up by the innumerable army of rats, with
which the whole place is infested; the cisterns were "broken cisterns
which contained no water ;" the pump demoralized ; the wind-mill, which
had lifted the water for the soldiers' orphans from a deep well, was broken
to pieces and lost; the roof was so injured that the rain had caused much
of the plastering to fall from the upper ceilings, and the walls were damp
and dirty. In short, the whole property was in the worst possible condi-
tion.
" Such was the state of the property which we had asssigned us, and
which necessitated the immediate outlay of a considerable sum of money
ifor repairs absolutely required, not only to save the property of the state,
but to render it at all tenable. In consideration of this general demolition,
the board directed the resident trustee, Mr. Russell, to employ a man by
the month, who should go into the house and as rapidly as possible clean
and renovate the building throughout; and who should also repair the
fences and put the land into such crops as should be of use to the family
of feeble minds that should be gathered there. This was done, and
through the supervision of Mr. Russell few vegetables were used which
were not produced upon the lot belonging to the asylum, after such veget-
ables could be grown."
Before determining finally upon any definite plan of management, and
wishing to organize the asylum under the most favorable circumstances
possible, the board opened a correspodence with Dr. C. T Wilbur, super-
intendent of the Illinois asylum, requesting his presence and the benefit of
his experience in determining upon the final plan. That eminent philan-
thropist cheerfully responded and aided materially in outlining the work
•of the institution. In the selection of a superintendent the board was
guided by ability and experience as being necessary factors and to be
combined, and selected from the several applicants Dr. O. W. Archibald,
-a gentleman of liberal culture, of high professional standing and a man of
experience having been assistant physician for a year and a half to the
Iowa Hospital for the insane, at Mt. Pleasant.
Soon after the first meeting of the board a circular was issued to the
570 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
public, announcing the establishment of the institution, and that its doors
would be opened for the reception of pupils on the first Wednesday in
September, 1866. This circular was gratuitously published in most of
the newspapers of the state, and the press, ever generous in matters of
this kind, brought its claims before the people in editorials, some of them
of great ability and influence.
Concerning the nature of the undertaking the trustees further. stated in
their report that " the trustees are aware that the public generally fail tO'
appreciate the magnitude of the work in which they are engaged,, and
believe the idiotic child incapable of any mental, physical or social develop-
ment,and many of our most intelligent citizens think any expenditure of time
or money upon this class of persons, is uselessly squandered. The oppor-
tunities afforded us by reason of our connections with this asylum, and
observation of the asylums of other states of similar character, to form
an opinion, and to reach a conclusion based upon facts and personal obser-
vation, cause us to dismiss any and all doubts of the practicability of
markedly and surely elevating and reclaiming from mental darkness and
moral degradation a large proportion of this beclouded class. From being
objects of repugnance to society, and omnipresent sources of sadness and
sorrow to their friends, they are transformed into neat, clean, orderly
individuals. The mental habitude, or the perversity of their animal
natures, are so changed by the exercises of these schools as to return
them to their homes and friends as rather acceptable members of society
and with such development, mental and physical, as to remove them fromi
the class of dependents to a producing, and at least, partially self-sustain-
ing plane.
"And now, gentleman, we have the pleasure of showing you our work,
and saying that after a little more than a year's experience we think we
have fully demonstrated the wisdom of a law which provides for the fee-
ble minded children of Iowa a home where the provident care of a mag-
nanimous state furnishes this unfortunate class an education which, with
their capabilities, equals that of their more fortunate brothers and sisters-
at home. A former legislature, appreciating their claims to sympathy,
have made a trial and awaited developments of progress. We believe
the question of success beyond dispute, as is that of necessity for such an
institution ; and we trust that you, as the representatives of an intelligent
constituency will most cheerfully grant this infant asylum such aid as will
place its future success and prosperity beyond the ^possibility of failure, and
thus be the means of happiness and consolation to as many sorrowing
homes and hearts as either of the other charitable institutions of which
our citizens are so justly proud."
In the^ first biennial report of the superintendent to the general assembly
the objects of the institution are set forth in a new light, together with
HISTORY OF MILLS COtJNTY. 571
some general reflections on the educable capabilities of unfortunates of
this class. Dr. Archibald writes as follows:*
"The belief that idiotic and imbecile children are susceptible of an edu-
cation beneficial to themselves, to the famil}-^ and neighborhood, has long
since been wholly justified by results obtained in the institutions of other
states and countries, of Europe, to be greater in degree with such educa-
tion as the deaf and dumb and the blind are capable of receiving. The
prirtciple in providing special means for the education of deaf mutes and
the blind was established many years ago throughout our whole country,
but only a few years since was the same principle recognized, in any con-
siderable degree, as applicable to the idiot. That defective physical
organization, or any physical infirmity, with consequent mental and moral
characteristics, constitutes no bar to their enjoyment of the public pro-
vision for education, where the education is practicable. Hence the main
object and design of this institution, as established by legislative action, is
to furnish special means of education to that portion of the youth of the
State not otherwise provided for in any of the other educational institu-
tions. The education proposed for our pupils, includes not only the sim-
ple elements of instruction usually taught in common schools, but em-
braces also a course of training in the more practical matters of every day
life, the cultivation of habits of cleanliness, prosperity, self-management,
self-reliance and the development and enlargement of a capacity for use-
ful occupation. To promote these objects children in our school will
receive such physical training, and such medical, moral and hygienic
treatment as their peculiar and varied conditions demand. On the first
of September, 1876, our institution was formally opened, and admitted
the first pupil on the fourth of September. Since then there have been
admitted eighty-seven, fifty-two boys and thirty-five girls, making the
whole number under treatment and training for the two years ending
eighty-eight, fifty-three males and thirty-five females. Two have been
discharged, both females, one boy has died, leaving in the institution, at
the present time, eighty-five children, fifty-two males and thirty-three
females. The health of our children has been remarkably good, for
which blessing wo have great reason to be thankful."
A day spent in the institution would be a most profitable employment
for those who are interested in this phase of education and philanthropy.
To the stud(yit of mind are offered the best possible advantages for the
study of its laws and the conditions of its development.
" The successful management of idiocy is a difficult work. Each in-
dividual case is a study, and has to be treated as its peculiarities call for.
Some of the most important things to remember, are to make the child
more reliant upon his own resources, and develop within him the power
* First bienninl report, p. 11. Noveiuber, 1877.
572 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
of self control; to make his sense of moral obligation stronger, and
awaken in him a capacity for useful occupation. To acquire these re-
sults, in the improvement of feeble minded children, physical training
must be a prominent exercise in our school work, especially in beginning
their treatment. The reciprocal influence of the body over the mind, and
the mind over the body, must be diligently studied and applied. To have
sound minds they must have sound bodies as well. Hence, we find the
great necessity of gymnastic exercises, that the dim spark of will power
existing may educate the weak and wayward muscles. The feeble will
also will be strengthened and developed by this means. I observe that the
most attractive means should be used in order to cultivate and acquire the
very feeble power, of attention. The affections must be tenderly cared
for and the organs of the special senses trained and cultivated.
"Experience in the education of idotic persons, in other states, and
European countries, have proven to us the fact that these feeble children
can be elevated to positions of home comfort, safety and great usefulness,
and that a large percentage of them can be so improved as to render
them industrious and self-sustaining. An educational institution of this
character will prevent the feeble minded children of our state from asso-
ciating with paupers, lunatics and criminals who are cared for in county
poor-houses and prisons, for it seems only a question of time until all indi-
gent children of this class in our state, would of necessity be placed in said
institutions, where they could only have custodial treatment, during their
natural lives, and would not only prove burdens to themselves, but to all
with whom they would come in contact.
"When we stop and consider these weak intellects and physical organi-
sations, with their development entirely dependent upon the action of the
more favored and intellectual of our people, we cannot avoid viewing them
in a comparative sense; when left to themselves, and their education neg-
lected, and again witness the feeble sparks of intellect submitted to proper
drilling and education, awaken and develop, and become more capable of
enjoying and acquiring the power of usefulness in the arena of domestic
duties, we are certainly more than repaid for our energies, and money ex-
pended for their benefit and comfort during their lives on earth. No rea-
sonable person can deny these children what has been granted to all other
classes of children in the state, viz: provision for whatever practical and
necessary education they are susceptible of, within a reasonable expendi-
ture of means. Nothing in the form of human beings, however imper-
fect, should be neglected, and more than all other creatures do idiots
require our sympathies and protection. They are not to blame because
they tread the path of life so insecurely and in weakness, therefore we
desire to plead for those who are unable to do so for themselves."*
*d. "W. Archibald, M. D. I. e. pp. 32-33. '
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 573
It would be interesting to note the causes that conduce to make
ever larger this" class of unfortunates, were this within the province of
our task. Insanity, of which idiocy is a form, has been defined " to consist
essentially in a morbid derangement, generally chronic, of the supreme
cerebal centres,— the gray matter of the cerebral convolutions, or the in-
tellectorium commune — givmg rise to perverted feeling, defective or erro-
neous ideation, and discordant conduct, conjointly or separately, and more
or less incapacitating the individual for his due social relations." * Idiocy
proper is an arrest of mental development by reason of some cerebral
defect which may be either congenital or occur soon after birth. In those
who are thus afflicted a marked arrest of growth of the skull is often met
with. It is sometimes abnormally small, due either to defective nourish-
ment or to a permature ossification of the sutures of the skull. It is a
well-known fact that there exists a certain correlation between brain-power
and the size of the encephalon, or skull. Such personages as are thus
characterized are denominated in the reports as microcephalic. The ex-
act reverse, as regards the size of the skull, is the case with those who
are idiotic through chronic hydrocephalus, or dropsy of the brain, a condition
due to a serous effusion from the membranes of the brain into its ventricles.
Then again, certain parts of the brain are found wanting, or some portions
may be defective, or there may be a deficient development of the anterior
lobes and a simplicity of convolutions, such as characterize the brains of
the lower animals. All these defects, or any one of them, conduce to the
increase of this class of unfortunates. The causes of idiocy are frequently
traceable to parents. Frequent inter-marriages, even to consanguinity,
lead to mental degeneration. Great fright or unusual agitation on the
part of the mother during the foetal life of the child, or irregularities, and
excesses on her part destroy proper nutrition and so engender defects that
end in total loss of mentality. Other predisposing causes in the parent are
consumption, paralysis, epilepsy, nervous disorders, intemperance and
syphilis. These may be either accessory or intermediate, but surely lead
to defect of some kind. It remains only to point out another cause of in-
crease mentioned by Dr. Archibald in his Second Biennial Report, (pages
36-37). His position is ably sustained by citations from various poor-house
reports, which are of necessity here suppressed. In the course of some
general remarks he writes as follows:
"We do not promise any great degree of proficiency in scholastic
attainments, such as is acquired in the ordinary schools by ordinarily bright
pupils. It is impossible to create mind where none exists, but our school
does develop and strengthen a weak mind, and thereby render the condi-
tion of even the weakest better by making its possessor more comfortable
and less offensive to others, while the better grades are so improved fhat
*Dr. Henry Maudsley, in BeynolcCs System ef Medicine, Vol. I, Am. Ed. p. 585.
•674: HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
they are enabled to read and write for their own pleasure and benefit,
besides being made capable of performing all kinds of domestic duties;
and the boys, in addition to the above, are taught to work on the farm
and garden.
" We are often asked the question, ' what do you expect to make of
these children and what do you aim to accomplish by training them in
the various school exercises, and also, what will become of them after a
■certain age?' ' Don't you think it is a sin to enlighten these dark minds
and thus fit them for crime and possibly improve them till marriage
becomes a legitimate sequence, to result in bringing others more feeble
than themselves into a still darker state of existence?'
" These and many similar questions are asked of me, almost daily since
the opening of the institution, but invariably by parties who had never
given the matter any careful thought.
" Only stop and consider for a moment the danger to which feeble-
minded girls are exposed in alms-houses and county poor-houses, from
rude and evil-minded young men that infest almost every neighborhood,
and of the number of illegitimate children born of these poor unfortunates,
just because they have not the proper guidance and protection !
"As to which course would be the better adapted to prevent illegiti-
mate and feeble-minded issue, that of allowing these females to be ex-
posed to all the dangers awaiting them in the poor-houses, or to take
them and place them under well-managed discipline, where they can be
taught not only the elementary work of our common schools, but how to
perform all domestic duties, and be rendered not only more intelligent but
more useful, respectable and happy, it seems to me requires no argument
for a reasonable human person to decide. As to what we shall do with
them at a certain age, and whether they will be turned loose in Mills
county to annoy and pester the peaceful and lawabiding citizens of this
section, I will answer, they will not. The object of an institution of this
kind, and the school-training the pupils receive, is to enlighten the dark
minds and, in time, provide for them sufficient farming-lands and work-
shops so that all those who can never be made sufficiently responsible to
leave the institution and safely provide for themselves, may always have
a home in which, under proper and legitimate guidance, they can be measur-
ably self-supporting, and the females be at the same time protected from
those vile and degrading influences to which this class of unfortunates is
peculiarly subjected.
" It seems to me that the strongest argument that can be presented in
favor of an institution of this kind, in an economical point of view, leaving
out, if you please, the enormous amount of sufleriug removed, is the fact
that by this means alone are prevented hundreds of issue from imbecile
parentage that would fall upon the counties and states to protect and sup-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 675
port, without check to farther increase. I claim that no one will deny that
it is the duty of the states and public generally to adopt at as early a date
as possible the most advisable means for the prevention of these great
evils, and, in a great measure, secure the female portion of this depraved
and helpless class against an immoral element that infests almost every
neighborhood. If we wiU but take warning and profit by the experience
of some of the older states, we will certainly give this important matter
the due consideration which it demands of a christian and philanthropic
people."
To this alarming state of things attention should be directed and prompt
measures taken to remedy the cause. In this manner the state will do a
service that society urgently needs, and which the necessities of the case
demand. " The time has come when all enlightened and good people
must watch carefully the needy and unfortunate, and not only pro vide for
their necessities, but investigate and -prevent, if possible, the causes which
bring about these lamentable results."
Persons interested in this matter and desirous of pursuing still further any
investigation into this interesting though painful subject, may find much
information in Ferrier's "iVew Method with the Brain" or Carpenter's
" Mental Physiology" Maudsley's '■^Responsibility in Mental Disease" or
in other works usually accessible in the physician's library.
In the conduct of the institution all has been done that could be desired
or that was possible with the limited means appropriated to its objects.
The Asylum demands more room and more land. It is now more than
crowded, and over a hundred applicants have been refused admittance.
An institution devised to meet the necessities of a class of unfortunates,
should, at least, be equal to the demands made on it for accommodations.
" If the State of Iowa desires to carry out the benevolent doctrines she
has always advocated and the liberality she has always manifested toward
the unfortunate, she must face the topic of humanity and necessity, and
devise ways and means to provide for them. Here is a class of children
cursed from birth with the worst misfortune that can fall to the lot of hu-
manity— feeble minds — mental imbecility, and too often without the shad-
ow of a mind at all. No matter where they are they become burdens.
Either they are burdens to their parents and guardians, who without
school and training in their development, cannot do anything toward
ameliorating their condition in life, or else they become the pauper charges
of the counties in which they reside, and the opportunities of life are closed
\o them there. Hence the necessity for such an institution as the Asylum
for Feeble-minded Children.
* "We are aware that many regard such an institution as an experiment,
others who have seen them as they are conducted in this age of intelligence
and humanity, realize that they are a stern necessity, and all know that
576 HISTORY OF MfLLS COUNTY.
they require vast amounts of money to sustain them, and that the money
must come from general taxation.
" The idiot can be trained and educated ; this fact has been demonstra-
ted in all the institutions of the country erected for their care. The won-
derful success attehxiing the labors of our teachers in this asylum in patient
teaching, has demonstrated this fact in Iowa. Many of them can be taught
to be self-supporting and made to earn their livelihood, but it requires
years of patient toil and instruction, and the facilities for reaching so de-
sirable a result must be provided by the State.
" Assuming that the State of Iowa intends providing permanently for
this class, as her older sister states have done, you, as a law-making power
of the State, must be the instrument through which the necessary assist-
ance is furnished."*
The last session of the legislature modified the law relative to this in-
stitution, but in no essential particulars as regards its contents. Follow-
ing is the change:
BIGHTKBNTH GBNEBAL ASSEMBLY, CHAPTBK 164.
An Act to amend section 1, chapter 153, of the laws of the Sixteenth General Assembly,
relative to asylum for feeble-minded children :
Be it JSnacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa : Section 1 . That section
1, chapter 153, of the Sixteenth General Assembly, is hereby repealed, and the following
enacted in lieu thereof;
Section 1. That there is hereby established at Glenwood, in Mills county, in this State,
an institution to be known as the asylum for feeble-minded children, and the property of the
State at that point, including buildings and grounds heretofore used for thfe western branch
of the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home, shall be used for that purpose. Said institution
shall be under the management of a board of trustees consisting of three persons, two of
whom shall constitute a quorum for business. Said trustees shall be elected by the Gen
eral Assembly, one of whom shall be elected for two years, one for four years, and one for
six years ; and each General Assembly shall hereatter elect one trustee for six years.
Lbc. 3, The expense of transmission of pupils to the asylum, and all clothing required
for the same, shall be paid by the county sending then, when such pupils are reported
[supported] by the State ; in all other cases by the parents or guardians.
Sbc. 3. All acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved March 36, 1880.
The General Assembly should now be called upon to provide suitable
accommodations for the unfortunates who knock at its door, seeking ad-
mission. The superintendent is equal to the task imposed upon him and,
goes about his labor of love in spite of the meagreness of the means
placed at his command. Already, under his supervision, have several
thousands of dollars been saved the state by judicious use of the more
strong and able inmates in grading and keeping the grounds in repair.
The site of the building is all that could be desired. High, and command-
ing one of the fines views, in southwestern Iowa, with pleasant natural
* Report of trustees, October 1, 1879.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 577
groves all about them, the buildings of the home make an attractive and
pleasant abode. Nor should that self-abnegation and spirit of philan-
thropy which the teachers exhibit in their work go without notice or its
reward. Refusing, some of them, more lucrative and pleasant positions,
they have devoted their energies and talents to one of the most difficult
tasks that men ever conceived, a task that demands the closest attention
and not a little insight into the laws that condition mind.
The institution has entered upon an existence, which, it is to be hoped
will be the pride of the state contributing to its maintenance, and that
shall take to minds darkened from birth the blessed rays of intelligence
and the power of reasoning, and to homes over which a shadow has fallen,
the joy of faces made bright with knowledge, and hearts happy with
ability to love.
COBPORATIQNS.
Of this class of organizations, instituted for pecuniary profit, Glenwood
has its share. Among these is the Mills County Bank, organized
August 21, 1871, by the consolidation of the private banks of W. H.
Anderson and J. V. Hinchman. The capital of the bank is sixty-five
thousand dollars, with a surplus eqUal to that amount. It does a large
and safe business, in all branches of the banking trade. The directors
are J. V. Hinchman, E. C. Bosbyshell, George Mickelwait, B. F. Buffing-
ton and W. H. Anderson.
Glenwood is the headquarters and has the Home office of the Iowa &
Colorado Consolidated Mining company. This corporation was organ-
ized on July 31, 1879, under the laws of Iowa and Colorado, for the
purpose of developing and operating gold mines in Summit Mining Dis-
trict, Rio Grande county, Colorado. The company has driven upwards
of six hundred feet of tunnelling since its organization. The main tun-
nel, at the present date, has reached four hundred feet. The company
has about $25,000 worth of machinery, consisting in part of a ten stamp
mill, erected at the mines, and a twenty stamp mill that will be put up early
the coming season. This corporation has the most extensive property in
. one of the best mining districts in Colorado that has ever been organized
in Iowa. Its present directory is composed of the following named gen-
tlemen; James Callanan and C. H. Gatch of Des Moines, Gov. John H.
Gear, M. C. McArthur and George Millard of Burlington, John Gibson,
R. P. Smith and M. C. Beymer of Creston, J. W. McDill of Afton, E.
S. Jennison of Chicago, Wm. Hale and George A. Bailey of Glenwood,
and John H. Shaw of Del Norte, Wm. B. Rich of New York is the
superintendent.
The Glenwood Telephone Exchange company is an incorporation
under the general laws of Iowa, organized February 5, 1880, with D. L,
17
578 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Heinsheimer, president; A. J. Russell, treasurer; W. L. Long, secretary;
and Chas A. Croney, superintendent. The above named parties with
the addition of Dr. O. W. Archibald, constituted the' board of directors.
The company first put in the electric system of signals, but found it to
work unsatisfactorily and changed from that to the magneto system, since
which change:, the service over its lines has been entirely satisfactory. It
commenced with thirteen sets of instruments but has now in operation
over thirty, with a steady demand for them. The central office is at the
office of the Glenwood Opinion, whose editor, Mr. Chas. A. Croney, was
the, projector of the scheme, and to whose labors its establishment is
largely due. His original plan was to connect his office with the tele-
graph office at the depot for the convenience and accommodation of citi-
zens in sending and receiving telegrams, and for information as to move-
ments of trains. Other parties seeing that it was likely to prove a suc-
cess desired like facilities, when it was concluded to organize a company,
which was done. The company use the Blake transmitter and Bell tele-
phone. They have about ten miles of wire stretched, reaching to nearly
€very portion of the city. As regards the designs of the company, the
following brief abstract of its articles of incorporation will suffice to show
them:
" The .general nature of its business is to organize and maintain a sys-
tem of telephones and telephone lines within said city, and to establish
and maintain a system of messenger service for carrying orders and
delivering messages, parcels and packages,, and such other things as the
system of telephonic communication may be utilized forfrom time to time.
" The amount of its capital stock is seven hundred dollars, divided into
shares of fifty dollars each to be paid in assesments not exceeding twenty-
five per cent at any one time, the assessments to be made by a majority
of the stock represented at any regular or special meeting that may be
had.
" The corporation commences February 5, 1880, and shall continue
twenty years.
" The affairs of the corporation shall be managed by a board of five
directors, who shall elect their own officers, and shall fill such vacancies
as may occur among their number, and shall be the judge as to what
officers may be necessary. They shall be elected at annual meetings on
the first Monday in January in each year,
" The highest amount of indebtedness to which the corporation shall
be subject at any one time shall not exceed one hundred and fifty doUarSi
" The private property of the stockholders of this corporation shall be
exempt from all liability for corporate debts."
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 579
BT7SINESS INTBBESTS.
The business interests of Glenwood are both extensive and valuable.
Nearly every branch of trade and industry is represented by firms, some
of them of long standing, and all of them of great enterprise, and rang-
ing from the banker to the curbstone merchant. A vast amount of money
is invested in goods, and annually the means so placed are becoming
greater and of more importance. Some of the more prominent mer-
chants are the Heinsheimer Brothers, dealers in dry goods and clothing ;L.
W. Russell & Co., dry goods and clothing; A. J. Russell, dry goods,
clothing, and groceries; C. H. Dyer, groceries; Russell & King, hard-
ware; Moore & iJlake, hardware; Mart. Swinnerton, marble works;
Record Bros., books and stationery; I. N. Wilson, furniture; M. G. Ed-
'wards, drugs; W. G. Fletcher, drugs; W. F. Lara way, jeweler; W. H.
parsons, physician; Kelly Bros., attorneys; Rude & Woodruff, attorneys;
Starbuck & Ivory, attorneys; Watkins & Williams, attorneys ; Hale, Stone
& Proudfit, attorneys; J. M. Shafner, harness and saddlery; B. F. Buffing-
ton, grain dealer; L. W. Russell, agricultural implements; and many other
firms representing the other classes of business. It would be impossible
to attempt any statement of the annual sum yearly changing hands in
mercantile enterprise in this thriving city, but the amount is very great.
Business is seemingly conducted on safe principles, and failures are very
few. The business houses are many of them attractive and some quite
elegant, testifying all to the thrift of their owners.
MALVBRlSr.
This city dates its existence from the completion of the C, B. & Q. R.
R., of which it is a station. It is at the crossing of Silver Creek, some
mile and a half south of the center of the county, and in the midst of one
of the finest agricultural sections to be found in the United States. The
first house in the city was built by J. D. Paddock, in the fall of 1869, be-
fore the town had been platted. Mr. Paddock came from Chicago, Illi-
nois, and was associated with his brother, Charles H. Paddock, who came
here from Clinton county, Iowa, though originally from McHenry county,
Illinois. The Paddock brothers opened the first stock of goods in Mal-
vern on November 15, 1869. Next came J. N. Sheldon, H. E. Boehner,
William M. McCrary, and D. McFarlane, all of whom engaged in the
general merchandise business, and succeeded soon in building up trades
that in older countries would have required years to establish. F. P.
Spencer and Curtis & Sweetser " started with the town " in the grocery
and provision business exclusively. In the year following the establish-
ment of these first business houses occurred the birth of the first male
child in the town, John, son of Thomas Hawkins, and soon after was
born Nettie, daughter of J. W. and Nancy Lawson.
580 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
The growth of the town is one of the most remarkable features in its
history. Hardly had it been laid out. before much of the land passed into
the hands of men who became residents and at once began to work for
the interests of their chosen city-home. In 1872 the town was duly incor-
porated, and worked under its articles of incorporation until 1878, when
it was ascertained that there was an illegality in the process in that the
act of incorporation had not been recorded. Steps were at once taken
to remedy the matter. The reincorporation petition was duly filed on the
2d day of December, 1878, and on the 28th day of the same month, a
unanimous vote for reincorporation was cast. The court issued its order
to incorporate on the 30th of the month, and on January 27, 1879, at an
election held for city officers, the following were elected, thus completing
the legal process: Mayor, H. E. Boehner; Recorder, R. J. Finch;
Councilmen, William Black, J. W. Bartlett, Pierce Metz, J. D. Paddocl^
W. B. Smith and J. C. Herbert. This second incorporation has insured
the well being and success of the city, and its prosperity has been both
great and marked.
CTVIC SOCIETIES.
From time immemorial men have banded themselves together in secret
organizations for various purposes. In ancient times the growth of art
and science, and of poetic art especially, was intimately bound up in or
connected with societies of a secret nature. Much of the philosophy of
the Greeks and Romans found its birth in the secret groves of Italy or
Greece. Jurisprudence and grammer had an origin in the same manner,
and some of the most distinguished in miathematical and mechanical sci-
ences were members of secret orders. Though now, and without the
slightest grounds, often accounted hostile to religion, secret orders really
owe their origin to religion or to religious institutions. As De Quincy
has so eloquently shown in his famous essay on the Essenes, Christianity
at its inception was a secret institution. Opposition comes with a very
poor grace from those who owe their existence to similar institutions, and
whose practices now border on secresy. In the secret walls of European
cloisters were elaborated many of the dogmas of modern faith, and all
with a veil of mystery that is not yet entirely obliterated. The greatest
of all the Jews, the law giver himself, Moses, went apart, in secret, to
obtain the laws of God. The eternal fire was kept veiled from the eyes
and reason of men within the holiest of holies. Without entering upon
a polemic, or wishing to arouse hostile criticism, the suggestion is offered
that the world will never be freed from secret orders, for the highest
interests of men have always been subserved by them, and they have
become so powerful a factor in the amelioration of the condition of men
that they are indispensable.
Homes have been visited and cheered, families cared for by lodges, the
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 681
sick visited, and with a faithfulness and self-denial that only brothers, true
to the mystic tie, can present or illustrate. It is not compulsory attention,
it is not charity, but the simple outgrowth of a pure and exalted humanity.
Nor can institutions of this nature justify or shield either crime or evil,
based as they are upon the purest morality and that code of all moral
codes, the Bible, they must war against vice in all its forms, nor brook
the appearance of evil. The men in them are usually the best in the
community. True, it often happens that mistakes are made, but what
Cffganization is freed from them ? They should be measured by the quality
of the work they do, rather thari by the public estimate of what they
ought to accomplish.
Of societies of this nature there are two in Malvern, the history of
each of which, though brief, here follows:
Masonic Lodge, or Silver Urn Lodge No. 234, was organized under
(fispensation June 2, 1869, and was started on Silver Creek,, in 1870, at a
point nearly five miles north of Malvern. The charter members, among*
Others, included Z. W. Burnham, J. H. Wing, and S. Christy. The first
named was master, the second S. W., and the last, junior warden. The
number of members is now fifty, and the lodge is now officered by A-
Wingate, W. M.; I.J. Swain, S. W.; R.D.S. Padget, J. W.; H. Barnes,
Treasurer; W. E. Ross, Secretary; Pierce Metz, S. D.; H.A.Norton,
J. D,; M. J. Cutis, S'. S.; R. T. Dounor, J. S. and T. Fallwell, Tyler.
Malvern Lodge No. 2T6, 1. O. O. F., was instituted March 16, 1874,
with the following charter members and officers : W. M. McCary, N. G. ;
G. D. Reynolds, V. G.; Henry Bolenbecker; A. Eddy, Rec. Sec; Saul
Hibbs, E. J. Coleman; J. J. Dunlap; Michael Brobst, and George T.
Tibbetts. The present membership is eighty, governed by the following
persons as ofHcers-in-chief: J. L. Talbott, N. G. ; R. McLean, V. G. ; and
W. E. Ross, Secretary.
There is in connection with this lodge, a Rebecca Lodge, No. 84, insti-
tuted in October, 1876. The charter members were William Gray, J. H.
Safely, Minnie Safely, and twenty-four others.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was organized Novem-
ber 29, 1877, by Mrs. Aldrich, of Cedar Rapids. The officers chosen at
that time were Mrs. J. D. Paddock, President; Mrs. Mcintosh, Vice-
President, Mrs. H. Barnes, Secretary, and Mrs. W. D. Evans, Treasurer.
The society edits a column devoted to temperance in the local papers, and
is busily engaged in the good cause, devoted to its philanthropic labors,
and richly successful.
A cornet band was organized in April, 1880, with a membership of ten,
and this completes the civic societies and organizations in this thriving
city.
582^ HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
COBPOBATIONS AND INDTJSTBIBS. '■
There are two banking houses in Malvern, both of good business stand-
ing and influence. The oldest of these is the Farmers and Traders* bank,
which was organized in July, 1871, as a private banking house, by W. D.
Evans. Its date of organization makes it the oldest bank in the county,
thus giving it a short precedence of the Mills county National bank of
Glenwood. The great financial panic of 1873 was passed safely and its
capital in no wise impaired. From that year until 1875 the business was
conducted under the firm name of Evans & Swan, but since that year it
has been solely managed by the present proprietor.
, The remaining banking house is the First National Bank of Malvern,
organized January 1, 1875, with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars.
The surplus fund is now over fifteen thousand dollars. J. M. Strahan is
the president, and L. Bentley, cashier, and these gentlemen have man-
aged its affairs ever since its organization. The bank, as the surplus,
fund evidences, is in a prosperous condition, and is deservedly successful.
The first elevator was built in 1869, at the beginning of the town, by J.
E). Ladd & Co. In 1870 it passed in the hands of J. F. Evans, who con-'
ducted it until 1874, when it was sold to Curtis & Donner. In 1875 the
firm changed to Donner Brothers, but a fire destroyed it in that year.'.
Mr. Curtis, the retiring member of the old firm, formed a co-partnership
with J. F. Evans, under the firm name of J. F. Evans & Co., and these'
gentlemen erected the present structure. It has a capacity of twenty,
thousand bushels, and through it yearly passes a total of more than four
hundred thousand bushels, all handled by the firm.
The Malvern Mills are located about one and, a half miles south of the
city, and were put in operation by Brothers & Mcintosh in 1875-6. In
1879 the property passed into the hands of F. M. Buffington, the present
proprietor. The mill contains all the appliances usual to institutions of its
character, has four run of stone, and a capacity of one hundred bushels,
of grain daily.
These corporations, together with a total of sixty-nine business firms,
combine to give an air of thrift and enterprise to the city that few places
of its size can equal. Added to this, its central favorable location, in the
midst of one of the best farming counties in the state of Iowa, insures its
permanency and business success. Then there is a strong and decided-,
movement being made to secure the county seat, and if, as its citizens
seem to feel assured, it is successful in this it will become the metropolis
of the county. Its position, on two railroads, makes it easy of access
from all parts of the county, and it may be only a question of a compara-
tively short time before it becomes the capital.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 583
CHTJRCHKS.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized as a portion of a
eircuit, April 24, 1870. The members, so far as they can be gathered at
this date, were J. H. Madden, Mr. Reed and Henry Raines. The organ-
ization grew very rapidly in strength, as may be gathered from the fact
that a frame church edifice was constructed in 1872, and dedicated in that
year by the Rev. E. M. H. Fleming. The pastors who have ministered
to this congregation have been F. Plumb, J . P. Evans, R. Dailey, J. C.
Waynick, D. C. Wortz, J. M. Conrad, D. Mclntyre, and A. J. Andres,
the present incumbent. The membership is sixty-five, and the charge'
growing yearly more interesting.
■ The First Baptist Church of Malvern dates its existence from De-
cember 6, 1870. The original membership consisted of Andrew and Mar-
garet Berkheimer, W. A. Cain, Mary Carsner, Amanda E. Davis, Mar-
garet Dunnigan, W. K. FoUett, B. G. Harrison, Phyllis Harrison, Ellen
PurseU, Hannah F. Summers, Harriet Woodrow, Stephen Woodrow, and
Enoch and Elizabeth Witt.. In 1871 a frame building for church pur-
poses was constructed, costing about three thousand dollars; October 15,
1872, it was dedicated by Rev. J. C. Otis, of Glenwood. The pastors
have been W. A. Cain, J. R. Shankafelt, J. W. Roe, O. T. Conger and
A. Rhodes. The society is a very strong one, numbering some two hun-
dred and forty-nine members. It was formed by the disbanding of the
Silver Creek Baptist church, an organization which dates back to Decem-
ber 26, 1857. It thus has the prestige of age, and has been extremely
successful in its work for the moral well-being of the community.
The Malvern Presbyterian Church was organized March 10,
1872. The members at that date were W. D. Evans, William and Martha
Black, Helen Black, A. P. Provost, Elijah Wood, Julia A. Wood, J. S.
Gulick, Clara A. Gulick, S. T. Brothers, E. A. Brothers, S. J. Moss and
J. A. Covert. In 1874^75 a frame church building was constructed cost-
ing five thousand five hundred dollars. February 20, 1876, it was dedi-
cated to the worship of God by the Rev. T. S. Cleland, jr. The pastors
who have served the church have been Charles Mervin, James R. Brown
and W. J. Wilson. The mejnbership is now seventy -four. This church
is out of debt entirely, and on a solid financial basis. The building it erec-
ted was the first put up by that denomination in the county.
Liberty Church,. Protestant Methodist, is an organization which
dates from 1857, when it was commenced by a William Tipton, an early
preacher in the county. In 1874 a frame building was put up on section
six, and dedicated to divine worship in February 1875, by E. S. Brown.
The first pastor was G. W. Robinson, and the present incumbent is Rev.
Mr. Childs. The original members were Cynthis E. Wyatt, Luke Tip-
584 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
ton and wife, Saul Tipton, W. G. Wyatt, W, L. Wyatt, J. A. Wyatt,
Oscar T. Wyatt and Jane F. Wyatt.
The Catholic Church was organized in 1874, by John B. Murphy
and others. Services are held once a month. No further information has
been accessible relative to this society.
The Church of Christ was organized February 26, 1876, with Jegse
Fowler, W. P. Clark, R. D. Hammon, G. W. Baker, Henry Walton,
E., K. Kemple, Adaline Fowler, M. J. Clark, Catherine Harles, Mary
Foxworthy, E. Shepherd, E. McLane, Lizzie Yorich, Mary Morse,, Ellen
Summers, S. Kemple, Elizabeth Johnson,, Jessie Hull and Polly M. Day
as original members. Every Lord's day the congregation meets in Mor-
ris' hall for worship, as it owns no structure of its own. So far as can be
learned the pastors have been W. H. Hardman,, who , organized the socir
ety, S. B. Ross, Rev. McFadden, and Elders Smith and R. Reed. It is
in a very flourishing condition,, and cares for its interests with a careful
hand.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The means of obtaining a fair common school education are presented
to the youth of Malvern under the most favorable circumstances. Its citi-
. zens have recognized that of all things which enter into the very under-
currents of life, in business or out of it, education is the most important
While churches and church interests have been fostered and the moral
conditions of the people have been met, they have not failed to. note the;
intimate connection which exists between religion and morals, between
noble living and education. The schools of the city are second to none in
the county, and meet fully the wants of the community in supporting that
greatest of all needs, a fair business education.
The present independent school district was formerly a portion of what
was known as White Cloud township, being aU that part of said town-
ship known as section 29 and all that portion of section 32 included in the
town plat of Malvern. The change was rriade by an unanimous vote of
those who attended a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the ques-
tion, April 15, 1871. At a subsequent meeting held May, 16, 1871, the
following persons were elected and qualified as a board of directors: J. B.
Ringland, H. E. Boehner, Wm. McCrary, M.J. Curtis, J. M. Strahan and
H. A. Copeland. The following were elected officers of the board: J. B.
Ringland, chairman; J. D. Paddock, secretary; W. D. Evans, treasurer.
August 1, 1871, the voters of the district voted to issue bonds to the
amount of $2,900, for the purpose of building a suitable school-house..
Plans and specifications were drawn up by R. L. Gidley, and the building
built under contract by Bond & Smith for the sum of $3,169.50. The
first teacher was F. H. Hannah, at $55 per month. Present school board
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 585
are, Wm. Black, president; J. Curtis, treasurer; O. H. Snyder, secretary;
W. D. Evans, H. H. Woodrow, C. H. Paddock, G. W. Curfman and
M. E. Boehner, directors. Present teachers are, Wm. M. Moore, princi-
pal; Mrs. E. V. Witchener, Miss Laura Bishop and Miss Kate Brown as-
sistants. Children in district of school age, 311.
In addition to its public schools Malvern enjoys other facilities of an
educational character, such as few places of its size can maintain. It is
a school known as The Western Iowa Normal. In the year 1875 a
project was conceived by the Rev. J. W. Roe, of the Baptist church of
this place, to form an incorporation having for its object the building of
an academy to be under the auspices of that denomination. In accordance
with this object subscriptions to the amount of $8,500 were secured and
articles of incorporation obtained, and arrangements made tor the putting
up of a building, which has cost, up to this time, $12,000, and is not yet
completed. The name of the academy was "The- Baptist Centennial
Academy of Malvern." Owing to the death of the originator of the
project, there being no one interested who had a full knowledge of the
pre-arranged plans, the project is in abeyance and the institution is tem-
porarily converted into a private one conducted by M. Lewis.
Thus has been traced the history of Malvern, which, though brief, is
not without interest and value. There may be none of that tragic interest
which centers in cities that have witnessed the fall of dynasties and the
imstitution of republics, or which have themselves helped to shape the
•destinies of a world — but is a phenomenal one in that it marks the peculiar
and distinctive features of western progress. Its rise is not of that char-
acter which bears on its surface none of the marks of permanency, but
has taken place in obedience to those laws which insures permanency,
and are of themselves a sufficient guarantee of future growth and pros-
perity. When business interests and a fealty to town prosperity once
become factors in the popular opinion, then there is the promise and
potency of substantial development. Such has characterized the brief/
history of Malvern. Where twelve years ago were unbroken prairie and
the stillness that broad acres only may know, stands a town of seven hun-
dred people, busied each with the cares of an active life, and moving
amidst the hum of numerous industries. In no land except the great
"west could such a wonder be.
EMERSON.
This town is situated in the midst of a rich and well settled farming
•district, on the line of the C, B, & Q. R. R. and near the line of Mont-
gomery county. As might therefore be expected, its business opportuni-
ties and advantages are great, and of considerable importance. The
town is hardly more than a decade old, but it has already evidenced the
586 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
wisdom of its founder in the selection of its site, and the liberal induce-^
ments offered to promote its growth in population.
. Concerning the history of this place it has been possible to glean noth-
ing save a few tacts relative to its earliest settlement, and for these
acknowledgments are due to Judge Tubbs. The first child born in the.
limits of Emerson was a male, John, son of David J. and Martha A.
Rowhouser. This event occurred October 29, 1870. On December 10,,
of the same year, was born Alice, daughter of D. M. and Anna Tomblin,,
the first female child born in the city. The first marriage occurred May
17, 1873, and was that of G. F. Waterman and Eliza Stewart. The Rev^
Eber Loomer performed the ceremony. Along with these events of a,
happier nature came also the summons of death. Carrie B. Sheldon was
the first to fall; she dying August 25, 1870. The first physician was L,
Carr, from Ames, Iowa, who subsequently moved, to Pendleton county^
Kentucky, where he is now practicing. The first clergyman was Eber;
Loomer, of the Baptist denomination, who conducted religious services in
the depot of the C, B. & Q. R. R., in August, 1870. In the same year
was opened the first school, one on the subscription plan, conducted by
William Rice. His pupils numbered seventeen, and his compensation,
was some twenty-five dollars per month. He subsequently removed to
Yankton, Dacotah. In 1873 the number of pupils had so increased that,
the town erected a school building at a cost of three thousand five hun-
dred dollars, to supply the need for suitable accommodations. These are
all the facts relative to earlier history that can be gleaned.
CIVIC SOCIETIES.
Of this class of organizations there is but one in Emerson, Humanity.
Lodge, No. 378, A. F. and A. M. It was organized under dispensation!
July 13, 1876, and chartered June 8, 1877. The charter members were
L. W. Tubbs, W. M.; J. H. Cain, S. W.; D. W. Graff, J. W.; Matthew
Burvis, Treasurer; H. M. Good, Secretary; J. B. Welpton, S. D.; W.
A. Glover, J. D. ; D. J. Rowhouser, Tyler ; William Applegate, Grin
Squires, J. M. B. Fort, George 'Shaw and D. L. McMurty. The mem-
bership is now thirty-seven. The lodge is in a florishing condition and is.
one of great promise.
CHURCHES.
Methodist Episcopal Church. This is the oldest society of its kind
in the town, having been organized by the Fourth Quarterly Conference,
in September, 1871. The original members were John Little and wife,"
A. L. Sheldon and wife, Williahi Applegate and wife, Philip Fancher
and wife, W. S. Douglas and Maggie J. Barr. A brick structure was
built by the society and dedicated June 20, 1880, by the Rev. Bishop E,
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 58T
G. Andrews. The building cost four thousand dollars and is a neat and
tasty structure. The pastors have been F. Plumb, E. W. Sage, L. W.
Archer, W. F. Mark, W. J. Beck and Charles Leach. The membership
is ninety-five.
First Baptist Church. This organization dates back to March 19,-
1873. The following persons then became the original members of the
church: Edward Bradley, L. C. McClintock and wife, G. D. Fritch and
wife, W. J. Wright and wife, William M. Treat and wife, and D. L.'
Tubbs and wife. A frame church was built in 1877, and on October 7,
of the same year was dedicated by S. C. Sale. The pastors have been
W. P. Patterson, E. J. Lockwood and J. H. Pratt. There is in connec-
tion with the society a prosperous Sabbath school, missionary society and
ladies' aid society. The organization is clear from debt and owns its neat
church valued at thirty-five hundred dollars.
. The First Presbyterian Church of Emerson was organized June
20, 1876, with R. A. Wells and wife, Mrs. Clara Sheffer, J. H. Cain, Mrs.
Maggie McKowan, H. F. Tomblin and wife, Mrs. George Taylor, and
Pavid GrofFand wife as original members. Three years later, in 1877, a
frame church was built at a cost of thirty-three hundred dollars, and was
dedicated by the Rev. C. H. Cleland, of Council Bluffs. The pastor is
Rev. J. R. Brown, who ministers to a membership of seventy-six persons.
The church is reported financially and spiritually prosperous.
. No information has been attainable with reference to the village schools.
They are reported, however, to be efficient and equal to all demands for
sometime to come.
The business of Emerson is good, its business men reliable and active,
and its material wealth annually increasing. Nearly every branch of in-
dustry and trade is represented, and the town enjoys the patronage of the
surrounding country.
SILVER CITY.
This active infant city is situated in the western part of Ingraham town-
ship, near Silver Creek, on the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific railway.
It is ten miles from Glen wood, the county seat. It commands a rich and
established farm trade. The railroad communications are excellent, giv-
ing it speedy access to one of the greatest markets in the west. The first
store was built by A. W. Crosby; the second, a drug store, by W. G.
Moore, and the third, a general merchandise store, by S. M. Wiatt, all
Completed in the summer of 1879, and before the town was laid out. The,
railroad company on whose line the place is situated, laid the town out in
the fall of 1879. The plat embraces some seventy acres.
A pleasant and commodious school-house was built at a cost of two-
thousand five hundred ddllars. The building stands in a very pleasant
588 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
location,, and wiU seat some two hundred pupils. The usual kinds g£
business are here found, all in the hands of men who are not only ener-
getic but enthusiastic in their labors for their chosen home. The town is
feeling their influence, and the result is proving how well they have
labored.
The Silver City elevator is owned by Edwin Moore. It is an entirely
new structure, completed in December, 1880, at a cost of nearly five
thousand dollars. It possesses all the appliances of a weU regulated
modern elevator, and has a storage capacity of some twenty-five thousanid'
bushels. The company or firm of which Mr. Moore is a member
operates a number of elevators in diiferent towns in southwestern Iowa,
and the extent of their business may be readily inferred therefrom.
CHUBCHES AND SOCIETIES.
Silver City First Baptist Church, was organized February 10,
1876, by Revs. E. E. Cady and J. W. Roe. The original members were
G. W. Sidener, Harriet Sidener, S. D. Sidener, Esther Sidener, R. N.
Smawley, C. D. Hawley, Harriet A. Hawley, M. A. Dupree, Silas Morse^
Betsy Morse, Ruf us Bevier, A. B. Bevier, Julia A. Skanks, M. A. Cham-
bers, Phoebe Simpson, Mr. j. R. Allison, I. J. Moffitt and Rilda Wolver-
ton. In 1880 a frartie church was built at a total cost of one thousand
six hundred dollars. November 7, 1880, it was dedicated by Rev. A.
Rhodes, of Malvern. The pastors have been L. W. Atkins and T. M.
Coffey. The church is a strong one, and does much good in advancing
the social and moral interests of the community.
The Silver City Lodge No. 403,, I. O. O. F. was instituted March
35, 1880. It being so young can have no history. The first officers were
W. B. Oaks, Secretary; A. W. Crosby, V. G.;, R. B. Parrish, P. G.; E.
L. Landon, N. G. ; C. P. Bateman, Treasurer, and G. G. Lambert, War-
den. The lodge now numbers twenty-seven.
HASTINGS.
This village is situated at the crossing of the C, B. & Q., its Avoca
extension northward, and Sidney branch southward. The proprietors are
the railroad company and E. J. Hale, of Boston, Massachusetts. It was
platted by A. B. Smith, of Plattsmouth, in the summer of 1870, but was
not put into the market until 1872. The site of the town as platted con-
tains some four hundred and forty acres. The building was one used as
a section house, erected for its own purposes by the railroad company.
The first business house was put up by C. W. Brandon, and is now occu-
pied as a drug store, by James Gray. The first residence was put up by
James Mullooney, on the north side of the track. George Edson soon
after came and erected the first blacksmith shop. These are all the facts
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 589
that can be gathered respecting the early history of this new and flour-
ishing town.
Civic societies are represented by Hastings Lodge, No. 397, 1. O. O. F.,
which was instituted on ,the 12th day of September, A. D. 1879, I.
Obefelder, D. D. G. M., of Council Bluffs, officiating. The charter mem-
bers were Lewis Robbins, H. C. Robbins, H. C. Ayres, H. A. Russell
C. H. Painter. The first officers were H. A. Russell, N. G.; Lewis Rob-
bins, V. G.; A. C. Ayres, R. S.; H. C. Robbins, Treasurer. The officers
for this year, (1881) are A. C. Ayres, N. G.; H. B. Gray, V. G.; F. B.
Hawes, R. S.; Geo. W. Rose, P. S.; and James F. Martin, Treasurer.
The lodge is in good working order, begins the year entirely out of debt,
has thirty members., and has had no case of death or serious sickness or
accident since its organization. Mr. H. C. Ayres the N. G., is also D.
D. G. M. of this, the 10th, district.
CHURCHES.
The First Congregational Church was organized February 1,
1878, and is the first church established in the town. The original mem-
bers were W. F. Bosbyshell, E. P. Bosbyshell, S. S. Hawker and wife,
A. P. Johnson and wife, L. K. Mason and wife, J. O. Munson, G. E.
Perrin, Rebecca Jordan, J. W. Shallcrop, C. I. Sper and Bella White.
Durmg the years 1878 and 1879 the society was busily engaged in erect-
ing its church, a frame building, costing some eighteen hundred dollars.
May 1, of the year last named, it was dedicated by the Rev. A. Rogers,
of Glenwood. The pastors have been E. Kimball and George Dungan..
The .membership is now twenty-eight.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized January 7, 1879.
The first membership was composed of H. R. Anderson and wife, J. A.
Parrish and wife, J. H. Madden and wife, Mary Spire and Julia Genung.
The society owns no building but is now making an effort, which promi-
ises to be successful, to build a brick church edifice. There have been
three pastors since its organization, the Revs. J. M. Conrad, W.J. Beck
and Charles Leach. The membership now numbers twenty-five. It is
growing in numbers, growing in favor with the people, and, it is to be
. hoped, in favor with God. Its members are growing in grace and spirit-
uality, and by their daily walk are trying to merit recognition for their
Christian character.
No information has been accessible relating to either educational or
business interests, both of which, it is fair to presume, are on an equality
With other villages of its size in the county.
690 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
EAST PLATTSMOUTH.
An old and small village, founded in the early days of the county's his-
tory. The Mormons made a stop here during their long pilgrimage to
the far west, but soon passed on to their haven. It was called by theiri
Bethlehem, and has elsewhere been mentioned in connection with early
history. Subsequently W. Sharp located at this point, surveyed the land
and forming the site of a village named it Sharpsburg. The name is now
East Plattsmouth, as used in the post-office directory.
HENDERSON.
This village is located in Anderson township, on a portion of section 10.
it was platted by Joel Woods in April, 1880. It enjoys good railroad
facilities, being" on the Avoca and Hastings branch of the C. B. & Q. R. R,
It is in the very heart of the best grain producing portion of Mills county:
Business interests are growing daily in importance and value. No one can
say what may be the future of this place.
PACIFIC JUNCTION.
' This village is located at the junction of the C. B. & Q., and C. B. ; K.
C; & St. J. railroad. The site of the place was originally owned by D.N,
Smith. It was surveyed and platted in the year 1871. Some few build-
ings had been erected previous to this year, but not on the site of the
surveyed town . From that date on it has developed a wonderful business
activity and growth. In 1871 the post-office was established, and Frank
Nye was appointed postmaster. The buildings in this embryo town are
all frame structures, with the exception of the buildings of the railroad
companies at this place, whose houses are, some of them, of brick. The
school building at this place serves for its original purposes, for a lecture-
hall and for a church. No distinctive church organization exists in the
village. A union Sunday school of great promise is conducted during the
major portion of the year. A weekly newspaper is published here, for an
account of which the reader is referred to the history of the press.
PACIFIC CITY.
This is one of the oldest settlements in the county, its founding dating
back to the year 1857. It was founded by a corporation consisting of L.,
Nuckolls & Bro., S. H. Moore, J. W. Coolidge, Messrs. McComb, Arm-
strong, Renick, and others. The style of the association was the Pacific ■
City Town Company. The land now forming the site of the village was
formerly owned by James Mayfield. In 1858 a newspaper, Republican
in politics, was founded, and this devoted its energies to the upbuilding
of the place. The owners and joint editors were Messrs. Cale and Mc-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 691
Combs. The paper was called The Pacific Herald. It was, shortly after
its estabhshment, transferred to a Mr. Thompson, who conducted it until
the decline of the place was such that the enterprise could no longer be
followed successfully. The site of this village is an extensive one, the
original plat being one and one quarter miles in length and a half mile in
breadth. It comprises some four hundred and eighty acres. The years
1857, 1858, and 1859 were prosperous ones, and the place grew rapidly
in numbers and in favor. Many substantial buildings, public and private,
were erected, stores were numerous, and nearly every branch of human
industry was represented. The post-office was established in 1857, with
H. J. Graham as postmaster. Churches and Sabbath schools formerly
existed and flourished, but are now reduced to a single representative.
Of public institutions there is a single one, the public school, necessary to
any condition of hfe and to any place. The school building is of brick,
"and its capacity is equal to all demands likely to be made upon it.
\ The Pacific Baptist Church was organized in 1876. The origi-
nal membership was composed of j^aron Hamilton and wife, Wil-
liam Oneal and wife, Mrs. Baldwin, Mrs. Blackley and Mr. Mc-*
Knight and wife. The Rev. Mr. McKnight is the pastor, who
ministers to a membership of eighteen. The clerk is William Oneal, to
whom indebtedness is acknowledged for information relative to this
society.
There are numerous other small villages in the county, among them
" Mineola, Clarke and White Cloud. Only one thing must be guarded
against, and that is the multiplication of rival villages. The county is
one of the smallest in the state, and so great a number of " business cen*
ters " and " to be metropolitan cities," certainly cannot survive. The
communities surrounding these places are all composed of substantial
farmers, but far more than this is needed to insure their prosperity. The
towns themselves can ill afford this rivalry.
Biographical Sketches.
" Human greatness is neither a mystery nor an accident. There is a
class of minds, envious or ignorant, which insists that the greatness of
men is without reference to any well settled orders of merit ; that it is
often the frmt of chance; that it is subject to no well defined rule or analy-
sis, and that fame is a lawless and irregular thing. We dissent from
this view and disclaim any share in its self-complacency. We believe that
' human greatness, as interpreted by intelligent fame among mankind, is
regulated by well-known laws, is subject to a clear analysis, and is capa-
ble of a precise definition, especially in modern civilized society, with its
multitude of concerns, its intricate organization, and its constant and char-
acteristic multiplication of restraints and difficulties upon the self assertion
of the individual, it is impossible for a man to obtain anything like per-
manent fame without the possession of some substantial and well-defined
merit or some extraordinary quality. To be sure, in the experience of
every people there are hasty judgments of the mob, fits of fickle admira*
*tion, short triumphs of charlatanism, ephemera of the newspaper. But
equally certain it is that no man succeeds to real and lasting fame, and
obtains a permanent place in the regard of his fellows, unless he has some
visible mark upon him, some true excellence, and only after a severe test
and a precise measure have been applied to those qualities in which
he asserts an extraordinary character. Thus character may be one of
great virtues or of brilliant vices. We do not discuss the moral question
here; we only insist that the man designated for historical reputation
and the fee of fame must have sonxething that really distinguishes him
from his fellows. Affectation and pretension can never accomplish a per-
manent name. There is no such thing as being great by accident, and
enjoying fame without good reason therefor. Weak men may sometimes
make undue noise, and occupy for a little while eminences to which they
do not belong ; but the sober judgment of mankind soon passes upon the
pretender, and reduces him to his proper position. It is the certain and
inevitable law of history. Mind, like water, will find its level. We may
appear to live in a great confusion of names, amid disordered currents
59!!
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 693
of popular fame, in storms of unjust and turbulent opinion ; but, after all,
we may be sure that there is an ultimate order, that the reputation of
men wiU be finally assigned them by exact rules, and that they only will
enter the temple of history, who have real titles, by extraordinary virtues,
or by extraordinary vices, to its places."
Thus writes one whose reputation as a biographer cannot be excelled.
His reflections lead to many suggestive thoughts, sure to arise in the
minds of all who follow his remarks. All men cannot be great ; each has
{lis own sphere, and the success of his life is to be measured by the man-
ner in which he fills it. But men may be both true and good, may be
morally great, for in true living there are no degrees, there is no respect of
persons. The word sketch, as here used, implies an outline or delineation
of anything, giving broad touches by which only an imperfect idea, at the
best, can be conveyed. It is not designed to include all the several and
separate acts of a man's life, important or otherwise, for that would neces-
sarily be both comprehensive and minute ; nor is any single sketch purely
biographical, which would imply a review of the life and character ot
each person. The design is to give the merest outline, with particular
reference, however, to the public life of the persons named. To go into
each man's private life, or into his home life, would be both unwarranted
and valueless. Few care to know these facts, . and many of them, per-
haps, had best be forgotten. As a rule one's neighbors know full enough
about him, and to afford them correct data for information may deprive
them of the topic of quondam conversations.
Here will be found few, if any, who are not entitled to a place in pub-
lic eonfidence. The names are, in great part, those of men who have been
closely and for a long time identified with the interests of the county and
their respective townships. If in their lives no mention appears of the
hardships they endured in the early days of the county's history it is because
these are the common experiences of pioneer life, were not exceptional in
their ehapcter, and have been already referred to in other pages of this
volume. A repetition here of individual experiences would be absolutely
devoid of both interest and aim. To the residents of the county the names
of none of its earliest settlers are without interest. So far as they could
be gathered they illustrate quite fully the character of the early settlers;
if the names of any such do not appear in these pages it is because facts
were not accessible, or that an inauspicious destiny had arrested their
career. Their place was already marked. To have obtained sketches
of their lives, at first-hand, would have been next to the consciousness of
duty fulfilled the highest of gratifications. Their lives would obtain, and
jusrify all sympathy, and even their names recall heroic examples of
which the men of to-day, with better fortunes, though with less darings
594 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
are neither the companions, the rivals nor the masters. In the great
majority of instances the battles in which many persons named have been
engaged are suppressed, not because they are valueless, but because the
engagements of the several Iowa regiments may be found in another por- "
tion of the volume. This has not been generally the case with regiments
outside of the state, except in an occasional instance when some one;
ambitious to share the glory of war, represented himself in remarkable
battles in different and widely removed states, but occurring at the same
date? Each one of this class selects for himself the place of glory, and
makes of his own person the pivot on which the fortunes of battle re-
volved. It has, in a word, been a paramount object that men should be
sketched as they are, rather than as they think they are, or wish, perhaps,
to be.
CENTER TOWNSHIP.
ASHTON, THOMAS "W., farmer and stockman, P. O. Glenwood;
is a native of Monmouth, New Jersey, where he was born in August,
1824. He resided in the place of his nativity until twenty-one years of
age, receiving his education in the common school. In December of 1852,
he went to California, and resided in that state some two years, when he
returned to his native state. In March of 1867, he came to this county.
In September of 1852, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Newton, of Mid-
dlesex county. New Jersey, born in November, 1832. They are the par-
ents of eight children, . seven now living: Isaac, Emma A., Annie S.,
Charles H., Ella G., Franklin B., and R. Lee. His farm contains 160
acres, all the result of patient labor and industry, gained since coming to
this county.
BARKER, L. C, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Glenwood; was born
in Tioga county. New York, in the year 1822. In 1824 he became a
resident of Monroe county, his father having moved thither, and subse-
quently to Genesee county, same state. Shortly after this he went to
Kalamazoo county, Michigan, and thence to Illinois, where for two years
he was engaged in teaching school. He came to this county from Wis-
consin in 1856. Since coming he has accumulated over one thousand
acres of land, all improved, and with several excellent orchards. In the
fall of 1868 he was married to Mrs. Eliza Sharp, of Logan county, Illi-
nois, who was originally from Shelby county, Kentucky. Mr. Barker
and lady are members of the M. E. Church at Hillsdale. The parents of
Mrs. Barker were among the early settlers of Kentucky.
BROOKS, G. W., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Glenwood ; was born
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY". 595
in eastern Virginia. At an early age he moved with his parents to Har-
rison county, Ohio, where his youth was passed. In 1854 he removed to
La Salle, Illinois, where he remained two years, and then became a resi-
dent of this county, locating in Glenwood and engaging in black smithing.
For twenty years he continued in this occupation, and then removed to
his present home. In December, 1860, he was married to Miss Sarah F.
Kimberling, a native of Mason county, Virginia. Mrs. Brooks came to
Glenwood from Missouri, in the early days when Coonville was its name.
The farm of Mr. Brooks is composed of one hundred and twenty acres
of some of the best land in the township.
CLARKSON A. B., P. O. Hillsdale; born in Franklin county, Indi-
ana, in July, 1835. When seven years of age he moved with his parents
to Henry county, Iowa, where he received his education in the common
schools. In the spring of 1859 he went to Mahaska county, Iowa;
remained there about eight years, and returned to Henry county. He
came to Mills county in the fall of 1876. Was married in November,
1856, to Miss Barbara Hains, of Henry county, Iowa. They are the
parents of eight children: Mary E., Aaron F., John C, George L., Rosa
J., Cora E., and Eva S. He is a kind father and a respected member of
society.
COATS, W. M., graindealer, P. O. Hillsdale; born in 1851, in La
Salle county, Illinois. When one year old he went with his parents to
California, remaining there about ten years, when he returned to Illinois,
locating in Jackson county. He. resided in thait county until he was
twenty years of age. He received his education in the schools of St.
Louis, and the State Normal school at Bloomington, Illinois. He came
to this county in 1872. He was for three years in the employ of J. F.
Evans & Co., graindealers of Council Bluffs. In the fall of 1875 he
formed a partnership with his father-in-law, Hon. James Mickelwait,
in the grain business. They have built an elevator at Hillsdale, at a cost
of $5,000, which has a capacity of 15,000 bushels. He wag married in
December, 1874, to Miss Lizzie Mickelwait. They have one child,
Alma.
DAVIS, STERLING, farmer and stock raiser, P. O. Malvern; Mr.
Davis was born in Livingston county, New York, in 1822. In 1831 his
parents moved to Ohio, where he lived twelve years, receiving, in the
meantime, a common school education. In the spring of 1847 he came
to this county, and is one of its earliest settlers. Four years previous to
his coming to this county he had married Miss Maria Shoemaker, of
jQuincy, Illinois. They are the parents of seven children : Warren W.,
Amelia, WiUiam, Sarah, Catharine, Lillie. P. and Wallace. The farm of
Mr. Davis contains one hundred and sixty acres. A further account of
I
596 I HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
those days and scenes which Mr. Davis found on coming here is else?-
where given.
HORNBY, GEORGE H., former, P. O. Glenwood; was born in
Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1838. In 1844 he removed to Providence,
Rhode Island. In 1863 he enlisted in the United States navy for the term
of three years. Returning to his home at the expiration of his term of
service he engaged in the manufacturing business, being thus occupied
two years. He then disposed of this interest and moved to Pawtucket,
and engaged in the upholstering and manufacturing business. In March
of 1879 he came to this county. He was married in March, 1866, to Miss
A. F. Crockett, born in February, 1838. They have six children: Ed-
ward T., Florence T., Mary S., George H., William S. and Viola. He
is a new man to the count\', but comes recommended by those best of
traits, integrity, industry and honor.
JONES, G. F., farmer, P. O. Glenwood; among the later comers to
this county, who have by integrity and fair dealing become entitled to
recognition as among the county's most honorable men, none are more
worthy of mention than Mr. Jones. He was born in Jeiferson county,
Ohio, in the year 1837, in the month of August. Ten years later he
moved with his father's family to Morgan county, Ohio, where were
received, in the common school, all the educational qualifications he pos-
sesses. In 1857 he went to Athens county, in the same state, and at the
end of five years became a resident of Hardin county, Ohio. He served
two enlistments in the late war, and was in the battles of Rich Mountaku,
Laurel Hill, Fredericksburg, Harper's Ferry, and the seven days fight
before Richmond, and was here disabled by receiving the weight of a
horse which fell upon him at James River. In the spring of 1875 he
came to this county. He was, for two years, the superintendent of the
county poor farm, and proved to be an excellent mapager. He was mar-
ried to Miss Melissa Kinney, of Nelsonville, Ohio, born in March, 1849,
in the month of July, 1870.
JONES, NORVEL, farmer an^ stock dealer, P. O. Malvern; born in
August, 1845, in Mercer county, Illinois, and remained in that county
until the fall of 1863. He was educated in the common schools and at
Knox College. In May, 1864, he enlisted in company C, 137th Illinois
infantry, for one hundred days, and participated at the battle of Memphis.
He was mustered out in October, 1864, and returned again to his studies.
In the spring of 1867 he went to Henry county, Illinois, and remained
there eight years, engaged in raising live stock. He came to this county
in 1875, and has resided here since that time. "Was married in March,
1870, to Miss Ella Mason, of Galesburg, Illinois, by whom he is the father
of three children: Orel, Orpha and Vena, the two last nanaed being
HISTORY OF MIL,LS COUNTY. 59T
deceased. He is located on a good farm of 160 acres, well improved. He
deals extensively in cattle, sheep and hogs.
KELLEY, REV. ISAAC, P. O. Hillsdale; born November 11, 1819,
in Ross county, Ohio, where he grew to maturity, working on his father's
farm and attending the pioneer schools. When nineteen years old he
Eommehced to learn the trade of a blacksmith, and worked at that trade
ten years. In 1843 he moved to Highland county, Ohio, where he was
Kigaged in farming two years, returning again to his native county. After
Spending two years at his old home he went to Jacksonville, and in 1848
€ngaged in mercantile pursuits at Locust Grove. He came to Mills
county in the autumn of 1853. He united with the M. E. Church when
a young man, and began his career as a minister of the gospel in this
count}'. The Glenwood circuit was his first field of labor, where he served
two years and was then appointed by the conference to minister to the
epiritual wants of the citizens of the Bedford circuit. He was afterward
appointed to the Oregon, Missouri, circuit. He returned to this county in
i861, and has since remained here preaching in the Tabor circuit, and
adjoining places. Rev. Kelley was married October 26, 1842, to Miss
Ruth Smith, who was bori^ in Highland county, Ohio, June 16, 1822.
Twelve children have blessed this union, ten of whom are living at the
present time: L. E., D. E., L. A., J. Q., J. J., W. M., E. E., W. S., E. M.
and Pearl. He owns a pleasant residence situated on the suburbs of
Hillsdale, and a well improved farm of four hundred and forty acres. He
ialso owns an extensive mercantile^house, conducted by his son Isaac.
LEWIS, A., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Malvern; was born in
Knox county, Ohio, in the year 1821, where his youth was passed and
Ms education received. In 1855 Mr. Lewis came to this county and loca-
ted near the place of his present residence. For some five years he
engaged in farming but then erected a saw and grist mill on Silver Creek.
After conducting this successfully for a time he returned to his former
avocation. In 1857 he married Miss Mary J. Wilkerson, born in December
1833, by whom he has one child. Electa, and one by adoption, Robert D .
His farm comprises two hundred and fifty-nine acres, improved, with good
buildings and a fine orchard.
LEWIS, I. B., merchant, P. O. Hillsdale; born in February, 1846, in
Andrew county, Missouri, where he resided about five years. He then
came to Iowa, locating in Mills county, and has resided here continuously.
He received his education in Xhe excellent common schools of this county .
He was married[in March, 1872, to Damascus Kelley of this county. They
are the parents of four children : Fay Ivy, Ruth Ella and Clifford. Mr.
Lewis is now engaged in the grocery and provision trade, and also car-
ries an extensive stock of notions. He is a successful business man, much
admired by all who know him.
598 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
LONG, ABIGAIL, P. O. Malvern; born May 19, 1818, in Oneida
county, New York. When six years of age she moved with her parents
to Fulton county, New York. She was married November 18, 1837, to
Adam Long, of Fulton county, New York. He was born in 1805, and
died in 1877, leaving four children: Lewis R., Henry W., James R., and
Salina E. Mrs. Long and her son Lewis, are located on a good farm of
eighty acres with pleasant surroundings. Mr. L. R. Long is a consist-
ent member of the Baptist church of Malvern. He was born in 1839, at
Gloversville, New York, where he resided about thirty years. He learned
the trade of a carpenter, and worked one year in the office of John Ad-
ams, paymaster of the Harlem railway. He came to this county in 1864,
and has since been engaged in farming and carpentering.
MILLER, J. M., farmer, P. O. Glenwood; was born in Buchanan
county, Missouri, June 16, 1840. In 1853 he came to this county as one
of its early settlers. August 13, 1862, he enlisted in the Twenty-ninth
Iowa, company B, and was in the battles of Helena, Little Rock, Saline
River, Spanish Fort, and the taking of Mobile. He was married to Miss
Harriet E. Graves, a native of Knox county, Tennessee, born November
22, 1838. She came to this county in 1852. They are the parents of six
children, two living: Marietta and Ada Pearl. The farm of Mr. Miller
contains 160 acres. What has been said of other old residents of the
county is equally true of him, and need not be here repeated.
McCAMMON, CHARLES C, stockman and farmer, P. O. Glen-
wood; is a native of Morgan county, Illinois. He was born in 1832, and
in 1836 came to Iowa to Van Buren county, receiving a common school
education. In 1852 he started overland for California, and remained in
that state sixteen years, engaged in mining, freighting, and staging. He
was married in 1871 to Miss Ella Scott, a native of Putnam county, Indi-
ana, born in 1850. They have one child, James C, born in March, 1872.
The farm of Mr. McCammon is a fine one of two hundred and forty
acres, like most other farms in the county, well improved.
MICKELWAIT,JOSEPH, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Hillsdale;
was born in Morgan county, Illinois, in 1833. In 1840 he came to Henry
county, Iowa, residing there until 1863, when his residence in Mills coun-
ty began. In November, 1858, he was married to Miss Nancy Barr, of
Henry county, this state. She was born in October, 1836, in the state of
Ohio. They are the parents of five children : George H., Lucy., John, Mary
A., and Joseph. The farm of this gentleman contains two hundred and
sixty acres.
McCORMICK, P., farmer, P. O. Malvern ; was born in Ireland in the
year 1837. In 1847 he came to the United States and located in St. Law-
rence county. New York, where he resided eleven years. In 1858 he
went to California, engaged in mining tor some four years ; then to Idaho,
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 599
remaining another period of four years, at the expiration of which he
returned to New York. He shortly afterward came to this county,
attended Tabor College two terms, and then located on the farm he now
owns, containing two hundred and thirty acres. In February, of 1870,
he was married to Miss T. Weldon, formerly of Monroe count, New
York.
MICKELWAIT, HON. JAMES, farmer, P. O. Hillsdale; born March
27, 1827, in Yorkshire, England. He emigrated to this county with his
parents when four years of age. He first located in Morgan county,
Illinois, where he remained about eleven years. He next moved to Henry
county, Iowa, resided there five years, and returned to Morgan county,
Illinois. In February, 1849, he started for the gold fields of California,
and arrived in the state August 25, of the same year. He remained in
the mines about fourteen months, and then returned to Henry county,
Iowa. He arrived in Mills county about April 15, 1851, and has continu-
ously resided here since that time. In 1874 he engaged in the grain busi-
ness at Hillsdale, in company with his son-in-law, Mr. W. M. Coats.
They have erected a good elevator at that point, and handle a large
amount of all kinds of cereals. Mr. M. was Mills county's representa-
tive in the Fifteenth General Assembly. He was elected on the anti-
monopoly ticket, and served with credit to himself and constituency.
During his long residence in the county he has won the esteem and
admiration of the people by his earnest efforts in all matters haviftig the
advancement of the interests of the county. He was married March 7,
1852, to Sarah A. Baylis, of Champaign county, Ohio. Five children
are the fruits of this union, of whom three are living: Lizzie, Wilbur W.
and James M. He resides on a fine farm of 192 acres, beautifully situated
and well improved.
PITZER, S. C, farmer and stock dealer, P. O. Hillsdale, is a native of
Macoupin county, Illinois, born in 1841. In 1845 he came to Iowa with hiis
parents and settled in Madison county. In the fall of 1852, they came to
this county, one year after its organization. He has resided on the farm
he now occupies thirteen years. Being thus an old resident of the county
he has noted its prosperity and growth in numbers, and enjoys the satis-
faction of knowing that he has personally contributed to the same. He
was married December 3, 1867, to Miss Alice Kelly, of Adams county,
Ohio, who was born in December, 1848. This union brought them four
children: Grant, Clara D., Charley Lee and Russell K. Mr. P. and lady
are zealous and consistent christians, whose membership is in the Metho-
dist Episcopal church. Mrs. P. came to Mills county with her father in
1854.
PITZER, E. W., farmer and apiarist, P. O. Glenwood ; is a native of
Macoupin county, Illinois, where he was born March 28, 1838. He
600 HISTORY OF MILLS COUTtfTt".
there resided nine years, when his parents came to Iowa and located in
Madison county. In the fall of 1853 he came to Mills, where he h^s
resided the major portion of the time since. In 1859, however, he went
to Colorado, to remain only some six months, but again visited that
then territory, to remain a year and a half. He was a member of the
29th Iowa Infantry, Company B, and was in all the engagements where
his regiment served. In August, 1870, he was married to Mi^s Sarah
L. Wright, of Glenwood, Iowa, born in Putnam county, Indiana, in 1833.
They have six children : Walter W., Eva J., Nellie G„ Archie H., Phebe
and Lalie. Owns a farm of one hundred and fifteen acres. His apiaty
is known as " Pleasant Hill Apiary."
PRATT, S. A., farmer and stock-raiser, who was born in Cumber-
land county, Maine, in February, 1834, is a most exaniplary citizen aM
an 'example of what merit and strict integrity will accomplish for men.
The first seventeen years of his life were passed in the stiite of !his nativ-
ity, when he became a resident of Lawrence, Massachusetts. He then
learned the trade of a bricklayer and plasterer. In 1865 he went to
Kewanee, Illiinois, and in 1866 came to this county. In 1861 he enlisted
in the 67th lUs. Infantry, and was in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh,
Coritith and others. For a year and a half he was a member of the Sig-
nal corps, under Captain Howard. He was discharged at Louisville,
Kentucky. In December of 1867, he was married to Miss Nancy
McCo^, of this county. His farm contains one hundred and sixty acres.
PATRICK, G. W., farmer, P. O. Malvern, was born in Coshoctoh
county, Ohio, in April, 1833, where he resided until 1855, when he came
to Mills county. In the following year he was married to Miss Roxaiia
Lewis ; born in October, 1832, in Delaware county, Ohio. He has heM
various township offices, among them justice of the peace and township
trustee. His farm numbers one hundred and twenty acres. Adjoining it
he owns a grist mill, and these two industries keep him an active, ener-
getic man.
ROWE, PHILIP, P. O. Glenwood, farmer and stock-raiser, is a
native of Bergen, New Jersey, where he was born in the year 1815.
When quite young he went with his parents to the city of New York,
and subsequently to Ontario county, in New York. In 1827 he went to
Monroe county, in 1836 to Michigan, and in 1842 to northeastern Indiana.
In the fall of 1862 he came to Mills and purchased the farm he now occu-
pies. He was married in February of 1848, to Eliza Noyes, of Ontario
county. New York. She was bom in April, 1823. They are the parehts
of two children, Harvey C, born in March, 1862, and Alice A., born in
November, 1864.
RANNE, HENRY, stock-dealer, P. O. Malvern; was born in Balti-.
more, Maryland, in March, 1819. At an early age he was taken to
HISTORV OV MILLS COUNTY. 601
PfeiMsylvaniai remaining- five years, and thence to Stark county^ Ohio.
In 1837 he went to Pike county in the last named state, and in October,
1844, came to Muscatine, Iowa. In 1855 he became a resident of Harri-
son county, Missouri, and in 1864 of this county, where he purchased his
pi-esent farm. He moved to it in 1869. The farm contains 618 acres,
and is a model one in arrangement and care. In May, 1842, he married
Miss Margaret Brown, of Piketon, Ohio; born in 1818. They have ten
children, six living: William, Catharine, Ella, Jasper, Henry and Alice,
He has been identified with the iaterests of the county ever since coming
here.
REASONER, W. B., farmer, P. O. Glen wood; born February 9,
1'834, in Muskingum county, Ohio.. He received the principal portion of
his education in the city sehoolis of Adamsville, Ohio. He came to Mills
Iddunty in the spring of 1863. He now lives on a farm of 2^20 acres,
afeout two miles east of Gienwood. He also owns a well improved farm
of 240 acres in Shelby county, Iowa. He was married in February, 1857,
to Miss Marj' Vernon, of Muskingum county, Ohio. By this happy
union they are th6 par^Jts of nine children: Mary Alice, Charles M.,
James H., Laura Ellen, Newton C, George T., Gracie Elizabeth and
Fl-eddy E. Mr. and Mrs. Reasoned are zealous members of the M. E.
church of Gienwood. He is in every way a self-made man ; coming to
Mills county with nothing but a team of horses, he has, by industry and
economy, succeeded in amassing a neat little fortune.
STRANATHAN, JOHN, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Malvern;
born September 15, 1834, in Morgan county, Ohio. In 1836 he went to
Goles county, Illinois, to remain ten years, at the end of which time he
moved to Clarke county, same state, where he lived some years. In the
fall of 1859. he became a resident of this county. In the spring of the
following year, 1860, he went to the mountains, engaging in mining for
two years, when he returned home. August 13, 1863, he enlisted in the
Fourth Iowa battery, and was discharged July 14, 1865, at Davenport.
In August of 1865 he was married to Miss S. C. Byers, by whom he has
three children: C. C, R. E. and Leonora B. His farm contains 160 acres
of choice. He is an honored citizen and intelligent, unassuming gentle-
man.
SMAWLEYi FRANKLIN, superintendent Mills county poor farm,
P. O. Gienwood; was born in Pennsylvania, August 30, 1830, where he
resided many years. He came to this county in 1869 and here he has
since resided. In October, 1854, he was married to Miss Rachel N. Side-
ner, a native of Decatur oounty, Indiana. They are the parents of three
children- Harriet, Carrie and Mary. Mr. Smawley is making Ae county
poor farm, not only self-sustaining, but a pleasant home for the unfortu-
602 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
nates within its borders. His conduct of the institution appears to be
eminently satisfactory.
SAWYERS, N., farmer, P. O. Hillsdale; born May 19, 1823, in Knox
county, Tennessee, where he was raised on a farm and educated in the,
common schools. In 1864 he came to Mills county, and has resided here
continuously since that time. He was married May 19, 1855, to Miss
Nerva J. Skaggs, a native of Knox county, Tennessee. This union has
brought them eight children: Tuman, Laura, Alonzo, Eli, John, Stella,
William and James. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyers are consistent members of the
M. E. Church, of Hillsdale. His farm of 140 acres is well adapted to
stock-raising and contains many modern improvements.
VAN ORSDEL, SAMUEL, farmer, P. O. Hillsdale; is a native of
Pennsylvania, where he was born in the year 1825. He was there reared
to manhood as a farmer, receiving only a common school education. In ,
1854 he came to Mills county and has since resided here. In 1847 he was
married to Miss Rebecca J. King, a native. of Pennsylvania. They have
six living children: Mary E., wife of H. L. Donner, Jacob K, Agnes J.,
wife to H. L. Brooks, Elizabeth A., wife to Nathan Miller, William A.
and Alice M. Mr. Van Orsdel is one of the early settlers in this county,
and was the first to settle in his neighborhood between Council Bluffs and
Silver Creek. His farm, a most excellent one, comprises two hundred
twenty-six acres. Mr. V. has held numerous offices of trust, and is now
clerk of the township.
VERNON, ALLEN, farmer, P. O. Hillsdale; born November 25,
1831, in Muskingum county, Ohio, where he lived twenty-three years,
working at farm labor and attending the common schools. In 1854 he
came to Iowa, located in Henry county, and remained there eleven years.
In 1865, he came to Mills county, where he has since resided. He was
married November 25, 1859, to Dorothy Bowers, a native of Ohio. By
this union they are the parents of four children: Elizabeth R., Mary Alice,
W. H. and Salina R., the two latter deceased. He owns a farm of eighty-
one acres, a good dwelling house, commodious barn and productive
orchard.
WRIGHT, HON. A. R., P. O., Glenwood. Prominent among the
many men of enterprise in this county, none are more worthy of remem-
brance than Mr. Wright. He was born in Putnam county, Indiana, Jan-
uary 20, 1829. His early youth was passed at home in the pursuits usual
to farm life. In 1848 he began the mercantile business, following this for
some six years. He then came to Mills county and located a farm in
Lyons township, continuing there until 1874. He then moved to Glen-
wood and engaged in the trust, loan and brokerage business, which he
still follows. In November, 1880, he moved to his farm in Center town-
ship, coutaining 420 acres of land, and ornamented with a beautiful resi-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 603
dence of brick. Mr. Wright was married December 24, 1849, to Miss
Sarah H. Webster, of Manhattan, Indiana, born April 17, 1831. They
have by this union six children, four of whom are^ now living: Frank,
Charles, Caroline and Fannie. Mr- Wright has held many township and
county officers, serving his constituentcy with faithfulness and great accept-
ability. In 1861 he was elected to the general assembly, and subsequently
to the fourteenth general assembly, acquitting himself as a statesman and
faithful legislator. He commands the respect and confidence of the
entire county, and is esteemed for his great generosity and the integrity
of his character.
WILKINSON, H. A„ farmer, P. O. Malvern; was born in the
month of September, 1846, in Cass county, Michigan. He there resided
twenty-three years, attending the common school and the Edwardsburg-
academy, a portion of the earlier years. In 1869 he came to this county,
and became a permanent resident. In May, 1873, he married Miss S. L.
Edson, of this county, but formerly of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. They
became the parents of two children: Leonard E. and Ray. Mr. W. is
held in high esteem by his neighbors and friends. He is enterprising,
thrifty and energetic, and well worthy the confidence he enjoys.
RAWLES TOWNSHIP.
BUTTLE, JOHN, farmer, section 11, P. O., Malvern; born Decem-
ber 6, 1828, in Yorkshire, England. From his youth he has been a far-
mer. He received his education by his own effort since arriving at man-
hood. He immigrated to America in 1854, and first located in Ohio; one
year later he went to Winnebago county, Wisconsin. He arrived in Mills
county, Iowa, in March, 1857, and located near Glenwood, and in 1873
he settled on the farm where he now resides. He enlisted in company B,
5th Iowa Cavalry, in September, 1861, and participated in the battles of
Fort Henry, Lookout Mountain, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Atlanta,
Nashville, Columbus and Macon City. Was discharged August 18, 1865,
at Nashville, Tennessee, and was dismissed at Clinton, Iowa. While in
the service he contracted a disease from which he has never fully recov-
ered. Was married in October, 1865, to Miss Mary, daughter of Thos.
and Mary Byers, of Morton county, Ohio. They have five children:
Mary A., Nellie G., William T., Cornelia K. and John R. He owns a
neat little farm of 40 acres, with an abundance of fruit and other improve-
ments.
BRICKNELL, WILLIAM, farmer section 35, P. O. Tabor; born
September 2, 1819, in South Devon, England, and passed his youthful
604 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTS.
days at farm labof. He was afterward employied by the royal family as
a servant, and acted for a time as footman, but was soon promoted to th€
position of butler, in which capacity he served five years, and was connec-
ted with other families of rank and nobility in the same manner. He
emigrated to America in March, 1857, first locating in Lorraine county,
Ohio, where he remained until 1865, when he came to Iowa. He was
married in 1857, to Miss Sarah, daughter of William and Ann Savidge,
of Lincolnshire, England. They have one child: William Watkins, who
still lives at home. They are members of the Congregational chureb.
He came to this country a poor man, but by industry and perseverance
has secured a good farm of eighty acres, which is al improved.
BURGER, A. H., farmer and stock raiser, section 6, P. O. Glenwoodj
toorn in Cole county, Missouri, April 10, 1836. When quite young he
moved with his parents to Cedar county, Missouri, and there remained
until 1849, when he came to Mills county, Iowa, and located on section 7,
in Rawl^ township. Here he grew to manhood and received his educa-
tion in the private schools of the county. He was married March 12,
1857, to Miss Anna Wiles, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Wiles; ht
is the father of four children: James I., Naacy C, Frances E. and Mary
A. Mr. Burger is said to be the oldest settler (with the exception of his
mother) in the township. He has held several township offices, and for
the past three years has been justice of the peace. Mr. and Mrs. Burger
are members of the M. E. church. He own a fine farm of two hundred
acres, with a good orchard and other improvements. This is said to be
the 'first land cultivated in the township.
CUNNINGHAM, PATRICK, Sr., farmer, section 12, P. O. Mal-
vern; born in March, 1803, in the village of Nut Castle, county Ross-
common, Ireland, where his youthful days were ipassed in attending the
private schools and working on a farm. Was married in 1838, to Miss
Mary, daughter of Thomas and Bridget Kane, of Nut Castle, Ireland.
They are the parents of five children, living: Michael, Retta, Margaret,
Kate and Maria, and Thomas, deceased. Soon after the great Irish fam-
ine they emigrated to America and located in Albany county, New Yoi'k,
about 1852, where they remained for two years, and then went to Rhode
Island. In the following year he went to Rock county, Wisconsin. He
came to Iowa in 1868, locating in Delaware county, and one year later
came to the place where he now resides. Mrs. Cunningham died in 1878.
He owns a farm of eighty acres, well improved, with a good orchard and
an abundance of small fruits.
CUNNINGHAM, PATRICK, Jr., farmer, section 12, P.O. Malvern
born in county Rosscpmmon, Ireland, March 17, 1851, and there grew to
manhood, working on a farm. He immigrated to America in 1868. Soon
after landing here he went to Rock county, Wisconsin, where he remained
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 605
three years, and then came to Mills county. He came to this county with
nothing, but by industrious habits and hard work has succeeded in secur-
ing a good farm of eighty acres, on which are good buildings and a fine
orchard. His parents, Martin and Catherine Cunningham, were natives
of Ireland. They had a family of seven: Andrew, John, Ann and Mag-
gie are deceased. The three younger ones : Patrick, Peter and James
are living here. Their mother was the daughter of Patrick and Ann
Martin, and was married to Mr. Cunningham about 1837. They came
to America one year after the arrival of their son Patrick, and now live
with him.
CUNNINGHAM, PETER, farmer, section 24, P. O. Malvern; born
June 10, 1848, in county Rosscommon, Ireland, where his youth was passed
working on a farm and attending school. He immigrated to America when
seventeen years of age, and worked in a foundry in New York City one
year, and then went to Rock county, Wisconsin. Came to Mills county
in 1871, and located on the farm where he now lives in 1875. Was mar-
ried March 10, 1875, to Mary Dobney, a native of England. They have
two children : Amy and Martin. He owns a farm of eighty acres, with
excellent buildings and a fine orchard. He came to this country a poor
man, but by industry and hard labor has succeeded in securing for him-
self a good home and all the comforts of life.
DOLBO W.JOHN B., farmer, section 2, P. O. Hillsdale; born April
18, 1840, in Brighton, Illinois, and there grew to maturity. Considering
the educational facilities of his native place, he succeeded in securing a
very passable education. Was married in October, 1862, to Miss Lydia,
daughter of Warren and Sarah Phillips. She was born near Belfast,
Maine. They are the parents of six children living: Amanda E., George
W., Ida A., Eriek Bennett, Clara A., Lydia L., and Sarah F. (deceased).
Mr. Dolbow is a member of the Methodist Protestant church, and is
closely identified with the interests of that denomination. He owns a
fiarm of eighty acres, with a good orchard and vineyard. His parents,
Erick and Rachel Dolbow, are of German descent and natives of Penn-
sylvania and New Jersey. They are very aged, and now live in Illinois.
DELAVAN, ALFRED, Jr., farmer and stock-raiser, section 11, P. O.
Malvern; born December 18, 1852, in Indiana. Moved with his parents
when very young to Cass county, Missouri, and came to Mills county,
Iowa, when eleven years of age. Here he grew to manhood, and spent
his youth attending the public schools and working on his father's farm.
He also took a course in Tabor College. Was married December 25,
1873, to Miss Nancy Estes, a native of this county. They are the parents
of two children: Ada and Desda. He owns a fine form of 200 acres,
well improved, and with superior facilities for stock-raising, in which en^
■606 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
terprise he is extensively engaged. Mr. Delavan is a young and enter-
prising farmer, and his efforts have thus far been crowned with success.
DOBNEY, R., farmer and stock raiser, section 22, P. O. Tabor; born
September lo, 1824, in Lincolnshire, England, where he grew to man-
hood. His youth was passed in working on a farm. He emigrated to
America in 1865, and located in Ohio. Soon after he went to Adams
county, Illinois. Came to this county in March, 1864, and has lived here
ever since. Was married August 1, 1849, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of
Abram and Susan Bell. She was a native of Stanford, England. They
are the parents of five children, four of whom are now living: Frank,
Mary E., Sarah and George Wm. Mr. Dobney offered his services to
his country during the rebellion, but was rejected on account of disability.
He came to this county a very poor man, but by industry and patient toil,
and by the help of his good wife has amassed considerable property. He
owns a farm of 200 acres in Rawles township, with an excellent dwell- .
ing house and other substantial improvements. This farm is especially
adapted to stock raising, in which he is largely engaged. He also owns
twenty acres of timber in Lyons township, and a farm of 160 acres in
Cass county, Nebraska.
DELAVAN, H. A., farmer and stock raiser, section 20, P. O. Tabor;
born January 14, 1845, in Morgan county, Indiana, where he lived until
twelve years of age. He then moved with his parents to Cass county,
Missouri, where he remained until he reached his majority, and then, in
1863, located in Mills county, Iowa. Was married September 1, 1870, to
Miss Margaret, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Estes, and a native
of this county. They have by this union two children: Richard C. and
Edward C. They have been members of the Christian church for the
past twelve years. Mr. Delavan received his education principally in pri-
vate schools. His youth was passed working on a farm, which occupa-
tion he has since been engaged in continuously, with the exception of fif-
teen months, when he was employed as a school teacher. He has several
times been elected to the offices of his township, which he has filled to the
entire satisfaction of his constitutents. He owns 240 acres of land, well
improved, with good facilities for stock raising.
DELAVAN, REV. ALFRED M., farmer, section 18, P. O. Tabor;
born near Jersey City, New Jersey, July 27, 1808, where he attended
school until fifteen years of age. He then entered a store in New Jersey
as a clerk, and remained there for four years ; after which he served a two
years' apprenticeship as a carpenter, which trade he followed until 18;!9.
In this year he went to Ohio and afterward to Indianapolis, Indiana. In
1840 he bought a farm in Morgan county, Indiana, where he resided for
nineteen years. While there he was elected to both branches of the State
Legislature, serving one term in the lower house and two in the State
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 607
Senate. He was afterward appointed by Governor Wright, commissioner
of swamp lands in Morgan county, and was otherwise identified with the
interests of his county and state. In 1850 he went to Cass county, Miss-
ouri, and lived iri different sections of that state until 1863, when he came
to Mills county, where he has since resided. Was married July 9, 1834,
to Miss Olive Shaw, a native of Dayton, Ohio. They are the parents of
eight children, six of whom are now living: Lydia, Edward C, Hiram A.,
Horatio N., Samantha E. and Alfred M., jr. Mr. and Mrs. Delavan
have been members of the Christian Church since 1 835. Mr. M. was or-
dained as a minister of that denomination at Indianapolis in 1839, and con-
tinued preaching until 1875, when his health failed. He owns a good farm
of eighty acres.
GRAY, W. A., farmer and stock-raiser, section 1, P. O. Malvern;
horn June 16, 1847, in Knox county, Illinois, where his youth was passed
in agricultural pursuits and attending the public schools. He came to
Mills county, Iowa, in 1872. He owns two hundred and forty acres of
land, well improved, and with superior facilities for stock-raising. Since
coming to this county he has been largely engaged in raising blooded
hogs, and now possesses some of the finest stock in the county. Was
married October 4, 1871, to Miss Sarah E., daughter of John and Sarah
Stout, of 'Fulton county, Illinois. They have four children: Bertha M.,
Minnie E., Nellie G. and Sarah L. Mr. Gray is a member of the ma-
sonic order, and has held various offices to the entire satisfaction of his
constituents. He began life with nothing and has made what he owns by
hard work and good management.
GLYNN, JOHN W., farmer and stock-raiser, section 25, P. O. Tabor;
born May 29, 1845, in County Carlow, Ireland, where he attended school
and worked on a farm until he grew to manhood. Emigrated to America
in 1857, and first located in New York. Came to Iowa in 1870, and set-
tled on the farm where he now lives in 1871. Was married in 1872 to
Miss Betsy King, daughter of Carlos and Betsy West. iThey are the
parents of one child, Walter W. Mrs. Glynn was married previous to the
time mentioned, to Lewis A. King, an account of whose tragical death
appears in the criminal department of this book. By this marriage she
was the mother of five children, two of whom are now living: Marcly R.,
and Mary E. Mr. and Mrs. Glynn own a 'fine farm of three hundred
and sixty acres, with good dwelling house and many other substantial
improvements, which farm is admirably adapted to stock raising, in
which he is extensively engaged. Mr. Glynn is a member of the I. O.
O. F.
GOODE, JOHN, farmer and stock-raiser, section 32 ; born in the
town of Bricksworth, Northamptonshire, England, and was educated in the
schools under the supervision of the Church of England. When seven-
608 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
teen years of age he commenced to learn the trade of a general mason,
and followed that occupation at his native place until thirty-eight years
of age, and then went to London, and remained there eleven years. In
1S52 he emigrated to America, and first located at Chester, Ohio, where
he remained until April, 1867. He then came to Mills county, Iowa. He
was married in July, 1838, to Miss Elisheba, daughter of Samuel and
Elizabeth Thompson, of Northamptonshire, England. They are the
parents of fourteen children, eleven of whom are now living : Lucy E.,
Charlotte A., Anna M., Mary P., Wm. Henry, Frank L.,John T., Joseph,
Edward T., Flora L., and Charles F. Mr. Goode built the first brick
building in Tabor, and is one of the most skillful mechanics in the
county. He is a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of
the Latter Day Saints. He owns a farm of one hundred and thirty-five
acres, with good house, barn and other improvements.
GROSSE, THOMAS, section 36, P. O. Tabor, farmer and stock-
raiser, born December 19, 1821, in Lincolnshire, England, where he grew
to manhood, his youth being passed as a shepherd boy. . He immigrated
to America in 1865, arriving here on the 15th day of April of that year.
He came immediately to the town of Tabor, and was engaged in thiC
care of sheep, and in other farm labor for about four years. In 1870 he
located on the farm where he now lives, and engaged in farnaing and sheep-
raising, and has now some of the best sheep in the county. Was mar-
ried May 29, 1849, to Miss Catharine, daughter of William and Rebecca
Spencer of Lincolnshire, England. They are the parents of three child-
ren : Lettia, William and Spencer. They are members of the Wes-
leyan church. He owns eighty acres ot good land. He has ^Isp been
engaged as a veterinary suxgeon since coming to the county.
GASTON, JAMES K., farmer and stock-raiser, section 27, P. 0.
Tabor; born in Richmond, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, A,pril 17,
1832. Moved with his parents to Lorraine county, Ohio, when he was
six years of age where he remained until he grew to manhood, working
on a farm. He received his education chiefly 4" the common schools, bij.t
attended Oberlin College several terms. He arrived in Iowa November
27, 1852, and worked as a farm laborer for some time, and in the summer
of 1853 taught school at Pleasant Grove, near Sidney, in Fremont county.
Was married in Tabor, Fremont county, Iowa, November 23, 1857, to
Miss Sarah J. Cummings, who was born in Lorraine county, Ohio, Sep-
tember 12, 1839. They are the parents of nine children, eight of whoffii
are now living: Emily C, Ellen M., Willard E., Burton C, Vernon L„
Lillie J., Lucy May and George R. He has been a member of the Coji-
gregational church since 1854, and has always been identified with the
work of temperance. He has filled various township oflUces with Qredjt
to himself, and has been school treasurer smce 1,873. He Qwns ^ finji;
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 609
farm of 280 acres, which is well improved and especially adapted to stock-
raising, in which business he is extensively engaged. He has a very fine
building upon his farm, which is a model of neatness and convenience.
GRAVES, E. R., farmer, P. O. Tabor; born February 22, 1820, in
Knoxville, Tennessee, where he grew to manhood. At an early age he
commenced working at the carpenter trade, and later learned the trade
of a millwright. He lived in Tennessee until 1855, when he came to Iowa
and located in this township. He remained here but a short time, and
then went to Nebraska City and worked as a carpenter for one year and
then returned to Tennessee. In 1875 he came again to Iowa and located
where he now lives. Was married July 24, 1845, to Miss Alice J. Sinter,
a native of Tennessee. They are the parents of eleven children, nine of
whom are now living: Salathiel V., William T.,Joan M., Laura B., Ten-
nie M., Marquis D. L., Adda L., Ulysses R. and Edward C. During the
war he was employed by the government as a workman in the machine
shops at Kingston, Tennessee. Mr. Graves afterward owned a foundry
in Kingstop, but owing to his strong Union sentiments, was compelled to
abandon it. He then moved to the country, in the vicinity, and engaged
in farming, but his crops were destroyed by Confederate troops, and him-
self taken prisoner, and only escaped being hung by the intervention of
some relatives, who were themselves Confederates.
HALE, PETER, farmer, section 6, P. O. Glenwood; born February
4, 1824, in Laurence county, Kentucky. When thirteen years of age he
moved with his parents to Des Moines county, Iowa, and there grew to
manhood, and received his education in the common schools. His boy-
hood was passed in farming, in which occupation he has continued to the
present time. From Des Moines county, Iowa, he went to Henry county,
and afterward lived in Jefierson, Mahaska and Lucas counties. Came to
Mills cciunty in 1877. Was married in 1845, to Miss Elizabeth Shoe-
maker, of Dearborne county, Indiana. They are the parents of six chil-
dren : Sarah, Mary, Caroline, Harriet, John and Trevanian. Mr. Hale is
a member in good standing of the Dunkard church.
HAINS, JOSEPH, farmer and stock raiser, section 28, P. O. Tabor;
born January 1, 1828, in Champaign county, Ohio. When twelve years
of age he moved with his parents to Henry county, Iowa. His youth
was passed in working on a farm and attending school. Was married
in June, 1851, to Miss Jane, daughter of James and Elizabeth Lloyd.
Mrs. Hains was born in North Carolina. They are the parents of eleven
children, seven of whom are now living: W. Alonzo, Martha E., James
W., Samantha J., Job J., Cyntha A. and Jerusha S. They are members
of the Protestant Methodist church. He arrived in Mills county September
20, 1871, and located where he now resides. He came to this county a
19
CIO HISTORY OK MILLS COUNTY.
poor man, but by industry and strict integrity, has become possessed of a
fine farm of 327 acres, which is under a high state of cultivation, and well
improved.
HOWARD, JOEL L., farmer and stock dealer, section 33, P. O.
Tabor; born March 9, 1842, in Dover, Windham county, Vermont, where
he lived until fifteen years of age. His youth was passed in working on
a farm and attending school. He arrived in Iowa May 9, ]857, and located
in Fremont county. Was married December 12, 1878, to Miss Electa,
daughter of Thomas and Sarah Miller. She was born in Green county,
Ohio. They are members of the Congregational church of Tabor. He
is well esteemed by his neighbors as a christian man, a good school
teacher and a quiet, unpretentious citizen. He owns a good farm of 154
acres, and a separate ten acres of timber land. His farm is well adapted
to feeding and raising stock, in which business he is largely engaged.
KLINE, JOHN M., P. O. Malvern; born in Columbia county, Penn-
sylvania. When eight years of age he went with his parents to St. Joseph
county, Michigan, where he remained until twenty-two years of age. He
then came to this county, rented a farm and commenced farming. In 1877
he purchased the northeast quarter of section 12, Rawles township, where
he now resides. He now owns a fine farm of 120 acres, which he has
procured solely by his individual efforts. His farm is well stocked
with cattle and hogs, and he is now feeding a large number of cattle for
market. Was married October 13, 1872, to Miss Ella A. Whitfield, a
native of Michigan. They are the parents of three children : Otto, John
and Ruth.
MADDEN, JOHN H., farmer and stock raiser, section 14, P. O.,
Malvern; born May 1, 1833, in Muskingum county, Ohio, where he re-
mained until about eighteen years of age, and then moved with his
parents to Putnam county, same state. He arrived in Iowa, June 29,
1864, after a weary journey of thirty-three days, and located in White
Cloud township. Two years later he came to Rawles township, and set-
tled on the farm where he now lives. Was married November 5, 1857,
to Miss Mary, daughter of John and Rachel Fickle, of Perry county,
Ohio. They have had four children, three of whom are now living:
Rachel, Emma L., Mary E. and Lydia (deceased). He is a member of
the M. E. church and has always been identified with the school interests
of his community. He has served his township officially almost con-
stantly since his arrival here. He owns a farm of 160 acres, with good
dwelling house, fine orchard and other substantial improvements. Mr.
Madden is a man of strict integrity and has the confidence of all his neigh-
bors.
MADISON WILLIAM W., farmer, section 22, P. O., Tabor; born
November 1, 1839, in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, where he lived
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 611
until eleven years of age, when he moved with his parents to Lorraine
county, Ohio, and there grew to manhood. He attended the public
schools of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and later attended the Tabor schools,
in which he received the principal part of his education. After coming to
this county he learned the carpenter trade, and followed that occupation
until the beginning of the late war, when he enlisted November 17, 1861,
in company F, 15th Iowa volunteer infantry. He participated in the bat-
tles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Jackson, Vicksburg and Grand Junc-
tion, and was with Sherman on his " March to the Sea." He veteranized
in 1863, and was discharged July 25, 1865, at Davenport, Iowa. On the
4th of July, 1866, he met with an accident which caused the loss of his
right eye. In company with a party of young men, he was preparing to
celebrate the fourth, by " shooting a log," and wjiile he was arranging the
fuse with an auger, the log exploded and the end of the tool struck him
in the eye. Was married in February, 1876, to Mrs. Sarah Busenbark,
of New York. Previous to this Mrs Madison was married to Mr. May-
nard Busenback, by whom she was the mother of three children, two of
whom are now living: Earnest W. and Maynard. Mr. B. died at this
place from disease contracted while in the army. Mr. Madison owns a
good farm of 130 acres, well improved.
MOON, T. J., farmer and stock-raiser, section 34, P. O. Tabor; born
January 22, 1830, in Cortland county. New York. When seven years of
age he move^ with his parents to Steuben county, where he grew to man-
hood, attending school and working at farm labor. Went to Lee county,
Illinois, in the spring of 1852, and in the spring of 1857 went to southern
Kansas and participated in the border warfare, which at that time was at
its height, and acted with great credit in the interest of freedom. In 1859
he moved to Madison county, Iowa, and remained there until 1864, when
he came to Fremont county, and one year later located in Mills county
on the farm where he now resides. Was married November 8, 1860, to
Miss Emma, daughter of Franklin and Lucy Jane Bosworth, of Trumbull
county, Ohio. The}"^ are the parents of eight children, seven of whom
are now living: Mary E., George W., Lora B., Ura G., Myrtie E., Lydia
L. and Emma P. Mr. Moon and family are members of the Congrega-
tional church. He has been several times elected to the various township
offices, and at present is acting in the capacity of constable. He served
in the state militia, and was for two years captain of a company of home
guards. He owns a good farm of 120 acres, well improved.
MUNSINGER, CHARLES, farmer and proprietor of Pleasant Hill
nursery, section 27, P. O. Tabor; born near Hamburg, Germany, De-
cember 17, 1820. His parents immigrated to America when he was five
years (jld, and located in Lorraine county, Ohio, where his youth was
passed attending school and working on a farm. When twenty-one years
612 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
of age he learned the trade of a tanner and currier, which occupation he
followed for about fifteen j^ears. He arrived in Iowa May 28, 1856, and
located in Fremont county. In the year following came to Mills county,
and in 1858 settled on the farm where he now resides. Was married
October 23, 1849, to Miss Electa daughter of John W. and Alvira North-
rop; she was born in Livonia, Ontario county. New York. Thej' have
one child living: Evangeline; and two deceased. Mr. M. has been several
times elected to the various township offices, which he has filled to the
entire satisfaction of his constituents. He has been a member of the
Congregational church since his arrival in the county. He owns a fine
fruit farm of forty acres, and has now one of the most complete nurseries
in the west. He also owns a good tract of timber land in Lyons town-
ship.
McPPIERRON, WILLIAM, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Tabor;
born November 18, 1815, in Knox county, Tennessee, where he worked
on a farm and attended school until he grew to manhood. In 1836 he
came to Henry county, Iowa, and remained one year and a half, and then
returned to Tennessee. He again emigrated to Iowa and settled on his
present location May 31, 1851. Was married February 21, 1839, to Miss
Mary A. S. Graves, a native of Tennessee. They are the parents of
eight children, seven of whom are now living: Caroline T., Asbury S.,
John Melville, William S., Henry A., Nancy E. and Alfred Monroe. His
two sons, Asbury and John, served in the war of the rebellion, and were
honorably discharged. The family are members of the M. E. church,
and Mr. McPherron has been for a number of years identified as church
steward and class leader in that denomination, and has also been superin-
tendent of the Sabbath school. He was for a time engaged in teaching
school and was one of the pioneer teachers of the township, and has held
numerous township offices. He owns a good farm of 160 acres, well
improved.
McPHERRON, ALFRED B., farmer and stock-raiser, section 17;
born in Knox county, Tennessee, April 22, 1820, where he grew to man-
hood and was educated in the private schools of that county. His youth
was passed in working on a farm, which occupation he has continued until
the present time. He came from that place to this county in 1852, and
has resided here ever since. He was married September 7, 1872, to Mrs.
Eliza King, daughter of Benjamin and Matilda Utterback. She was
married to Mr. Geo. W. King, by whom she was the mother of two
children. In 1863 he enlisted in the 8th Iowa Cavalry, and later in the
Fourth Artillery. He remained in the service about two years and
was discharged at Davenport in July, 1865. Mr. M. has been elected
from time to time to most of the township offices. He owns a well-
improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 613
OSBORN, JOHN F., P. O. Malvern, farmer and stock-raiser, section
14, born August 11, 1815, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. His youth
was passed in working on a farm and attending the private schools of his
native county. When eighteen years of age he was apprenticed to learn
the trade of carpenter and joiner. He followed that occupation exclusively
for fifteen years, and has worked at his trade in connection with farming,
all his life. He went to Saline county, Illinois, in 1837, and remained
there about eight years, and then moved to Fayette county, Wisconsin.
Came to Iowa in 1865, and purchased the farm where he now lives, which
consists of two hundred and forty acres of good land, which is well
improved. Was married March 10th, 1841, to Miss Eliza J., daughter of
James and Mary Dunlap. She was born in Dearborn county, Indiana.
They are the parents of four children : Sylvester C, Clara, Cora L. and
Jennie L. They are members of the Congregational church, and have
been closely identified with the interests of that denomination.
REASONER, JAMES P., farmer, section 1, P. O. Hillsdale; born in
Coshocton county, Ohio, November 3, 1839; moved with his parents
wheh very young to Muskingum county, where he grew to manhood,
working on his father's farm and attending the common schools. Came
with his parents to this county in 1863, locating near Glenwood, and set-
tled on the farm where he now lives in 1873. Was married to Miss Mary
S., daughter of Dr. John S. and Abigail W. Haldeman, of Hamilton
county, Ohio, October 20, 1870. They have had six children, four of
whom are now living: Lucy A., Abby E., Florence J. and Olive A. He
is a member of the M. E. church; has held the office of justice of the
peace, and enjoys the fullest respect and confidence of his neighbors. He
owns an improved farm of two hundred and fifty-five acres, which is the
result of his indomitable will and patient toil.
RUSSELL, ORLONZO B., farmer and stock-raiser, section 25, P.
O. Tabor; born January 21, 1838, in Hastings, Oswego county, New
York, where he remained until eleven years of age, and then moved with
his parents to Fulton county, Illinois. He received his education in the
common schools of his native state, and in the graded schools of Farming-
ton, Illinois. He came to Iowa in 1865, arriving in this county June 6,
and camped on Elm creek, near where Hillsdale now stands. He shortly
after entered eighty acres of the farm where he now lives, and purchased
the remainder as his means would admit. Was married July 3, 1863, to
Miss Josephine Hammond, a native of Fulton county, Illinois. They are
the parents of five children : Edward S., Junita, Robert B., Julia and John.
Mr. Russll is a member of the Northwestern Mutual Life Association,
and has held the office of township trustee and other local offices. He
owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, all suitable for cultiva-
tion, and forty acres of timber land adjoining. His parents, John and Lucy
614 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Russell, were natives of New York, where his mother died. His father
died shortly after locating in Illinois.
RUSSELL, HENRY, farmer, section 26, P. O. Tabor; born Decem-
ber 5, 1853, in Fulton county, Illinois. Came with his pa.rents when four
years old to Iowa, and immediately located in Rawles township, where he
has since continuously resided. His youth was passed in attending the
public schools and working on the farm. Was married July 4, 1875, to
Miss Margaret, daughter of James and Jiane Bannister, of Hamilton
county, Ohio. They have one child, Nettie E. Mr. Russell is one of the
oldest settlers, the greater portion of his life being passed in the township
where he now lives. He owns a fine farm of eighty acres, well improved,
with a good orchard and an abundance of small fruit.
RUSSELL, HIRAM, farmer and stock-raiser, section 23, P. O. Ta-
bor; born Auf^ust 30, 1832 in New York, where he remained until thir-
teen years of age, when he went with his parents to Fulton county, Illi-
nois, and there grew to manhood. His youth was passed in farming,
which occupation he has followed continuously to the present time. He
attended the public schools of his place, and received an education com-
mensurate with his surroundings. He came to Iowa in 1856, arriving
October 25, and shortly after entered eighty acres of the farm he now
owns, and purchased the remainder from time to time as his hard earned
accumulations would permit; amounting at the present time to 256 acres,
making one of the finest farms in the township. Was married August
21, 1851, to Miss Harriett E., daughter of Elias and Arpha Prosser, of
Albany county, New York. They are the parents of eight children:
Henry E., Emma A., Lucy A., Mary E., Jennette O., Harriett B., Hiram
E. and Elizabeth. Mr. Russell is an old and worthy citizen, and has been
several times elected to the various township offices.
RAINS, LAWRENCE, farmer and stock-raiser, section 9, P. O. Hills-
dale; born March 23, 1812, in Jackson county, Ohio. At the age of four-
teen he moved with his parents to Warren county, Indiana, where he
worked on a farm until he grew to manhood. He received his education
in the common schools of his native count}-. In 1837 he went to Cedar
county, (at that time Polk,) Missouri, where he i-emained until the spring
of 1850, and then came to Iowa, arriving June 3d, and locating in Rawles
township. Mills county, and in the same year entered a claim in section
18, and in 1868 settled on the farm where he now resides. Was married
January 20, 1839, to Miss Mary, daughter of Isaac and Hannah Troth.
She was born in Highland county, Ohio, October 22, 1820. They are the
parents of ten children, seven of whom are living: Francis M., William
J., Mary J., Allen T., H. Charlotte, Sarah M., and Lawrence W. The
family are members of the M. E. Church. Mrs. Rains died September
2, 1876, of typhoid fever. She was a most excellent lady, loved and
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 615
esteemed by all who knew her. Mr. Rains owns a fine farm of 180 acres,
which is well improved and has many facilities for the raising of stock in
which he is largely engaged. He has lived longer in Rawles township
than any other person, and has watched the marvelous growth of his
township an^ county with a deep interest.
RIST, HENRY^ farmer and stock-raiser, section 21, P. O. Tabor;
born May 7, 1822, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where he lived until
sixteen years of age. He then moved with his parents to Fulton county,
Illinois, and remained there, working on a farm and attending school until
he grew to manhood. He arrived in Iowa in October, 1853, and located
on the farm where he now resides, in 1854. Was married December 24,
1846, to Miss Eliza Boyd, a native of Highland county, Ohio, daughter
of Spencer and Nancy Boyd. They are the. parents of five children:
James I., Jacob S., Henry H.. Mary J., and Louisa N. Mr. Rist is a
member of the M. E. Church, with which he has been identified as class-
leader, trustee, and church steward. He has held various township offices,
and was for fifteen years justice of the peace. He owns a farm- of 160
acres in Rawles township, 40 acres of timber in Lyons township, and a
farm of 160 acres in Nebraska. He is one of the oldest settlers, coming to
this county with nothing, but by good management and hard work has
acquired a competence.
STOUT, JOSHUA, farmer and stock-raiser, section 17, P. O. Mal-
vern; born February 17, 1843, in Fulton county, Illinois, where he grew
to manhood, attending the common schools and working on his father's
farm. Was married February 20, 1873, to Miss Eliza Wicoft", of Fulton
county, Illinois. They are the parents of three children ; two of whom are
now living: Charles W. and Effa Stella. Mr. Stout located here in Feb-
ruary, 1874. He owns a fine farm of 120 acres, in a high state of culti-
vation, with a good dwelling house and superior facilities for raising stock,
in which business he is largely engaged.
STOUT, JAMES E., farmer, section 11, P. O. Malvern: born in Ful-
ton county, Illinois, April 3, 1855, and there grew to manhood. His
youth vvas passed in farm labor and attending the common schools of his
native county. He came to Mills county, and located on the farm where
he now resides in 1877. He owns a good farm of 120 acres, well im-
proved. His father John Stout, was born April 18, 1810, in Pennsylva-
nia, and was married to Sarah A. Boyd in 1847. They had a family of
seven children: Matthias J., Joshua S., Eliza, James E., William, Michael
H. and Mary J. Mrs. Stout^died March 14, 1871. Mr. Stout was mar-
ried a second time in August, 1879, to Jane Noble, by whom he is the
father of one child.
SKAITH, GEORGE, farmer, section 33, P. O. Tabor; born April 25,
1842, in Lincolnshire, England, where his youth was spent attending
616 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
school and working on a farm. Immigrated t6 America in July, 1861, and
located in Newcastle county, Delaware, where he remained until 1865,
when he came to Iowa. He first located in Tabor, and settled on the
farm where he now lives in February, 1877. Was married Apu-il 21,
1865, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Francis and Sarah J. Spore. She
was born in Delaware. They are the parents of eight children, seven of
whom are now living: John F., Mary M., George, Jr., Sarah A., Effie
M., William and Robert. Mr. Skaith is a member of the Baptist church,
and a man well respected by his neighbors. He owns a neat little farm
of forty acres.
SPEES, F. B., farmer, section 35, P. O. Tabor; born May 3, 1830, in
Chenango county, New York, where he remained until four years of age,
when he went with his parents to Hampden. When twelve years of age
he went to Oberlin, Ohio, where he grew to manhood. He spent his
youth in attending the common schools and in farming, and also took
a course in Oberlin College, and has since been many years engaged in
teaching school. Came to Iowa in 1866, and located where he now
resides. Was married October 22, 1854, to Miss Maria, daughter of Jo-
seph and Hulda Merrifield. She was born in New London, Huron county,
Ohio. Thev have by this union one child, Frank. Mrs. Spees died No-
vember 27, 1859. He was married a second time May 21, 1862, to Miss
Abigail, daughter of Prelet and Phoebe Taft. They are the parents of
two children, one living, Lora G. A son, Wm. F., was killed by the
accidental discharge of a revolver in the hands of a playmate, Carl Bos-
woth, on the morning of July 4, 1879. It was a sad accident, and brought
great grief upon both families. The son was about sixteen years of age,
and a lad of great promise. Mr. Spees is a member of the Congrega-
tional church. He has held numerous township .offices, and is at present
justice of the peace. He owns a well improved farm of 120 acres.
UTTERBACK, ADDISON, farmer and stock raiser, section 15, P.
O. Hillsdale; born January 2, 1844, in Boone county, Indiana, where he
remained until 12 years of age, and then moved with his parents to Story
county, Iowa. He remained there but a short time and then came to
Mills county, and located in Lyons township. Enlisted October 10, 1861,
in company F, fifteenth Iowa infantry volunteers, and was with Sherman
on his " march to the sea," and also at the seige of Vicksburg and the
battle of Shiloh ; was discharged at the expiration of his term of service,
December 16, 1864, near Savannah, Georgia. He returned home in July,
1865, and resumed farming, which he continued until 1877, when he went
to Hillsdale and engaged in the lumber business, remaining there until
1880, when he returned to his farm. Was married January 1, 1866, to
Miss Eliza Ann Rains, a native of Cedar county, Missouri. They have
four children : Oliver F., Sarah E., Martha E. and Alice E. He is a
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 617
member of the Christian church, and has held several of the township
offices. He owns a farm of 80 acres, with orchard and other improv-
ments.
UTTERBACK, WILLIAM E., farmer, section 16, P. O. Hillsdale;
born August 22, 1836, in Eagle Village, Boone county, Indiana, where he
grew to manhood, working on a farm and attending school. Came to
this county with his parents in 1856, and located in Lyons township. He
lived there until 1863, when he came to Rawles township, and in 1865
located on the farm where he now resides. Was married December 1,
1859, to Caroline McPherron, a native of Knox county, Tennessee. They
are the parents of six children: M. Alice, S. Ellen, L. May, J. Belle, Wil-
liam Henry and Melville Mc. Mr. and Mrs. Utterback are members of
the M. E. church. He has held at various times most of the township
offices. In 1862 he was commissioned first lieutenant in the Mills county
militia, and served under Capt. -Wilson until the close of the war. He
owns a farm of 115 acres, with a good orchard and other improvements.
VENTIS, ISAAC, farmer, section 29, P. O. Tabor; born April 13,
1836, in Orange county, Indiana, where he lived until fourteen years of
age, and then came with his brother to Iowa. His mother died when
he was quite young, and he resided with his relative, Samuel Harnison,
until he grew to manhood. He received his education in the private and
public schools of his native place, and in Mills county. Was married
March 4, 1860, to Miss Elizabeth J. Williams, a native of Christian county,
Kentucky. They are the parents of seven children : Andrew N. Mary
J., Caudis N., Martha C, Clara A., Elvira M. and Edward. He is a mem-
ber of the M. E. church and has been identified with its interests since
his youth. He came to this county at an early day, a poor boy, but by
his industry and strict integrity has succeedad in securing a good farm of
80 acres.
WELLS, HENRY, farmer, section 19, P. O. Glenwood; a native of
England, born April 15, 1820, where he received his education in the pri-
vate schools. In 1851 he emigrated to America, and located at Daven-
enport, Iowa, where he remained eight years and then went to Knox
county, Illinois, and resided in that county five years. In 1876 he came
to Mills county, first locating in Glenwood township, and in 1877 located
on the farm where he now resides. Was married March 29, 1842, to Miss
Sarah, daughter of John and Mary Gibbs, of England. Thirteen chil-
dren have been born to them, twelve of whom are now living: Mary,
George, Henry, Susan, Hattie, Abram, Chester, Albert, Sarah, Ella,
Charles and Minnie. Mr. Wells owns a fine farm of 100 acres, well im-
proved. His oldest son, Gcorgt, enlisted in the war of the rebellion
when he was fifteen years of age; was taken prisoner at Murfreesboro,
and confined six months in Libby prison. Henry, his second son, lost his
618 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
right hand and a portion of the left one by the premature discharge of a
cannon in Glenwood, July 4, 1876.
WILLIAMS, A. Warren, farmer, section 30, P. O. Tabor; born De-
cember 22, 1836, in Christian county, Kentucky. Moved with his par-
ents when three years old to Cedar county, Missouri, and there grew to
manhood, attending school and working on a farm. Came with his par-
ents to Iowa, in July, 1852, and located in Fremont county, remaining
there until 3862 and came to Rawles township in 1863. Was married
July 2, 1863, to Miss Sarah, daughter of Elijah and Eliza Lane. She was
born in Boone county, Indiana. They are the parents of five children,
three of whom are now living: EHza J., Samantha C. and Nora M. They
are members of the Christian Church, and Mr. Williams has been espec-
ially identified with that denomination, and has taken a deep interest in
the schools of the township. His father was born in Christian county,
Kentucky, and came to Mills county, Iowa, in 1850. He was married to
Miss Caudis Brewer of Christian county, Kentucky, by whom he was
the father of seventeen children : Nancy C, America, Elizabeth G., Abso-
lom W., Keziah M., Thomas B., Martha C, Alfred J., Elvira M., Mary
A., Tabitha E., Urbin F.,James J., William F., John W.. Larkin P. and
David M. The father died in 1874, and the mother in 1876.
WELLS, CHARLES F., farmer and stock-raiser, section 36, P. 0.
Tabor; born August 14, 1836, in Lake county, Ohio, where he grew to
manhood, attending the common schools and working on a farm. He
came to Iowa in 1856, and located in Washington county, where he, en-
gaged in the milling business. In 1861 he went to Fremont county, and
one year later came to Mills county. Enlisted August 16, 1862, in com-
pany B, Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry, and was engaged in the battles of
Helena, Arkansas, Little Rock, Mobile, Camden, Jenkin's Ferry and all
the other engagements in which his regiment participated, and was
wounded slightly at Jenkins' Ferry. He ranked as first corporal when
discharged. Was discharged August 10, 1865, at New Orleans. Was
married November 17, 1860, to Miss Rose C, daughter of Robert J. and
Clarissa Collins; she was born in Rochester, New York. They are the
parents of four children: Emma C, Ellis R., Lewis R. and Minnie F.
He is a member of the Congregational church, and has often been called
upon to fill the various township offices. He owns a farm of 120 acres,
well improved.
WEATHERHEAD, JOHN, farmer and mechanic, section 32, P. 0.
Tabor; born in England, February 21, 1832. His father died when he
was quite young, and the principal part of his youth was passed in assist-
ing his step-father, who was a surveyor, and in receiving his education,
which he obtained in the common schools of his native country. He
immigrated to America when nineteen years of age, and located at
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 619
Cleveland, Ohio, and there served an apprenticeship of three years with
his brother, Chas. Weatherhead, as a brick and stone-mason and plas-
terer, which occupation he followed for a number of years. Moved to
Rock Island, Illinois, in 1859, remaining there about one year, when he
went to Clinton, Iowa. In 1868 he came to Tabor, Iowa, and in January,
1871, located on the farmi where he now resides. Was married April 5,
1859, to Charlotte Goode, who was born in England, January 11, 1841.
They are the parents of nine children: Lizzie J., Arthur, Frank A.,
George C, Anna E., Raymond F., Frederick J., Sarah E. and Hattle F.
Mr. W. has been engaged in manufacturing brick since coming to this
county, and has built many of the fine brick buildings in and about Tabor.
He has in operation a brick-yard at the town of Randolph, and one on
his farm where he now lives. He owns 135 acres of land which is well
improved.
WHITE, WILLIAM G., farmer and stock-raiser, section 4, P. O.
Hillsdale ; born in countj^ Kent, England, January 26, 1847 . His parents
immigrated to America when he was four years old, and located in Ohio,
where he remained until nine years of age, and then went to Clark
county, Missouri. In 1862 he came to Mills county and located at Louden
(now Hillsdale), and with the exception of one year, spent in Fremont
county, has resided here continuously ever since. His parents came to
this county in 1862, and remained here until their demise; the mother
having died in 1865, and the father in 1874. Was married September 5,
1875, to Miss Alice E., daughter of James and Martha Hardy. They
are the parents of two children: Byron A. and Thomas W. He has a
good farm of 206 acres in a fipe state of cultivation, and well adapted to
the raising of stock.
WEST, CASSIUS H., farmer, section 35, P. O. Tabor; born Novem-
ber 16, 1844, in Loraine county, Ohio. Moved with his parents when one
year old, to Waukesha county, Wisqonsin, where he worked on a farm
and attended school until he grew to manhood. In 1865 he moved to Fre-
mont county, Iowa, and in 1877 located on the the farm where he now
lives. Was married November 15, 1869, to Miss Julia Judson, a native of
Oneida county. New York, daughter of Charles and Louise Judson.
They have three children: Cora A., Albert N., and RoUo J. He enlisted
August 40, 1862, in company F, Ninety-third Illinois infantry, and partici-
pated in all the battles in which his regiment was engaged, and was slight-
ly wounded at the battle of Vicksburg, and was discharged at Louisville,
Kentucky, in July, 1865.
WILES, LUKE, farmer and stock-raiser, section 5, P. O. Glenwood;
born in Sarah county. North Carolina, February 5, 1819. He soon after
came with his parents to Henry county, Indiana, where he grew to man-
hood, working on the farm and attending the pubUc and private schools.
■620 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
In 1840 he immigrated to Andrew county, Missouri, where he was engaged
in farming and running a saw-mill, which he operated until 1851, when
he came to this county and resumed farming, which occupation he has
continued to the present time. Was married November 14, 1842, to Miss
JLucinda Hartman, a native of North Carolina. They are the parents of
ten children, ei^ht of whom are now living; Daniel, Thomas, Nancy E.,
Sarah E., Charles L., William R., John Q., and Frances R. Mr. Wiles
and his wife are members ot the United Brethren church, Mr. Wiles hav-
ing been a class-leader in that denomination for the past twenty years.
He is one of the first settlers of the county, and has been elected to sev-
eral township offices of trust, this showing the esteem in which he is held
by his neighbors. He owns a farm of 260 acres, well improved.
LYONS TOWNSHIP.
ALLISON, J. D., farmer and stock-trader; born March 22, 1846, in
Gentry county, Missouri. When six years of age he moved with his
parents to Mills county, Iowa, where he grew to manhood, and was edu-
cated in the common schools. Was married May 27, 1875, to Miss Mag-
gie, daughter of Thomas and Nancy Kerlin, of Harrison county, Mis-
souri. They are the parents of three children: Arthur L., Grade E.,
and Walter C. His parents both died in this county; the mother in 1854,
and the father in 1876. Mr. Allison made several trips across the plains.
During the war he was engaged in freighting and fighting Indians. He
made ten trips across the plains, and was in one battle with eight other
men, opposed by twenty-nine Indians, but the whites were successful. At
one time he was lost and was for six days without food, and endured other
wonderful hardships, among them the feat of walking from Virginia City,
Nevada, to this county, which he accompUshed in fifty-six days. He was
one of the first settlers of Mills county, but now lives at Whiting Station,
Monona county, Iowa.
DEAN, WILLIAM E, farmer and stock raiser, section 11, P. O. Glen-
wood; born January 23, 1821, in Barnard, Vermont, where he grew to
manhood and obtained his education in the public schools. Wben four-
teen 5'ears of age he was apprenticed to Benjamin Jacquist to learn the
trade of a tanner. He served an apprenticeship of four years, when his
health failed him, and he embarked on a whaling voyage on the Henry
Clay, December 17, 1839. He sailed around Cape Horn, through the
southern seas, landing at the Cape Verde islands. He arrived home in
February, 1844, after a voyage of more than four years. During this voy-
age he became an accomplished seaman, and in May following, he shipped
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 621
in a merchant vessel for the West Indies. He made many voyages, and
returned to Boston in the spring of 1849. He then went to Ohio and
remained there until September of that year, when he came to Iowa and
located in Mills county. He immediately entered a claim, which is a part
of one of the farms he now owns. At that time his store of worldly
goods amounted to about $100, but by industry and perseverance he has
succeeded in accumulating the fine lands now in his posession. He owns
800 acres of land which is admirably adapted to the raising of stock,
in which enterprise he is largely interested. It is adorned with an elegant
dwelling house, three good barns, an orchard and other improvements.
He is now extensively engaged in the lumber business. Mr. Dean is one
of the first settlers of the county, and when the county was organized he
was elected coroner and drainage commissioner, and has since been town-
ship assessor several terms. Was married August 15, 1849, to Miss
Susan, daughter of Benjamin and Susanna Briggs. She was born April
11, 1822, in Barnard, Vermont. They have six children: Paul, born May
1, 1850; Seth, born October 20, 1851; Harry, born November 15, 1853;
William H., born April 18, 1856; Benjamin B., born December 24, 1858;
Alvia E., born January 8, 1861. Mrs. Dean died March 31, 1872. Mr.
Dean was married a second time November 4, 1875, to Eliza J. Briggs,
who was born in Vermont, October 2, 1828. The Deans are an old Ver-
mont family, and are related to the distinguished historian of that name.
EPPERSON, CHARLES L., section 5, P. O. Pacific Junction; born
July 30, 1835, in Montgomery county, Indiana. At an early age he moved
with his parents to Cedar county, Iowa. He resided in Cedar county
until fifteen years old, and then went with his parents to Council Bluffs,
in which city his father died. He then came with his mother to Mills
county and located in Oak township. In 1855 he moved to Lyons town-
ship. In 1864 he made a trip to Salt Lake City, and returned the follow-
ing year. He purchased the farm where he now lives in 1868. Was
married August 16, 1860, to Miss Ophelia Harrington of Oswego county.
New York. Five children have been born to them, four of whom are
now living: David E., Charles G., Annie E. and Jonathan R. Mr. Epper-
son has served the township officially \yith great credit. He is now act-
ing as secretary of the school board, and in this, as in all other positions
of trust, he has given the best of satisfaction. He owns a neat little farm
of forty acres, in a high state of cultivation and well improved.
FOLDEN, GEORGE S., farmer, section 13, P. O. Glenwood; born
February 22, 1823, in Greenbriar county, Virginia. When very young
he moved with his parents to Indiana, but only remained there a short
time, and then went to Hancock county, Missouri, where he grew to man-
hood, working on the farm and attending school. In 1850 he came to
Iowa, locating in Fremont county, near Sidney, and one year later came
€23 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
to Mills county. Was married September 10, 1848, to Miss Leah, daugh-
ter of Charles and Sarah Calvert of Highland county, Ohio. There have
been twelve children born to them by this union, only two of whom are
now; living: Sarah and James. The names of the deceased are: Lealdes
F., Margaret M., Charles W., Isena F., Andrew T., Elizabeth J., Nancy
C Adam, Laura M. and Minnie A. He has been a member of the Con-
gregational Church for thirty years, and has been identified with that
denomination, as steward and class leader, and has held several township
■offices. He came to this county with no means whatever, but now owns
a farm of 155 acres with a good dwelling-house and other improvements.
Mr. Folden is a man of high moral character and is honored and respected
by his neighbors.
HOWARTH, DENNIS, farmer section 12, P. O. Glenwood; born
April 17, 1832, in England, and there grew to manhood, receiving his
education in the Wesleyan private schools. At the age of fourteen he
learned the art of engineering which he following until coming to Mills
county. Immigrated to Canada in 1851, where he remained one year
and then went to Massachusetts, then to Chicago, then to Wisconsin, and
from there to St. Louis, remaining in the latter city until 1868. In that
year he came to Mills county. He is now a successful farmer and owns
a fine farm of two hundred and twelve acres, with an attractive resi-
dence, substantial barn and productive orchard. Was married Jan-
uary 2, 1865, to Miss Sarah Anderson of Shawneetown, Illinois. They
are the parents of four children: Mary, Harry M., Isabella and Sarah.
Mr. Howarth has served the township officially with marked ability.
HAYNIE, PAULj farmer, section 8, P. O. Pacific Junction; born June
3, 1849, in Osceola, St. Clair county, Missouri. Came with his parents
to Mills county, when in infancy, and has resided here continually ever
since. His childhood was passed in farm labor, and attending the dis-
trict schools of this county. He was married February 21, 1875, to Miss
Alvira, daughter of John F. and Nancy M. Williams, of Holt county, Mis-
souri. They are the parents of two interesting children : Leroy and Charles.
Mr. Haynie was at one time largely interested in the stock business. His
life has been a quiet and uneventful one, and by his industry he has been
very successful as a farmer.
HAYNIE, JOHN, farmer and grain dealer, section 8, P. O. Pacific
Junction; born July 12, 1814, in Cook county, Tennessee. When six
years of age he moved with his parents to Cooper county, Missouri. At
the age of twenty-one years he went to St. Clair county, Missouri, and
in 1851 came to Mills county, and located on the " Wahbonsie Hills,"
where he entered 280 acres of land. He purchased the place where he
now lives in 1865. Was married in 1839 to Miss Elizabeth Ward, of
Cook county, Tennessee. Nine children were born to them, six of whom
HISTORY OF >nLLS COXJXTY. 623
are now livin^r: Sarah J., Maiy E., Paul, John W., Columbus H. and
Greorge W. Mr. Ha^-nie came to Mills count}- with very limited means,
but b}- his untiring energy has amassed considerable wealth. He owns
about one thousand acres of land, six hundred of which is under cultiva-
tion. At convenient places on the farm are seven good houses. He was
for a number of years extensively engaged in the live stock business.
Three years since he formed a partnership in the grain business with Mr.
R. H. Brent, of Glenwood, and the}* are now bupng extensively at several
stations in the countj-. He was elected sheriff in 1S53, and served four
vears and was afterward elected county commissioher. He is one of the
pioneers of the countj^ and has alwavs been foremost in advocacv of aU
public improvements.
HUBBELL, GARRETT V., farmer, section 14, P. O. Glenwood;
bom ]\Iarch 9, 1S26, in Shelby county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood,
receiving his education in the public schools. When eighteen years of
age he learned the trade of a potter at Pickwa^-, Ohio, with John Mar-
ietta. This occupation he followed until 1S55, and then came to Iowa,
and located in Poweshiek county, where he engaged in farming. He
moved from this count}- to Jasper county, Iowa, and from there to Da\-is
county-, Missouri. He remained there three years and then came to Iowa
and located in Dallas count}-. Enlisted in company C, 39th Iowa infan-
trv, but was discharged by reason of disabilit}-. He then returned to
Ohio, and immediately enlisted in company K, 14rth Ohio infantr}% He
was engaged in the battles of Tunnel Hill, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta,
Jonesboro, Burnt Hickor}- and all others in which his regiment partici-
pated. He sustained injuries while in the service from which he has
never recovered. Was discharged in July, 1S65, at L,ouis\Tlle, Kentucky,
and was dismissed at Clinton, Iowa. Was married September S, 1S50, to
Miss Elizabeth Bogart, of Miami county, Ohio. This union brought to
them twelve children, six of whom are now living: Jacob R., Missouri^
John J.. Emma M., Sarah F. and Charles T. Mr. H. owns a farm of
lOS acres, with an excellent orchard and convenient building. He is a
member of the United Brethren church, and has been a zealous worker
in the church for man}- years.
HUBBARD, REV. JAMES, farmer section 12, P. O. Glenwood; bom
September 20, 1S35, in Ashtabula, Ohio. When thirteen years of age
he moved with his parents to Cedar count}-, ^lissouri, and there grew to
maturit}-, working at farm labor and attending the common schools. He
came to Mills count}- in 1S54, and located where he now li%-es, in 1S69.
Was married to Miss Xancy Williams, of Chester count}-, Kentucky.
They are the parents of ten children, seven of whom are now liv-
ing:" Sheldon, Harriet, William, Amos, Henr}-, Thomas and Anise.
Mr. Hubbard united with the M. E. church when quite young, and
624 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
remained with that denomination until 1870, when he joined the United
Brethren, and was appointed a local preacher and a member of the con-
ference. He was ordained September 26, 1875, and the universal verdict
of his people is that he has been a faithful minister. He was a justice of
the peace in the early settlement of the county, and was re-elected to that
office for the present year. He owns a good farm of seventy-eight acres.
HANNER, ALFRED JOHN, section 24, P. O. Glenwood; born Feb-
ruary 28, 1834, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he grew to
manhood and received his education in the common schools. t)uring his
youth he worked in a woolen mill and mastered all the branches of that
business. He came to Mills county in 1858, and soon after went to St. Jo-
seph, Missouri, where he remained a short time, and then returned to'
Pennsylvania. Six months later he again came to Mills county, and
bought a carding mill where he now lives, and enlarged and improved it
for the manufacture of cloth of various grades, which he continued to
operate successfully until 1875, when it was destroyed by fire. He then
converted the machinery that was not destroyed, to such as could be. used
in a saw mill, which he now owns. Was married in 1862 to Miss Sarah
Wolf, a native of Missouri. They were the parents of two children:
Kate and William. He was married a second time, June 18, 1877, to
Miss Nan, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Calvert, of Fremont county,
Iowa. They are the parents of two children, one of whom is now livingt
Edgar L. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
HAYNIE, SARAH, farmer, section 22, P. O. Glenwood; born
August 25, 1821, in Dark county, Ohio. At the age of eighteen she
moved with her parents to St. Clair county, Missouri, and remained there
until 1852, when she came to Mills county. She was married in Decem-
ber, 1842, to Richard Haynie. He was a native of Tennessee, but grew
to manhood in Cooper county, Missouri. They were the parents of
twelve children: John T., Mary A., Martha J., William B., Samueli
Rufus L., Elizabeth, Isabella, Alvis J., George W., Jesse and Edna 0.
Mr. Haynie died in this township December 21, 1873. He was a worthy
man, respected and honored by all who knew him. He left the family
a fine farm of 440 acres. John T., the oldest son, remains at home and
assumes the care and control of the farm, which he conducts in a credible
manner. He shared hardships with his father during the latters' life,
and since then has spared no pains to secure the happiness and comfort
of the family. He is a member of the I. O. O. F.
LAMBERT, JAMES, farmer, section 11, P. O. Glenwood; born in
Cobbel (now Wayne) county, Vif ginia, October 18, 1830, and there grew
to manhood, working at farm labor, and attending the subscription ;
schools. At an early age he went to Missouri, and soon after engaged
in freighting across the plains. In a short time he came to Iowa, locating
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 625
in Fremont county. In 1855 he came to Mills county and settled on the
farm where he now resides. Was married June 7, 1865, to Miss Lydia
E., daughter of William H. and Mary Shepherdson, of Huron county,
Ohio. They are the parents of ten children, nine of whom are now liv-
ing: Ashael, Lester W., Mary E., Celia M., Calvin, Jeannette, Lewis,
Walter and Elsie. The family are members of the Congregational
church. Mr. Lambert has filled the various township offices to the satis-
faction ofjthe people. He owns a farm of 128 acres, with an excellent
dwelling house, large and productive orchard, and various other improve-
ments. He was one of the earliest settlers, and endured many privations,
the Indians at one time stealing the only horse he possessed.
Mc KNIGHT, G. R., farmer, P. O. Bartlett; born February 21, 1824,
in Kentucky. At an early age he moved with his parents to Jackson
county, Missouri, and there grew to manhood, and was educated in the
common schools. When seventeen years of age he learned the trade of
a wagon-maker, which trade he followed six years. In 1853 he came to
Mills county, Iowa, where he remained five years, and then went to Par-
ker county, Texas, and two years later returned to Iowa. In 1865 he
emigrated to Kansas, and from there he again went to Texas, residing in
various sections of that state until 1879, and in this year he came for the
third time to Mills county. Was married in 1848 to Miss Julia A. Keith,
a native of Ohio. Ten children have been born to them, seven of whom
are now living: William A., Joseph F., Sarah J., Amelia E., Martha E.,
Jonathan M. and Alice A . Mr. McKnight lived four years in Gentry
county, Missouri, and during that time served a term as sheriff of that
county with credit.
MORROW, GEORGE, farmer, section 5, P. O. Pacific Junction;
born January 23, 1837, in Jackson county, Ohio, where he grew to man-
hood, and received his education in the common schools. When twenty
years of age he moved with his parents to Iowa and located in Page
county, and resided there four years, and from there came to this county.
He enlisted October 10, 1861, and was mustered into the service Novem-
ber 17, at Keokuk.. He was engaged in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth,
Vicksburg, Atlanta, and aU other minor engagements in which his regi-
ment participated. Was discharged November 17, 1865. Was married
February 11, 1866, to Miss Mary E. Haynie. They are the parents of
four children, three of whom are now living; Howard, Mary and John.
He owns a well improved farm of two hundred and twenty acres, and is
one of the successful pioneers of Mills county.
MORROW, ANDREW; born February 8, 1814, in Athens county,
Ohio. He went to Jackson county when quite young where |he grew to
maturity, and received his education in the pioneer subscription schools
20
626 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
of that county, and, as Mr. Morrow expresses it, "sitting straddle of a split
log." In 1861 he went to Pike county, and in 1867 to Page county, Iowa,
remaining there four years and then came to Mills county. He remained
in this county until 1870 and they went to Cass county, Nebraska. In
1874 he moved to Harrison county, Iowa, where he now resides. Was
married in 1836 to Sarah Dill of Jackson county, Ohio. Fifteen children
were born to them : George, William, Catharine, John, Thomas, Clinton,
Rozelle, Henry, Jane, Benjamin, Alexander, Samuel, Andrew and
Amos.
MERRITT, RUFUS L., farmer and stock-raiser, section 1, P. O.
Glenwood; born February 16, 1836, in Caswell county, North Carolina.
At an early age he moved with his parents to Kentucky, remaining there
three years, and then went to Cedar county, Missouri, where he remained
until 1859. In October, 1869, he arrived in MiUs county and located in Lyons
township, and was one of the first settlers of the township. Hegrewto
manhood in Missouri, and was educated in the subscription schools. His
father, Benjamin F. Merritt, like all early settlers, very unwisely located in
the timbered sections of the county, and consequently much labor was
required to bring his farm under cultivation. His father had a family of
three children: Alvis, Sidney and Rufus L. Rufus was married June 15,
1854, to Miss Nancy J. Grizzle, a native of Missouri. Six children have
been born to them, five of whom are now living: Edna B., Mary E.j John
L,., George A., and Sarah A. His father died in this county November 1,
1863, which was one of the first deaths in the township. His mother,
Mrs. Edna Merritt, now makes her home with him. He owns two hun-
dred and forty acres of land in a good state of cultivation, with good
dwelling-house and other substantial improvements. He has held the ,
office of township trustee thirteen years to the entire satisfaction of the
people.
NORRELL, GEORGE W., farmer, section 13, P. O. Glenwood; born
October 31 , 1808, in Buckingham county, Virginia, where he grew to man-
hood and was educated in the private schools. In 1834 he went to Marion
county, Ohio, and shortly after went to St. Louis county, Missouri. He re-
sided in various counties of that state and then came to Mills county. In
October, 1852, he entered land in Rawles township, which was one of the
first entries made in the county, and settled on the farm where he now
lives in 1877. Was married in 1838, to Miss Luvicy, daughter of Matthew
and Luvicy Boyd of Cooper county, Missouri. They are the parents of
ten children, five of whom are living: Mary, Martha, Thomas B., John
and Joseph. Five are deceased: James, P. J., K. D., George jr., and
Mary J. They are members of the M. E. Church, Mr. Norrell hav-
ing been church steward and trustee in that denomination. He has held
several township offices with credit to himself. He owns a fine farm of
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 627
one hundred and forty acres, with good buildings, orchard and other sub-
stantial improvements.
POWLES, THOMAS, farmer, section 33, P. O. Bartlett; born Aug-
ust 9, 1849, in Monmouthshire, England. When he was three years of
age he immigrated with his parents to America, and located in Hancock
county, Illinois, where he lived two years. He then moved to Wapello
county, Iowa, and there grew to manhood, working at farm labor and at-
tending the district schools. Was married in 1863, to Miss Rachel A.,
daughter of Matthias and Nancy Engle of Fayette county, Ohio* They
have one son, William H. Mr. Powles served with credit in the state
militia. His parents, Thomas and Sarah Powles, were natives of Eng-
laod, and died at an advanced age in Wapello county, Iowa. He came
to Mills county in 1866, and since that time has been a very successful
farmer. He is a member of the I. O. O. F.
SAL YARDS, WILLIAM, farmer, section 25, P. O. Glenwood; born
in Franklin county, in Ohio. When seventeen years of age he moved with
his parents to Putnam county, where he remained eight years. He then
came to Iowa, locating in Poweshiek county, Iowa, and in the wiuter of
1855 went to Davis county, Missouri, and resided there four years. He
then returned to Ohio, where he remained twelve years, and then emi-
grated to Hamilton county, Nebraska, but the grasshopper plague com-
pelled him to leave the state, and he went to Jasper county, Iowa. Was
married in 1853, to Miss Sarah Bogart, of Hamilton county, Pennsyl-
vania. Ten children were born to them ; but three of whom are now
living: David, William and Mary F. Mr. Salyards at one time served a
term of two years as street commissioner of Columbus, Ohio. He pur-
chased the farm where he now lives in ] 880. It is a neat little place of
forty acres, upon which is an elegant dwelling house and a productive
orchard.
SHEPHERDSON, WILLIAM H., farmer, section 12, P. O. Glen-
wood; born December 2, 1823, in Franklin county, Massachusetts. When
eleven years of age he moved with his parents to Huron county, Ohio,
where he grew to manhood, and received his education in the common
schools. His youth was passed in farming, but in after life he learned
the trade of a carpenter. On the 27th day of April, 1847, he arrived in
Mills county, locating in Silver Creek township. Three years later he
came to Lyons township, and in 1871 he located on the farm where he
now resides. Enlisted October 10 1861, in company F, Fifteenth Iowa
infantry, and participated in the battles of Pittsburg Landing and Corinth,
and was in all the engagements of the Atlanta campaign. He served as
a fifer, and was honorably discharged December 16, 1864. He owns a
farm of 187 acres, on which is a good dwelling house, barn, orchard and
other improvements. Mr. Shepherdson has been a township officer several
628 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. '
years, and according to the best of authority, has lived longer in Mills
county than any one in Lyons township.
TIPTON, JAMES A., farmer, section 34, P. O. Bartlett; born Octo-
ber 6, 1827, in Wilson county, Tennessee. Moved with his parents when
nine years of age to Lincoln county, Missouri, and then three years later
went to Cale county, Missouri, where he grew to maturity, working at
farm labor and attending the subscription schools. When nineteen years
old he went to Mexico but soon returned. In 1854 he came to this county,
locating near Wahbonsie lake, and four years later he settled on the farm
where he now resides. Was married in March, 1852, to Miss Louisa
Eankin, a native of Kentucky. They are the parents of ten children,
nine now living: Jesse W., Eliza F., Rebecca V., John Q., James M.,
Mary A., Cordelia J., Charles and Alfred H. Mr. Tipton has secured
since coming to Mills county, a good farm of ninety acres. He has held
various township offices and served with credit in the war of the rebellion.
WARREN, JOHN, farmer section 3, P. O. Pacific Junction; born
April 20, 1848, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. At an early age he
moved with parents to Maryland, where he grew to maturity. In 1866
he moved to Loraine county, Ohio, where he remained a short time and
then returned to Maryland. In 1869 he came to this county. On his arri-
val here he engaged in farm labor, and by steady habits and honest industry
soon established himself as one of the successful farmers of Mills county.
Was married in 1875 to Miss Nancy Creech, of Madison county, Arkan-
sas. They have two children : Clara C. and Clarence.
SILVER CREEK TO^VNSHIP.
FOLLET, WARREN, Silver Creek; was born January 22, 1838, in
Caldwell county, Missouri. He left that state with the Mormon exodus,
and went with his parents to Nauvoo, Illinois, where his father died in
1844. Driven with the Mormons from that state he came to Iowa and
located in Silver Creek township, on what is now the farm of David Em-
rick. He moved to the farm he now occupies in 1853. In 1862 he
enlisted at Glenwood for a term of three years or during the war. Sep-
tember 6, of the same year, he was married. His farm comprises some
220 acres, all in splendid condition and well improved, with buildings and
fruit. Mr. FoUett is one of the oldest settlers in the county, and has
always been closely identified with its improvements and advances.
KERNEY, NATHAN, is a farmer by occupation, whose domain of
159 acres lies in section 31. He is a native of the old Keystone state,
born in Bedford county, August 22, 1824. At the age of one year he
) , I
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 629
came to Ohio with his parents, where he remained some sixteen years, dur-
ing which period of his youth he attended the common school and worked
on the farm. At the age of seventeen — 1841 — he went to Missouri and tar-
ried some fifteeai years, until 1853, when he came to Mills county, Iowa,
as one of its pioneer settlers. At his advent, the land upon which the
town of Malvern stands was owned by the United States government.
He was first married March 1, 1849, to Miss Margaret Van Buskirk, of
Savannah, Missouri. Five children were added to the household through
this marriage: William W., Sarah A., Lydia A., Laura G. and Martha E.
whose mother died November 22, 1873. After wearing the weed of sor-
row for three years, he contracted another marital alliance "vvith Sarah M.
Showalter, of Dade county, Missouri, through whom two children —
Charles H. and Adin G. — were added to the already good circle. Mr. K.
was a member of the Masonic order — Silver Urn Lodge of Malvern.
He and his present wife are of the Baptist persuasion.
LEWIS, MILLARD F., a native of Mills county, Iowa, was born on
the farm on which he now resides, August 25, 1856. Mr. L. is a son of
Daniel Lewis, one of the earliest settlers of this county. He carries on
farming on the old home. He was educated in the common school, and
at Bryant's business college, of St. Joseph, Missouri, and at Montague
*& Lillibridge business college, of Davenport, Iowa. He married Miss
Mattie A. Knight, of Mills county, December 10, 1876 — a centennial mar-
riage. One child, Harry, cheers their young hearts.
LEWIS, DANIEL, is a native of Kentucky, born in Shelby county,
December 4, 1801, where he lived until he was twenty-seven years old,
when he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. After spending four or five
years here, and three years at Quincy, Illinois, he located in Mills county,
Iowa, in August, 1851. He located on land then in the possession of the
Mormons, and from whom he purchased it. It was then known as Cut-
ler's camp. At the time Mr. Lewis came to Mills county the country
about him and Malvern, except the "Mormon settlement," was unoccupied
by white men. He was identified with the first formation and settlement
of the county; he was a member of the first grand jury organized in the
county; he had seen corn sold in the early days of the settlements for
$1.50 per bushel; he was first married to Nancy Logan, in Kentucky, in
1820; his second marriage was to Harriet Holstein, October 24, 1830; has
five children living: George W., Donald J., Henry Clay, Winfield S. and
Millard F. ; his farm lies in section 7, and contains three hundred acres.
Before providing for his children his acres numbered twelve hundred.
NORRIS, WILLIAM, is a native of Hoosierdom, where he first
breathed the breath of mortality. May 22, 1821, in Clay county. At the
age of twelve years he went to LaPorte, Indiana, where he remained
until his twenty-third year, preparing for the battle of life before him. In
630 , HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
1844 he pushed on westward to Illinois, where he sojourned until 1871,
where he pursued the carpenter trade for a livelihood. He was first mar-
ried when but twenty-one years of age, to Miss Jane Mix, who died in
1848; again, December 25, 1849, he married Amanda Brock, his present
wife. Jackson E. and Ethlena are the children of this marriage. He has
carried on farming since June, 1849; in 1871 he moved to Mills county,
Iowa, where he still continues farming, his farm containing two hundred
and fifty-five acres, all tillable, which he improved to its present condi-
tion, with good buildings. In connection with his other farm work, Mr,
N. feeds about one hundred and fifty head of cattle each year.
SMITH, W. S. C. is a native of Putnam county, Indiana, where he
entered the- scenes of life April 24, 1843. In 1845 he, with his parents,
came to Illinois and tarried until 1848, when he came to Clark county,
Iowa. Here he acquired a common school education, and worked until
1862, when he entered the service of his country, enlisting in pompany F,
Sixth Iowa infantry, in which he served two years, and in 1864 re-enlisted
in the same regiment as a veteran, and served to the close of the war. He
was in twenty-seven regular engagements, among which were the battles
bf Mission Ridge, Jackson, Miss., Kenesaw Mountain, New Hope Church,
Atlanta two days, Griswold, Georgia, and Savannah, the latter place
being the terminus of Sherman's march to the sea. Here is a record of pa^
triotism rarely excelled. At the close of the war in 1865 Mr. S. settled in
Mills county, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres,
in section 21, being one of the early settlers of the locality, and where he
still lives, giving his energies to farming. He was married December 25,
1867, to Rosene Wheeler, of Glenwood, the result of which were four
children: Bernice H., Daisy R., Earnest G. and Jeptha G., who wiU carry
their memory hence. Mr. S. is a member of the Odd Fellows and
Masonic Orders, at Malvern.
SLATER, SAMPSON, is a native of the British Isle, where he first
saw light in Morley Moor, Derbyshire, February 3, 1826; and where he
continued to live until 1851, when he immigrated to America, and located
at Strongsville, Ohio. After a four years sojourn in the Buckeye State,
he came to Johnson county, Iowa, where he spent ten years of his life,
which was employed in tilling the soil. In 1865 he removed to Mills
county, where he purchased a farm of two hundred acres, in section 28,
with timbered land in other sections. He was one of the pioneers of Silver
Creek township, and aided in gathering a wheat harvest on the ground
now occupied by the town of Malvern. His farm improvements are after
the modern style, including a fine two story barn 36x46 feet, upon a stone
base for stable. Flis farm also contains an orchard of some 300 trees,
some 200 of which are apple bearing, the others include cherries, plumbs
peaches, etc. Mr. Slater married November 11, 1868, Kate Byers, of
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 631
Ohio, and Charles, born April 16, 1872, will perpetuate the name to gen-
erations hence. In 1880 Mr. S. returned to his old home in England for
a month's visit to to the relatives and scenes of his manhood; giving
London and its Museum, Tower, Halls and other points of interest, a part
of his time ; as well as other towns in the realm. He returned to his
adopted country in contentment.
WEST, NATHAN A., is a native of Ohio, born in Trumbull county,
April 10, 1808, where he spent the first twenty-four years of his life, and
where he received a common school education. He married his first wife
in Portage county, m 1828— Mary S. Hulett— who died in 1835. In 1832
he removed to Missouri, where he whiled away six years, then moved to
Illinois, where he spent eight years more; thence he was allured by the
attractions of Iowa to its borders, and in 1848 he permanently located in
Mills county, being one of its first settlers; in fact lived in the territory
when it was a part of Pottawattamie county. He has thus seen this sec-
tion of the state reclaimed from its native wilderness, and its towns grow
up to their present dimensions and prosperity. Mr . West married his
second wife, March 17, 1886, Adeline L. FoUett. He had two children
by his first marriage, one of whom, Mrs. Maria Kempton, resides in Glen-
wood. His principle pursuit through life has been that of farming. His
farm of eighty acres lies in section twenty. At the first election in Silver
Creek township he was elected justice of the peace, and has continued to
hold that office almost continually since. • He has also held various other
township trusts.
MALVERN TOWNSHIP.
BEKKHIMER, ANDREW, is a Pennsylvanian. March 17, 1832,
marked his ingress in life at York county, and seventeen years of his
young life was spent upon his native soil, when he went out into the world
to carve his own way through it. In 1849 he started westward, and with
a team drove to St. Joseph county, Michigan, and shortly afl;er to Kala-
mazoo county, same state, where he remained four years. Thence he
went to northw:estern Iowa, and tarried a brief time, when he returned to
Michigan. In the fall ol 1858 the attractions of Iowa induced him to re-
turn to it again, and he located in Silver Creek township, Mills county, as
one of the earliest settlers, and was among the very first to break and
subdue a prairie farm therein. When he came, the site upon which Mal-
vern now stands was a " howling prairie," and he hauled the lumber for
the first building erected upon it. Mr. Berkhimer found his counterpart
in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Septeimber 13, 1855, m the person ol Margaret
632 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Oman, of that place ; the production of which alliance were : Chester,
Sarah, Lydia A., Clara, George, Oscar, Lewis, Maggie and Andrew J.
Mr. and Mrs. Berkhimer and three children are members of the Baptist
church of Malvern. His farm in section twenty, contains 260 acres, the
joint accumulation of himself and wife. It contains one of the prettiest
groves in the county, besides an orchard of two hundred trees. It is
divided into convenient fields well fenced, with line fences of hedge. The
house and outbuildings are well ordered, and in keeping with the other
improvements.
BROHARD, JAMES T., is a native of the « Mother of Presidents."
He was born in Taylor county, Virginia, May 11, 1838, where he spent
the first thirty-eight years of his life, and acquired his education in a pri-
vate school, and became' master of his chosen vocation, that of wagon
maker. In 1863, though a native Virginian, he enlisted in company K,
of the First West Virginia Cavalry regiment of the union army, in which
he continued in active service until the close of the war, when he was
mustered out in July, 1865. He was in the battles of Winchester, Fisher
Hill, Cedar Creek, Monocacy Junction, Snaker's Gap, Mt. Jackson, Port
Republic, Stevenson's Depot, and twenty-four other engagements. He
was under Sheridan and Custer, being in the latter's division. He was
married in West Virginia, November 29, 1859, to Miss Jennie C. Roe, of
that state. Jennie L, is their only living child, three having gone beyond
the vale of life. He still pursues the wagon making business, which has
employed his energies for more than twelve years.
BROTHERS, S. T., M. D., was the first physician locating in Mal-
vern. He came there in 1866, from Ohio, his native state, where he
was born July 12, 1827, in Carroll county, in which he lived until 1856,
and where he procured a common school education, and a professional
education in Western Reserve College, of that state. He practiced his
profession for some two or three years in his native county, after which,
in 1856, he came to Eastern Iowa, where continued his professional work
until 1860, when he returned to Ohio. Like most people who have ever
lived in the grand state of Iowa, Dr. B. had an unconqerable desire to
return, which he did in 1866, this time locating in Mills county. As already
noted, he was not only the first physician, but was the second person who
located in the then new town of Malvern. As a practitioner .Dr. Bro-
thers has been a successful master of the healing art. He has secured
for himself a farm of 280 acres located in Pottawattamie county, where
he may retire in quiet, when the years of the shady side shall overtake
him. March 30, 1854, he married Eves A. Graham, of Pittsburg, Penn-
sylvania, and thereby added to his domestic circle seven more to join in
the great tide of life, and to make that circle more cheerful and interest-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 633
ing: Alice, Howard, Lily, Flora, Charlie, Rebecca, and Ralph. The Doc-
tor is a member of the Masonic order.
BENTLEY, LEANDER, a native of Kentucky, was born near Lex-
ington, September 27, 1831, where he remained until about nine years of
age. In 1840, he "went west" with his people, locating in Boone county>
Missouri, where he secured a common school and academic education,
the latter at the Lathrop Academy. While at Rockport, Missouri, he
pursued a general mercantile business. In 1860 he came to Iowa, locat-
ing at Sidney, Fremont county, where he continued the mercantile trade
until 1865, when he served in the county treasurers office until 1870. In
1872, he started the first bank at Riverton, which he left in 1875, and
came -to Malvern and filled the position of cashier of the First National
Bank, of that place, which position he still retains. Mr* B. married Miss
A. M. Ross, at Rockport, Boone countjr, Missouri, February 13, 1855.
Six children: Mary R., John H., Frank, R. E. Lee, Annie D., Charles
A., are rising up to call them blessed. He is a member of the Nish-
nabotna Lodge, 153, of Masons; and also a member of the Baptist
church.
BUFFINGTON, F. M., is a native of Meiggs county, Ohio, where his
nativity commenced March 12, 1835. At the age of three years he was
taken to Adams county, Illinois, where he grew up to young manhood;
meantime gathering a common school education. At the age of nine-
teen years he came to Mills county, settling in Oak township, where he
worked at farming until 1879, when he purchased the Malvern Mills, and
from thence forward he carried on the milling business. His was a com-
mon school education. May 16, 1860, Mr. B. formed a marital alliance
with Miss Sara Byers, of Mills county. Of this union there are five
living children: Carrie, John, Jennie, Francis and Efiie. Mr. B. is a
member of the M. E. church.
BLACK, WM., is a native of Scotland; born March 9, 1817. In 1838,
he came to America, and located near Rochester, New York, where he
remained until the autumn of 1838, when he moved to central Ohio. In
July, 1871, he located in Malvern, Mills county, and entered the hardware
trade which he still continues. September 9, 1841, he married Miss Mar-
tha Reed, near Zanesville, Ohio. Four children were theirs, two sons
and two daughters; two of whom are settled in Licking county, Ohio,
and two in Mills county. Mr. Black waseducated in the common school,
and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. His fellow
citizens have, on several occasions expressed their confidence in his good
citizenship, by conferring upon him official positions of trust. Several
times trustee of his town, then mayor, and now school director and presi-
dent of the board, which latter position he has held some five years. In
1850, Mr. Black was one of the "Argonauts" who made his way to Cali-
634 HISTORY OF MrLLS COUNTY.
fornia in search of the "golden fleece," of which he obtained :i fair share.
In ISCr) Mr. B. was a delegate from Zanesville, Ohio, to the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Chm-ch, at Pittsburg. Me surrendered the
services of two sons to his country, to aid in suppressing the rebellion.
CAMPBELL, P. M., begun his mortal career the lentli day of April,
1848, at Jackson, Michigan. When about the a year old he emigrated
with his parents to Canada, returning to Michigan, however, al about the
age of twelve years, where he remained until 1 SCif), when he came to
Iowa, stopping in Dallas county until :1870, in which year he went to Mis-
souri. In 3880 he returned to Iowa, locating this time at Malvern, Mills
county. He attended the public schools, and worked upon the farm ; from
which field of labor he rose to more responsible positions. He has been
in the employ of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company for
the past ten years, as an agent and telegraph operator, which position he
now occupies. In Salisbury, Missouri, October !24, 1871, he married Miss
Nora E. Ammerman. Two children make their household bright and
cheerful— Ray and Edwin Willie. He is a member of the Masonic order.
CURTIS, M. J., came to Malvern at the age of twenty-three years.
At the age of five years he removed from his native place — Bucksport,
Maine, where he was born, September 6, 1847 — with his parents to Ros-
coe, Illinois, where he remained until he came to Mills county, in 1870'
Since Mr. Curtis' residence in Malvern, he has been engaged in the grain
business. In this connection he has also conducted a farm of 282 acres,
on which he has fed about a hundred head of cattle each season for the
market. Mr. C. was educated where tlie great majority of tlie American
people were, in the common school. He is a member of Masonic order —
Silver Urn Lodge 234, of Malvern. Is also a member of the Presbyterian
Church. Mr. C. being one of the early settlers of the town, has been
identified with all of its material interests. He has held the ollice of
mayor, school director and treasurer of the school board, thus affording
evidence of the esteem in which lie is held by his fellow citizens. At his
native town of Bucksport, Maine, he married, November 3, iSOi), Miss
lielen L. Sweetser, the choice of his youth. An Eidopted ciiild makes their
household cheerful.
DEAVER, G. W. F., is a native of Maryland, where lie first became a
conscious mortal, January 20, lS2;i, in Hartford county. There upon his
native beatli lie spent the first forty-seven years of his life, where he
acquired his education in the public school, and wiiere he lt;arned the
occupation which he has pursued for the past thirty years, tliat of a car-
penter and bridge-builder. In ls<;i), lie canu? "west," stopping in Hen-
derson county, Illinois, for two years. From tiienee he went to Hurlinf,'-
ton, Iowa, where lie remained about five years, after whicli he pushed
westward to Malvern, Mills county, where lie has resided since: about
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 635
October, 1875. He married Mary J. Baxter, in Hartford county, Mary-
land, October 13, 1853. The result of this union is a prolific one— ten
children living— Annie L., George G., James T., John McK., Charles W.,
Edwin L., Mary V., Hannah M., Benjamin F. and Harvey W. He is a
member of both the Masonic and Odd Fellow orders, and of the M. E-
Church. He is also one of the present " city fathers" of Malvern.
DONNER, RICHARD, J., is of foreign birth, a native of Germany,
where he entered life, December 13, 1850. When five j^ears old he came
to America with his parents, and proceeded from New York to Kalama-
zoo, Michigan, where they remained until the spring of 1856, when they
moved to Mills county, Iowa and lived upon a farm. Mr. D. here pro-
cured a common school education, during the winter season, and worked
upon the farm until 1874, when he became one of the first settlers of Mai- ,
vern, where he purchased a half interest in the grain elevator at that
place ; and with his brother carried on the grain business for some four
years, during which period their elevator — the first built in the town —
burned, but which they promptty rebuilt. Subsequent to this, Mr. D,
carried on the agricultural implement business for a time; then engaged
in the livery business which he still continues. He is a member of the
Masonic order and of the Knights of Pythias. In 1869 Mr. D. made a
trip to California, where he spent about a year looking at that golden
country.
GIDLEY, RICHARD L., is a cousin from over the sea. He is a
native of Cornwall, Wales, born Tune 4, 1841. At the age of five years
he immigrated to America with his parents who located in Wisconsin.
Here Mr. G. remained until 1865, when he went to school some, and com-
menced learning the carpenter's trade. That year he came to Iowa, stop-
ping at Des Moines, where he remained until 1868. From thence he went
to Council Bluffs, remaining until 1870, when he sought Malvern for his
future home, of where he was among its first settlers. In it, he has held
various positions of trust — Mayor, town trustee, twice, and is now serving
his third term under the present organization. He has worked at the car-
penter trade for twenty-five years, having commenced to learn its myste-
ries when but fifteen years old. He is now the proprietor of the Inter
Ocean Hotel of Malvern. Sena Mabee, of Monroe county, Iowa, joined
Mr. Gidley, as a co-laborer in his pilgrimage through life's journey, April
15, 1878. One child, Richard E., born at Malvern, August 24, 1879, has
been added to that home circle. Mr. D. did good service for his adopted
country in the rebellion. He enlisted in company I, of the second Wis-
consin infantry, in April, 1861, and served in the army until June 30, 1864.
He was in the battles of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Charlottsville, South
Mountain, Antietam, and Gettysburg, at which battle he was wounded.
He explains that he fired the first shot from the infantry, at the battle of
>636 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Gettysburg. From the effects of his wound he was confined to the
hospital some eleven months. He was a prisoner for the three days the
rebels occupied the town. He is a Mason and was master of the Silver
Urn Lodge of Malvern for two terms.
GRAY, G. W., is a native lowan, born in Mahaska county, January
10, 1857. When two years of age he removed with his parents to Page
county where he procured a common school education. In July, 1877, he
made Malvern his home, and made the harness manufacturing business
his avocation, which he still pursues. He is a member of the order of
Odd Fellows, and of the Malvern cornet band.
GARRIGUS, JAMES EDWARD, is a native of Indiana, having en-
tered the conflict of life the sixth of Oct. 1852, in Dearborn county, where
he continued to sojourn for the first twenty years of his existence, when
he launched out for new climes; tarrying at Trenton, Clinton county, Illi-
nois, for four years. He continued toward the "Star of Empire," until he
reached Malvern, Mills county, Iowa, where he hung up his hammock,
and with a will he laid hold of the opportunities which presented them-
selves for his future success. He received his education in the common
school, and Moore's Hill college, Indiana, from which he graduated in
1872. Afterward he was chosen the principal of the public schools at
Delaware, Indiana, for a year, and after coming westward he taught a
public school for a year in St. Clair county, Illinois; and subsequently was
principal of the public schools at New Memphis, Illinois, for three years.
Soon after his arrival at Malvern, Iowa, he was chosen principal of the
public schools of that town for a year. After his graduation at Moore's
Hill, Mr. G. began reading law, which he continued during intervals while
teaching; and during his vacations while teaching in Illinois, he read in
the office of G. Van Horbecke, at Carlisle. He completing his law read-
ing in the office of D. H. Solomon, Esq., of Glenwood, in the spring of
1878, when he was admitted to the bar, and formed a copartnership with
Robert Alton for practice. After three months he continued alone until
September 1, 1879, when he formed a co-partnership with A. L. Young,
"which still continues under the firm name of Young & Garrigus. On
May 1, 1880, he formed another co-partnership with Miss Clara L. Boeh-
ner for life for the practice of love and affection, and the domestic and
social amenities of life as well. To this firm has been added another mem-
ber; though brief in life, little Helen bids fair to add abundant sunshine to
the domestic circle. Mr. G. is a member of the masonic order, and also
of the Baptist church.
GRAY, WILLIAM E., began life September 1, 1851, in Guernsey
county, Ohio. At the age of five years he went with his parents to
Mahaska county, Iowa, remaining there until the spring of 1858, when he
removed to Page county, Iowa, thence to Taylor county in 1874. and
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 63T
finally brought up in Mills county the next year. Mr. Gray was the recipi-
ent of a common school education : he read law with Morl'edge & McPher-
rin, and was afterward admitted to practice at Malvern, which profession
he has pursued to the present day. He joined his fortunes with Miss E..
J. Calhoun, of Page county, Iowa, October 5th, 1875, whose increase are
two children: Byron O. and Jesse E. Mr. G. is a member of the I. O. of
O. F., being a Past Grand of the order. Two terms he has held the
scales of justice in his township, as justice of the peace, and still holds
them for the third term. He assisted in the incorporation of the town as
one of the attorneys. Mr. G. made his own way through the world from
fourteen years of age without means or aid. He first worked in a woolen
factory at a early age, and remained until eighteen years old, when he
began to learn the tinner's trade. From twenty-one years of age he
taught school during the winters, and read law summers. To-day he has
a comfortable start in life.
GOODWIN, CHARLES F., is a native of the "city of churches."
March 12, 1855, he began his mortal career, and in the fifth year of his
boyhood he went to Flushing L. I., and whiled away two years more of
his youth ; after which he peregrinated to Buckport, Maine ; thence to
Wintersport; thence to Buckport again; thence to Roscoe, Illinois, and
thence to Malvern, Iowa, which place he reached in 1870. He was edu-
cated in the common school, concluding at the East Maine Conference
Seminary, at Buckport, including a commercial course. He was married
August 16, 1878, to Miss Anna Evans, of Malvern; and one child, Frank
E., is the comfort of the twain. Mr. G. is a member of the firm of Mun-
ger & Goodwin, druggists and dealers in jewelry, bocks, etc. He is a
member of the Silver Urn Lodge, 234, of masons. «
HERS HEY, ALBERT, a Pennsylvanian by birth, entered life Sep-
tember 8, 1847, in York county, where he obtained a common school edu-
cation, closing with a course in the Normal school in Lancaster countyV
In 1866 he came west to Muscatine county, Iowa, where he made but a
short stay, pushing on to Boone county, in this state, where he was
engaged in the grain business. In February, 1871, he sought Malvern
as his future home, where for a time he contiued the grain trade, until
now he is engaged in farming. October 15, 1879, he observed the scrip-
tural injunction by taking unto himself a help-meet, in the person of Miss
M. Jennie Place, of Malvern, Mills county. But the " replenishing " part
of the scriptural injunction does not appear to have been observed thus
for in their marital co-partnership. Mr, and Mrs. Hj are both members
of the Presbyterian church.
JOHNSON, JOHN M., a native of England, was born in Cambridge-
shire, July 29, 1834. He immigrated to America in 1851, locating in St.
Jpseph county, Michigan. After a seven years stay here, he changed his
638 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
location to section 29, Silver Creek township, Mills county. In 1861 he
removed to the farm on which he still resides, in section 16, containing
340 acres of prairie and timber. He came to Mills as a pioneer in his ,
township, and with but slight means, save his sturdy hands. His fine
farm with excellent house, out buildings, and other modern improvements,
are the accumulations of his own hands, aided by the economy and indus-
try of his wife, who was Mary M. Hicks, prior to November 30, 1856,
on which day he united his fortunes with her, at St. Joseph county Michi-
gan. Five children: James E., Ira, Minnie, Susan and John M., have
risen up to call them blessed. Mr. J. served his country three years dur-
ing the late rebellion, as an enlisted soldier in company B, Twenty-ninth
Iowa infantry. He was in the battles of Helena, Arkansas, Fort Span-
ish, and Fort Blakely. He is one of the six neighbors who entered the
service, and served their three years, returned without mishap, and are
still living near each 'other. Mr. J. has been elected township trustee
several times and served as school director for some twelve years. He
received his education in the common school, has always been a farmer,
and himself and wife are members of the Baptist church, of Malvern.
MERWIN, CHARLES, REV., is a native of Yankeedom, where he
lived until four years of age. He first saw the light at Fairfield, Con-
necticut, October 1, 1810. With his people he emigrated to western New
York, which was then considered " west," and settled in Victor, Ontario
county, where Mr. Merwin continued to reside until he reached young
manhood — twenty years of age. After quitting the common school, he
pursued a collegiate course in the University of New York, and also a
theological course in the Auburn (New York) Theological Seminary, pre-
paratory for the ministry. At the age of thirty years — June 10, 1840 —
Mr. Merwin married Miss Amelia Oliphant, at Auburn, New York, who
died in December, 1871. He married October 15, 1873, as his second
wife, Sara Randall, of Buffalo, New York. He has four living children,
three by the first marriage: Charles H., Amelia F., and Sarah F.; and by
the second marriage, one, Abbie F. Mr. Merwin was the first pastor of
the Presbyterian church of Malvern. Among other worldly effects Mr.
Merwin has a farm of 160 acres, lying in White Cloud township, Mills
county.
METZ, PIERCE, is a native of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. His
career of life began July 12, 1852. In 1855 he, with hiis parents, came to
Marion county, Iowa, where he remained until the age of twenty-five,
when, in November, 1877, he moved to Malvern. He was married in
Marion county, to Miss Josie L. Rungan, May 13, 1875. His education
was received from the common school. His occupations were somewhat
varied. He paddled his own canoe from the age of about nine years, and
his first voyage was in a woolen factory, which continued for five sum-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 639
mers. Next he worked at the carpenter trade for some three years, then
taught school three years. Since the last period he has pursued the mer-
cantile business, which has brought him a good measure of success. He
belongs to Silver Urn lodge of the Masonic fraternity.
HUNGER, JAMES P., entered life in Fulton county, Illinois, July 12,
1847. Here he spent the first eighteen years of his youthful days, dur-
ing which period he acquired a common school education. In 1865 he
removed to Hancock county, Illinois, where he remained until 1873, which
year he sought Iowa as his future home, making a three year's sojourn
in Adams county, where he engaged in the grocery trade. In the cen-
tennial year he moved to Malvern, Iowa, where he has since resided, con-
tinuing the grocery business until 1878, when he sold it out and entered
the drug business with C. F. Goodwin, by purchase of the establishment
where they now are. November 29, 1877, Mr. Hunger married Miss
Julia A. Newcomb, of Belfast, Maine. One child, a boy, Curtis B.,
brightens the parental home. Mr. Munger received the recognition of
his fellow townsmen by being once elected recorder of the town, and
once clerk of the township. Mr, Munger took a course in the Keokuk
Commercial College, and graduated in 1870, and devoted himself to book-
keeping until he entered his mercantile pursuits. His perseverance and
industry has secured him success and a comfortable capital in business.
PADDOCK, CHARLES H., first saw the hills of his native county
of Steuben, New York, March 18, 1846. The same year of his advent
in life he moved with his parents to Henry county, Illinois, where he re-
mained until 1861, when he went out with the Fifteenth Illinois infantry,
as orderly for his father, who was captain of company F. Returning
home in the fall of that year, he remained until 1863, when he enlisted in
company I, of the Nmety-fifth Illinois infantry, with which he remained
until the autumn of 1865, when he was transferred to company K, of the
Forty-seventh Illinois infantry, with which he was mustered out in the
spring of 1866, at Springfield. He was at the battle of Durassey, also
in most of the engagements on the Red river expedition. He was in the
battle of Guntown, and was one of the seven who were left of the com-
pany; the rest of it being either killed or taken prisoners. He was also
in the raid which pursued Gen. Rice through Missouri; also in the battle
of Nashville, Tennessee; Spanish Fort, Fort Blakely and the capture of
Mobile. January 4, 1874, Miss. Mattie McBride, of Malvern, took Mr.
Paddock " for better or for worse," and thus barring the " Mc," she be-
came his bride. Little Sarah is the seal, the only seal, of that marital
bond which makes it stronger and more sacred. Mr. Paddock was the
second male settler in the town. He was educated in the common school.
He, with his brother, John D., opened the first store in Malvern, and are
both still engaged in the same pursuit.
640 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY,
PADDOCK, JOHN D., a native of Steuben county, New York; was
born June 17, 1842. At the age of two years he removed with his parents
to Michigan, where they made a short stay, then moved to McHenry
county, Illinois. Here John D. remained until eighteen summers had
ripened him for active life, when he went out into the central part of the
state and taught school, which work he continued for some three years.
In 1863 he graduated from a commercial school in Chicago. However,
while in the college, he enlisted in the 134th Illinois hundred-day infantry.
He returned to Chicago and engaged in book-keeping for about six
years. From Chicago Mr. Paddock came to Malvern— then known as
Milton — in August, 1869, where he built the first building ever erected
in that place, from lumber brought from Chicago, and wagoned from
Pacific City. He was also the first postmaster and the first express agent
pf the town. In connection with his brother he opened the first store for
the sale of general merchandise, and is still engaged in the same mer-
cantile line in the same building. He has been the recipient of several
official positions from the citizens of the town since its organization,
March 1, 1869, he married Miss Helen L. McRae, of Woodstock,
McHenry county, Illinois. He has adopted son, the child of the Rev. J,
W. Rae, late pastor of the Baptist church of that place, now deceased.
RINGLAND, I. B., is a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania,
and his birth was December 9, 1827. At the age of twenty-seven, 1854,
he was elected auditor of his native county, and in 1856, resigned and
moved to Marshall county, Iowa. April 16, 1857, he married Mary A.
Evans, and remained in that county until 1863. In 1869 he came to Mal-
vern where he engaged in the lumber business. Was mayor of the town;
a member of Silver Urn Masonic order, and of the Christian church. He
died December 8, 1880.
SMITH, T. P., a Marylander, a native of Baltimore, added one to the
census record of that city the 24th of September, 1813, where he spent
his minority, and received a public school education. In 1834, he came
to Springfield, Illinois, where he resided for eighteen years, when he was
married to Sara Jones, March 21, 1837, who died July 20, 1861, at St.
Joseph, Missouri, to which place he had removed shortly prior. He mar-
ried Susan Mattingly as his second wife July 12, 1858: Affie A., W. T.,
who is a presiding elder in the M. E. church, and Elizabeth T, are the
children of the first marriage. Hotel-keeging is the vocation which Mr.
Smith has pursued for years, and is the present proprietor of the Malvern
House. In 1862 he entered the Union forces — company F, Twentieth
Missouri infantry — remaining in the service a year. He was in the bat-
tles of Fort Donelson, Fort Henry and Shiloh. For a time he had
charge of some sixteen patients as nurse, on the steamboat Memfhis. He
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 641
-was a member of the M. E. church, and his present wife a member of the
Cathohc church.
SKADAN, J. EDGAR, is a native New Yorker, where he entered
life May 27, 1839, in Cayuga county, and where he lived until he was
eighteen years of age, and acquired a common school education, at which
age he came to La Salle, IlHnois, and. resided for twelve years. In 1869
he came to Iowa, where he found his future home. He first remained
some five years in Villisca, after which, in 1874, he sought Malvern. Prior
to 1869 his pursuits were various; but since that time he has been en-
gaged in farming, real estate and general agency business. While a resi-
dent of Montgomery county he was honored with the election of school
director. He was twice married — first, in 1862, to Maria Good, of Day-
ton, Ohio, who died in March, 1869. His second marital alliance was
with Julia M. White, of Orange county, Vermont, February 28, 1874.
Two children by his first marriage are all he has to hand his name down
the line of coming generations. Mr. and Mrs. S. are both members of
the Baptist church.
STRAHAN, J. M., is a native of Indiana. Was born in Putnam
county, November 17, 1829, where he remained until his seventh year,
when he, with his people, moved to Illinois. In 1850 he went to Califor-
nia, remaining some three years, when he returned to Illinois. In 18.54
he made a second trip to California, driving a drove of cattle overland to
that New Eldorado. This time he remained until 1855, when he returned
to Iowa, locating in Marion county. Here he resided until 1870, when he
moved to Mills county, Iowa. Here he formed a business connection
with Mr. John Evans, with whom he pursued farming and feeding cattle
for market, the latter to a large extent, from 200 to 1000 head per year.
In 1873, he, in company with others, laid out that part of Malvern,
known as Strahan's addition, into lots for building purposes. Mr. Stra-
han is also the president of the First National Bank, of Malvern, in which
he is extensively interested. During the winter of 1879-80, Strahan &
Company purchased and shipped over the Wabash road, 400,000 bushels
of grain. In 1879 Mr. Strahan narrowly escaped death from the falling
of the St. Charles bridge, over the Missouri river. Mr. S. gives these
facts: He and six other men occupied the caboose of a stock train of
eighteen cars filled with cattle, which he and others were shipping to St.
Louis. While upon this bridge, ninety two feet above the river, he heard
a sound of rushing water, which caused him to go to the door of his car,
where he saw a frightful calamity befalling their train — a three hundred
feet span of the bridge had gone down, taking with it seventeen cars and
all the living freight therein. With active presence of mind he jumped
for the ties when the car he was in was within twenty feet of the terrible
21
642 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
abyss, which the falling span had opened, and it too, went down, canying
death to the six passengers within save one, who bearl}- escaped. Mr. S.'s
presence of mind and quick actiop saved him from the frightful doom of
his companions, who names were Fred Davis, Josiah Wearen, Mr. Hyde
and John Somers. The others were train men. Mr. S.'s farm is in sec-
tion :20, and contains 1,200 acres, all under cultivation. Among his vari-
ous other business operations, he makes a specialty of raising and dealing
in short-horned cattle, the Cl3'desdale English draft horses, and Cotswold
and South Down sheep, which together with his cattle and horses have
frequently been awarded premiums for excellence at fairs. Mr. Strahan
married Miss F. C. Davis, of Henderson county, Illinois, January 3, 1856,
whose father served in the war of 1812, receiving the land on which he
lived, for services therein. Lucy, Ella, Frank, Rosa and Otis are the
rewards of that union. Mr. and Mrs. S. are members of the Baptist
society.
WILSON, H. F., is an Ohio man. His life commenced February 12,
1848, in Perry county. He remained upon his native grounds until 1854,
when he came to Warren county, Illinois with his father, where he lived
until 1871, when he moved to Mills county, Iowa, where he was employed
as book-keeper in the first national bank of Malvern, for about two years.
For two years he was also Auditor of Mills county. He is now the cash-
ier of Page County Bank, at Blanchard. Mr. W. was educated in the
common school, and at the Asbury University, Green Castle, Indiana. He
married Miss Hattie E. Ringland, of Malvern, November 7, 1878. Is a
member of the order of Knights of Pythias.
YOUNG, AUGUSTUS L., a native of Iowa soil, entered life in Mus-
catine, March 12, 1856. At a year of age he moved with his parents to
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where he remained until his sixteenth year, when he
went to Fremont county, and thence to Malvern, Mills county, in Septem-
ber, 1879. He received his education in the common schools at Mt.
Pleasant and other points where he lived prior to making his home in
Mills county, and at Tabor college, while in Fremont county. Subse-
quently he was a graduate of the law department of the State University
at Iowa City, and there admitted to practice in all the state and federal
courts of Iowa, June, 1879. Thus equipped for the battle of life, he took
to himself, November 25> 1880, Miss AUie E. Wilson, of Tabor, to aid and
cheer him in his struggle for position, fortune and fame. Mr. Young is a
member of the law firm of Young & Garrigus, of Malvern, formed in
1879. He is member of the Congregational church.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 643
ST. MARY'S TOWNSHIP.
ALLIS, SAMUEL, was born in Conway, Franklin county, Massa-
chusetts, September 28, 1805. He was reared under christian influences,
his parents being members of the Congregational church; his education
was limited to the opportunities afforded him by the common schools of
that day. At the age ot seventeen he began to learn the saddlery and
harness maker's trade, and followed this avocation ait various localities
until 1834. In that year he was appointed as assistant to the Rev. Mr.
Dunbar, and by direction of the American Board of Foreign Mission,
came to the west, and locating at Belleview, Nebraska, established a mis-
sion supported by the Presbyterian and Congregational churches. He
remained for many years in that state and section, engaged in instructing
the Indians. In 1836 he went to Clay county, Missouri, and was there
married to Miss Emaline Palmer, a native of Mansfield, Connecticut. He
immediately returned to Nebraska with his wife, and renewed his duties
as a missionary. They have four children now living: Henry, Martha,
Otis and Harriet. In 1851 he came to St. Mary's township, and three
years afterward moved to the farm he now occupies, on section 12, and
comprised of some one hundred and fifty acres. Owing to his knowledge
of the Indian dialect, gained while missionary among the savages, he was
appointed United States interpreter, and in that capacity once visited the
city of Washington; this position was retained by him for some seven
years. Since coming to this county Mr. AUis has been closely identified
with its interests', and has filled various positions of importance and trust.
He is the first white man to ever tread the soil of Mills,' who is now living
within its bounds. The years of the past have witnessed many changes,
but to them Mr. AUis has contributed, and from them gained a compe-
tence and a home of comfort.
COX, J. H., farmer and mechanic, section 1, P. O. Council Bluffs ; born
March 22, 1829, in Highland county, Ohio, and there grew to manhood
and received his education in the common schools. He came to Iowa in
1857, locating for a short time on the farm where he now resides, and then
went to Cass county and pre-empted a claim. In 1860 he made a tour of
the western states and territories, mining and prospecting. He returned
in 1868 and began operating a saw mill, which he still conducts in con-
nection with his farm. Mr. Cox has served with credit in the capacity of
drainage commissioner and justice of the peace. He now owns a neat
farm of sixty acres, well improved, with a cosy little house and a thrifty
young orchard. He also owns considerable city property at Plattsmouth,
Nebraska. He was married in 1874, to Miss Adelia A. Clark, a native
of St. Mary's township. They are the happy parents of one son: George
Ray.
644 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
HARRISON, W. H., farmer and stock-raiser, section 13, P. O. Coun-
cil Bluffs; born in Ohio, in 1843. At an early age he came with his
parents to Iowa, locating in Pottawattamie county. He received his educa-
tion in the common schools of his native state and in the city schools at
Council Bluffs. In 1857 he went to Douglass county, Nebraska, where
his father pre-empted a claim, remained one season, and then moved to
Holt county, Missouri. In 1859 he went to Jackson county, Missouri, in
which county his father was killed by " Bushwhackers." In company
with his mother, he then went to Johnson county, Kansas, and the next
spring to Richardson county, Nebraska. He enlisted in 1862 in com-
pany C, Second Nebraska cavalry, and served one year in the campaign
against the Indians. He then enlisted in a regiment called the Black
Horse Cavalry, with which he seryed two years. The cavalry was then
consolidated with the First Nebraska. After leaving the army he made a
tour of the western states, returning in 1866 to Council Blufis, and soon
after located on the farm where he now resides. Was married Decem-
ber 25, 1869, to Miss Elvira Kratzer, a native of Boone county, Iowa.
They are the parents of five children, of whom four are now living: Lil-
lie, Millie, Frankie and Ella. He owns a farm of 240 acres, well adapted
to the raising of stock, in which enterprise he is largely interested.
MARTENS, HERMAN H., farmer and stock dealer, section 7, P. O.
Council Bluffs ; born March 16, 1857, in Stacy Flollenstine, Germany.
When about a year old he immigrated with his parents to America, and
immediately located in this vicinity, where he grew to manhood. He
received his education in the common schools and at Tabor College, and is
well advanced in both German and English. His father died in this county
October 1, 1880, leaving a family of five children, of whoin Herman is
the eldest, who, with the other members of the family, Sophia, Lewis,
Henry and Charley, resides on an excellent farm of 450 acres, well im-
proved, with an elegant dwelling house, substantial barn, and a large and
productive orchard. Mr. Martens has had charge of the farm since the
death of his father, and has conducted it in able manner. He is a young
man of high moral character, an enterprising business man, and has a
large circle of friends.
MARKS, WILLIAM, farmer, section 1, P. O. Council Bluffs; born
February 22, 1854, in Hanover, Germany, where he grew to manhood.
He was thoroughly educated in both German and English and prepared
for a professional life. At the age of nineteen he immigrated to America,
and established his first permanent residence in this vicinity. On his
arrival he was engaged as a teacher in the German families of the neigh-
borhood. Later he went to Council Bluffs, where he was engaged as a
clerk about nine months. He was married December 6, 1875, to Miss
Mary Elizabeth Hoyer, a German lady of culture, which union has
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 645
brought to them three sons: Gustave, Otto and Arthur. He enjoys the
possession of a neat little farm of eighty acres. Mr. Marks is a young
man of marked ability, and is respected and admired by the community
in which he resides.
ROENNAN, HENRY, farmer, section 36, P. O. Henton; born July 3,
1804, in Hollenstine, Germany, where he was educated in the state
national schools. When quite a young man he commenced keeping a
hotel, which he conducted twenty-four years. His building was then
burned, and he immigrated to America. He arrived at Davenport in
1855, and two years later came to Mills county, locating at St. Marys.
Here he purchased a farm of eighty acres, on the banks of the Missouri river,
which was soon engulfed in that turbulent stream. He then purchased
another farm, which was destroyed in like manner, together with some
valuable property in the town of St. Marys. In 1867 he located on the
farm where he now resides, which consists of 160 acres, a good dwelling
house, commodious barn, and other substantial buildings. His extensive
feed yards are well filled with horses, cattle, sheep and swine. He is one
of the oldest and most successful farmers in Mills county, and is honored
by the people of his community for the interest he has shown in the advance-
ment of the county. Was married in 1834 to Miss Christina Shreader,
by whom he is the father of three children: Dora, John and Emma.
The family are members of the Lutheran Church.
ROENNAN, JOHN, farmer, section 31, P. O. Henton; born January
26, 1847, in Germany. He immigrated with his parents to America,
when he was eight years of age. He was educated in the German lan-
guage in his native country, and received a good English education in the
common schools of this country. Was married December 13, 1871, to
Eliza Glemann, a native of Germany. They have five children : Henry,
Emma, Dora, Mollie and Rudolph. His farm consists of 160 acres, on
which is an excellent dwelling house, commodious barn, and good
orchard. He is largely interested in live stock, to the raising of which
his farm is well adapted.
TURNER, ALFRED S., farmer section 19, P. O. Council Bluffs;
born January 1, 1845, in Great Grunsby, England.. He immigrated to
America when nine years old, coming directly to this county and locating
in Platteville township. In 1854 he went to St. Marys township, where
he grew to manhood, and was educated in the common schools. In 1862
he engaged in freighting across the plains, remaining in this business four
years, and then commenced farming, in which occupation he has con-
tinued until the present time. He was married in 1868, to Miss Isabel
Runkles, a native of Ohio. Mrs. T. died April 15, 1877, leaving five
children: Lettie May, Charley, Augusta, John and Leroy. He was
married a second time March 20, 1879, to Miss LiUie Finney. She was
646 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
born in St Marys township, October 30, 1855. They are the parents of
one child, Dolly T. Mr. Turner has served his township officially four
years. He owns a neat little farm of 40 acres. His parents were among
the early settlers of the county, and both died here.
YOUNG, M. C, farmer and stock raiser, section 29, P. O. Council
Bluffs; born May 29, 1836, in Granger county, Tennessee. When quite
young he moved with his parents to Sullivan count}', Indiana, where he
remained until five years of age, and then went to Schuyler county, Mis-
souri, where he grew to manhood. His youth was passed in acquiring an
education and working in a steam grist mill. When he was about twenty
years of age his mother died. In the summer of 1861 he enlisted in a
company of home guards, remaining with them 'about six months. He
then went to Arkansas, remained a short time, and then went to Falls City,
Nebraska, when he enlisted in company F, second Nebraska Cavalry. He
served with this company about nine months, participating in the battle of
White Stone Hill, and also many important engagements against the In-
dians. In the following season he was engaged in farming and freighting
from Nebraska City to different western points. In 1865 he came to
Iowa, first locating in Fremont county, but soon after came to Mills
county, and was engaged in farming about two years. He then went to
Utah, and from there to Nevada, where he worked in the mines about
eighteen months, and then returned to Iowa, and purchased a part of 'the
farm where he now resides. Was married July 14, 1872, to Miss Jane
Wilson, who was born in Mills count}', February 26, 1856. Two of their
children are now living: John W. and Charles C. Mr. Young is a mem-
ber of the Christian church, in which denomination he is a zealous worker.
He has held various township offices, at the present time being justice of
the peace. He owns a good farm of 160 acres.
WHITE CLOUD TOWNSHIP.
AISTROPE, WALTER, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Malvern;
born April 16, 1831, in Lincolnshire, England, where he grew to man-
hood. Immigrated to America in 1862, first locating in Schuylkill county,
Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in coal mining for two years. He
then went to Chicago and was employed in the brewery of Lill & Co., in
whose employ he remained for nearly three, years. He then came to
Van Buren county, Iowa, and was there engaged in farming some two
years. Leaving Van Buren county, he made a trip to California and
worked in the mines three years. He returned to Iowa and located on
section 19, in White Cloud township, and now owns the entire section
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 647
with t?ie exception of eighty acres. His farm is beautifully situated and
has many substantial improvements. Was married March 16, 1868, to
Miss Eliza J. Kesterson, a native ot Tennessee. They are the parents of
three children: George B., Charles R. and Mary B.
ANTRIM, ELIAS, farmer, P. O. Randolph; born October 17, 1853,
in Wabash county, Indiana. When about seven years of age he came
with his parents to Fremont county, Iowa, and there grew to manhood.
He commenced life as a farmer, which has been his avocation until the
present time. In 1878 he located on the southeast quarter of the southeast
quarter of section 34, in this township, where he now resides. Was
married March 20, 1878, to Miss Minnie A. Parks, who was born in Wis-
consin, September 1, 1859, L,. W. Archer performing the ceremony.
They are the parents of two children: Howard F. (deceased) and John L.
AISTROPE, THOMAS M., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Malvern;
born December 11, 1828, in Lincolnshire, England, where he remained
until nineteen years of age, and then moved into Yorkshire and engaged
in farming. He then commenced running a grist-mill, which he operated
for more than three years. In 1855 he immigrated to America, landing
at New York. From there he went to Chicago, where he remained one
week, and then went to McHenry county, Illinois, and worked for one
season on a farm. He then moved to Van Buren county, Iowa, locating
near Plymouth, where he was engaged in coal mining, railroading and
farming for about three years. He next located in Clark county, Mis-
souri, rented land and farmed about four years. He then came to Mills
county and lived in various parts of the county until the spring of 1863,
when he settled on section 17, White Cloud township, where he now re-
sides. Was married to Miss Jane Whatt, who was born in Yorkshire,
England, December 3, 1830. They are the parents of eleven children:
Mary J., Margaret, Elizabeth, Walter G., Sarah A., Thomas M., Jr.,
William W., Alice M., NeUie V., Anna E. and Henry P. V. Mr. Ais-
trope owns a fine farm of 1,046 acres, which has many substantial im-
provements. He came to this country without a dollar, and by his
indomitable will and untiring energy has succeeded in amassing a compe-
tence.
BAXTER, WILLIAM S., farmer, P. O. Hastings; born September
30, 1831, in York county, Pennsylvania. When about eight years of age
he went with his parents to Hanford county, Maryland, and remained
there until twenty-nine years of age. He then went back to York county,
Pennsylvania, remaining there about four years, and then emigrated to
Henderson county, Illinois, residing there about nine years. He then
came to Mills county, and located near Hastings. He now resides two
miles southwest of Hastings, in White Cloud township. Was married
August 9, 1855, to Miss Sarah J. Knight, a native of Maryland. They
648 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
are the parents of four children: William F., Charles H., Emma j., and
Annie E. The aged father and mother of Mr. Baxter reside with him,
and are aged respectively seventy-seven and seventy years.
DAVIS, M. T., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Malvern; born March 5,
1847, in Jackson county, Ohio. When about eight years of age he emi-
grated with his parents to Montgomery county, Iowa, locating about six
miles south of the present site of Red Oak, remaining there but a short time,
and then came to Mills county and located about three miles west of the
town of Emerson. After residing in various parts of the county, he finally
located on section 30, White Cloud township, where he now resides. His
farm is peculiarly adapted to stock-raising, in which he is extensively en-
gaged. Mr. Davis is an active, energetic business man. He was a mem-
ber of Captain Tubbs' home cavalry company, which was organized for
home protection during the war. Mr. Davis has considerable stock in
the bank of Strahan, Davis & Bentley, known as the Page County Bank,
located at Blanchard, Page county, Iowa. Was married August 16, 1871,
to Miss Mary J. Aistrope, a native of England. They are the parents of
three children: Minnie, Maggie, and Mary E.
DYSON, JOHN, farmer, P. O. Malvern; born July 10, 1830, in York-
shire, England, where he remained until twenty-one years of age. He
then immigrated to America, first locating in McHenry county, Illinois,
where he remained one year, and then went to Hancock county, Illinois,
where he resided about eighteen months. He next came to Iowa, first
locating in Lee county, and remained there engaged in farming about
eighteen years. He then came to this county and located one mile south
of Malvern on section five, where he now resides. He has a good farm,
upon which are many modern improvements. Mr. Dyson is a live, ener-
getic man, and is at present a member of the board of supervisors, in
which capacity he is giving entire satisfaction to his constituents. He was
married May 8, 1852, to Miss Sarah Duckels, a native of England.
DAVIS, STEPHEN D., farmer and stock raiser, P. O. Malvern; born
October 26, 1820, in Jackson county, Ohio, where he remained until
twenty-one years of age. He came to Iowa in 1856, and located about
six miles south of the present site of Red Oak, in Montgomery county.
He remained in Montgomery county a few months, and then came to
Mills county and located near where the town of Emerson now stands.
After residing in various parts of the county, he finally located in Spring
Valley, White Cloud township, in March, 1861. Here he purchased a
farm of 400 acres, and has since made several purchases adjoining, until
his farm now consists of 2,000 acres, 1 ,200 acres of which is tame pasture
and meadow land. He has on his farm a spring of water, which has a
flow of about forty gallons per minute. He has constructed a fine fish
pond, which is supplied by water from this spring, and contains an abun-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 649
dance of fish. Mr. Davis is one of the most extensive farmers in Mills
county. He pays particular attention to stock raising, and has sold this
season 194 head of fat cattle, and as many fat hogs. He has an exten-
sive interest in the First National bank, of Malvern, and is also connected
with the banking house of Strahan, Davis & Bentley, known as the Page
County bank, located at Blanchard, in Page county. Was married April
7, 1842, to Miss Mary Parker, who was born in Virginia, September 17,
1821. They have five children living: Granville T., Marion T., Tacy L.,
Minervia A. and Charles F.
DAUGHERTY, CHRISTOPHER C., miller P. O. Malvern; born
October 10, 1844, in McDonough county, Illinois, where he remained until
twenty years of age. In 1864, he emigrated to Mills county, Iowa, first
locating at White Cloud, where he remained about ten years, engaged
in farming and milling. He then assisted in constructing the BufFington
Mills, where he is now engaged as chief miller. Mr. Daugherty was
married January 1, 1870, to Miss Eliza Hughes a native of Mills county,
Iowa. They are the parents of two children : Lillie L. and Verrill A.
EHRENHARDT, MATTHEW, farmer, P.O. Clark; born Septem-
ber 14, 1856, in Biern, Germany, immigrated to America when ten years
of age and located in Knox county, IlUinois, near Knoxville, where he
was engaged in farming for twelve years. He then came to Mills county
and went to work for Mr. Hambsch, and has been with that gentleman
ever since. He is a hard-working, industrious young man, and will ere
long be one of the substantial citizens of the township.
ELROD, JAMES M., farmer, P. O. Clark; born December 18, 1840,
in Butler county, Pennsylvania. While yet young he immigrated with
his mother and family to La Salle county, Illinois, and remained there about
twelve years. He enlisted from this county in the Eighty-eighth Illinois
volunteer infantry, and participated in the battles of Perryville, Stone
River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Rocky Face, Resaca, Calhoun,
Adairville, Dallas, Lost Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree
Creek, Altoona, Jamesborough and Love Joy. Was mustered into the
service August 12, 1862, and mustered out June 9, 1865, at Nashville,
Tennessee. In the fall of 1871 he immigrated to Lancaster county Ne-
braska, where he remained about four years, and then came to Mills
county, and finally located in White Cloud township. Was married De-
cember 21, 1868, to Miss Annie M. Willey, who was born in Portsmouth,
New Hampshire, September 23, 1846. They are the parents of three
children: Mary E., Celia C. and Myrtie. Mr. E. was wounded at the
battle of Mission Ridge, in the thigh, and was also slightly wounded in
the cheek at Resaca, Georgia.
FOXWORTHY, JOSEPH, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Malvern;
born June 10, 1823, in Kentucky, and remained there until nineteen years
650 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
of age, when he immigrated to Johnson county, Indiana, and engaged in
farming. In 1864 he came to this county and located on section 5, White
Cloud township. He owns a fine farm of 220 acres, on the Silver Creek
bottom, plenty of timber and a good orchard. Was married June 25,
1844, to Miss Mary M. Hargan, who was born in Kentucky, March 26,
1826. They are the parents of ten children: Anarpy, Rachel, Mary E.,
George, Ellen, Rufus, Melissa, William, Almedia and Florence. Mr.
Foxworthy is one of the oldest citizens in the township. He came here
in 1854, and endured all the hardships to which the pioneers of that day
were subject.
HILTON, GEORGE, farmer, P. O. Clark; born October 20, 1839, in
Rock Island county, Illinois, and there grew to manhood. In 1870 he
came to Mills county, and located in White Cloud township, near where
the town of Clark now stands. Mr. Hilton, in company with his father-
in-law, Mr. Miller, and Mr. J. C. MiUer, is engaged in improving a large
tract of valuable land. A magnificent dwelling house and a fine young
orchard adorn the premises, and under the skillful management of these
parties, this farm is destined to become one of the best in the county. Mr.
Hilton was married October 29, 1867, to Miss Mary M. Miller, who was
born in Pennsylvania, October 6, 1846. They are the parents of six chil-
dren: C. E., Robert I., Harry, Ann R., Frank and Walter.
HAMBSCH, PHILLIP, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Clark; born
April 13, 1839, in Baden, Germany. When he was fifteen years of age
his parents immigrated to America, first locating in Troy, New York, and
remained there about three years, when he went to Warren county, Illi-
nois, and soon after went to Knox county, Illinois. Enlisted in company
A, Eighty-third Illinois volunteer infantr}', in August, 1862, and participa-
ted in the battle of Fort Donelson and numerous skirmishes. He was
mustered out in June, at Nashville, Tennessee, and went to Chicago,
where he was discharged July 5, 1865; he then returned to Knox county,
Illinois, and engaged in farming about five years, came to Mills county in
August, 1872, and located on section 25, White Cloud township, where he
now resides. Was married November 11, 1866, to Miss Mary E. Oas-
tracher, who was born in Baden, Germany, August 4, 1842. They have
six children: Charles A., Rosa K., Philip E., Bernard, Michael L. and
John F. Mr. H. owns a good farm of two hundred and forty acres, well
improved.
HAMMOND, ROBERT L., carpenter and contractor, P. O. Mal-
vern; born February 22, 1847, in Belmont county, Ohio. When eight
years old he moved with his parents to Monroe county, Ohio, where he
remained until about seventeen years of age. When only seventeen years
old he enlisted in company B, Fifty-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and
participated in the battles of Resaca, Dallas, Ft. McAllister, Savannah,
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNT Y . 651
Columbia, Bentonsville, and Raleigh, and participated in the grand
review of Sherman's army at Washington, April 28, 1865. Was mut-
tered out at Little Rock, Arkansas, August 11, 1865, and then returned
to Morgan county, Ohio. He soon after commenced learning the trade
of a carpenter, remaining in Morgan county about seven years. He then
came to Mills county, locating near Malvern, where he is now engaged
in carpentering and building. Was married April 28, 1 876, to Miss Mary
J. Hammond, a native of Ohio, They are the parents of one child: Daisy
Pearl.
HAYES, BAHMAN L., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Malvern; born
in Clinton county, Ohio, where he resided until twenty-one years of age.
He then came to Iowa and located near Libertyville, Jefferson county,
Iowa. Enlisted in February, 1862, in company M, Fourth Iowa cavalry,
serving nearly two years when he was discharged on account of disease
of the lungs. After being discharged he returned home, and remained
about one year. He then came to Mills county and purchased a farm in
White Cloud township; was married September 5, 1854, to Mahala
Byers, who was born September 5, 1834, in Morgan county, Ohio; they
are the parents of eight children: F. I., Clarence L,., Charles P., Warren
L., William E., A. Kate, Louise Anna and Mary Bethel. The aged
parents of Mr. H. reside in a comfortable little home in the yard adjoining
that of Mr. Hayes. They are aged seventy-five and seventy-eight years
respectively.
HAMMOND, RICHARD L., nurseryman, P. O. Malvern; born
December 13, 1842, in Belmont county, Ohio, where he remained, engaged
in farming, until 1872. In the last named year he came to this county and
located one mile south of Malvern, where he now resides, engaged in the
nursery business. Was married March 8, 1873, to Miss Sophia Bonham,
a native of Ohio. They are the parents of four children: Bessie M.,
Flora M., Blanche J. and Charles T. Mr. Hammond enlisted in Septem-
ber, 1862, in company B, Fifty-third Ohio volunteer infantry, and partici-
pated in the following battles: Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Vicksburg,
Jackson, Missionary Ridge, Knoxville, Resaca, Altoona, Kenesaw, Chat-
tahoocha River, and Atlanta. He was wounded at Atlanta, and fur-
loughed for sixty days, when here joined his regiment in their march to
Raleigh, and was engaged in numerous skirmishes. Was mustered out
at Little Rock, Arkansas, August 11, 1865.
HUGHES, JAMES, farmer, P. O. White Cloud; born November 9,
1809, in Guernsey county, Ohio, where he remained with his parents
until of age, and then commenced farming for himself. He remained in
his native county until 1837, and then went to Henry county, Indiana,
where he again engaged in farming. In '1844 he emigrated to Van Buren
county, Iowa, and remained until 1851, and then went with a colony to
•652 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Clarke county, Iowa. He remained in Clarke county one year, when the
•colony broke up, and Mr. Hughes came directly to this county and loca-
ted on section 12, in White Cloud township, where he now lives. Was
married February 9, 1837, to Miss Carolina Judge, who was born Janu-
ary 31, 1819, in Licking county, Ohio. They are the parents of thirteen chil-
dren, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood. Eleven of them
arenow living: Matilda A., John W., Levi P., Mary E., James E., Hannah
L., Eliza J., Benjamin B., Stephen A., Adella J. and Minnie V. Commo-
dore P. and Sarah V. died after becoming of age.
LANGMUIR, JAMES, farmer, P. O. Clark; born in Scotland, Feb-
ruary 4, 1813, where he remained until eighteen years of age. He then
immigrated to Canada, and remained there one year, and in 1832 came to
the United States, first locating in Ohio, near Cleveland, where he
remained for twelve years, engaged in farming. He then went to Lake
county, Illinois, and resided there twelve years, when he moved to Hus-
ton county, Minnesota, remaining there eighteen years. In 1874 he came
to this county and located on section 26, White Cloud township, where
he now resides. Was married July 16, 1856, to Miss Agnes Angus, who
was born in Scotland, July 20, 1830. They are the parents of three chil-
dren: James W., Isabella J. and Cornelia A., all of whom were born in
Minnesota.
MILLER, J. C, farmer, P. O. Clark; born September 30, 1844, in
Armstrong county, Pennsylvania. At the age of thirteen years he went
with his parents to Rock Island county, Illinois, locating near Port Byron,
where he grew to manhood. In 1870 he came to Mills county, Iowa, and
located in White Cloud township. He is a single man, and makes his
home at the house of his brother-in-law, Mr. Hilton. He is the present
clerk of his township, and is serving his third term in that capacity, and
has filled the position to the entire satisfaction of his constituents.
MILLER, ISAAC, farmer, P. O. Clark; born March 3, 1807, in Lan-
caster county, Penns3'lvania. In 1818 he moved to Westmoreland coun-
ty, where he remained until 1844, and then went to Armstrong county,
residing there twelve years, and afterward lived two years in Indiana
county. He then left Pennsylvania and went to R.ock Island county, Illi-
nois, arriving in June, 1858. Here he remained until 1870, and then came
to Mills county, Iowa, and located one mile south of the present town site
of Clark, where he makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Hilton. Was
married August 15, 1843, to Miss Ann McCutcheon, who was born in
Pennsylvania, August 5, 1807. They had two Children: J. C, and Mary
M. Mrs. Miller died March 1, 1870.
MORROW, ALLEN, farmer and stock-raiser, section 30, P. O. Mal-
vern; born in Jackson county, Ohio, July 23, 1840, at which place the
principal part of his youth was passed. During his youth he was greatly
WWite Oo*<l"FouJMS(<(pHISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 653'.
afflicted with disease, and consequently did not enjoy the educational
facilities to any great extent. In 1857 he moved with his parents to Page
county, Iowa, and three years later came tq this county, first locating in
Lyons township, and afterward near Glenwood. During that year he
came to the farm where he now lives. He then went to the gold regions
of the west and engaged in mining, but soon returned to Lyons town-
ship, and has since followed the occupation of a farmer. His parents,
Andrew and Sarah, had a family of fifteen children, thirteen sons and
two daughters. Five of the sons served in the war of the rebellion. Al-
len was not among these, owing to ill health. Was married April 13,.
1869, to Miss Mary C, daughter of Stephen and Mary Davis, of Vinton
county, Ohio. They were the parents of two children : Louisa and Frank.
Mrs. Morrow died April 22, 1876. Mr. Morrow is a member in good
standing of the Baptist church. He owns an excellent stock farm of 240
acres, well improved and systematically arranged, with good house, barn
and orchard.
PARKS, SARAH, P. O. Randolph ; born April 13, 1828, in Derby-
shire, England. Immigrated to America when about twenty-one years
of age, first locating in Jonesville, Wisconsin, where she remained about
five years, and then went to Dane county, same state, locating on a farm,,
and residing there until 1867. She then came to Mills county, Iowa, and
settled on the farm where she now resides. Her maiden name was Sims.
Was married April 11, 1849, to Alfred Parks, a native of England. Mr.
Parks died January 10, 1864. They were the parents of seven children:
William T., Emma H. L., Minnie A., James F., John F., Sarah E., and
Henry O. Her daughter, Minnie A., is now the wife of Elias Antrim.
Mrs. Parks has been a member of the Methodist church since she was
fifteen years of age.
ROBERTS, BENJAMIN C, farmer, P. O. White Cloud; born Aug-
ust 16, 1831, in Howard county, Missouri. When one year old his par-
ents moved to Adams county, Illinois. Mr. Roberts remained in this
county until he became of age and then engaged in the harness business,
which he followed for about two years and then engaged in farming until
1860, when he made a trip to Pike's Peak, mining there one year. He
then returned to Hancock county, Illinois. In 1865 he came to Mills
county and located on section 2, White Cloud township, where he now
resides. Was married October 26, 1853, to Miss Sarah A. Butler, who
was born in Tennessee June 27. 1838. 'They are the parents of seven chil-
dren: John W., Sabra E., George H., Uriah T., Frank P., Eunice F. and
Jasper D. Mr. Roberts laid out the town of Lawrence, the junction of the
Wabash railway with the Sidney branch of the C, B. &. Q. He owns a
farm of one hundred and twenty acres which is well cultivated.
€54 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
SALYERS, WILLIAM G., farmer, P. O. Clark; born November
20, 1834, in Jefferson county, Indiana, and remained in his native county
until twenty-tw^o years old. He then emigrated to Marion county, Iowa,
where he engaged in farming. Came to Mills county in 1872, and located
on section 26 White Cloud township, where he now I'esides. Was mar-
ried August 35, 1854, to Susan M. Barber, who was born in Indiana,
December 18, 1837. They are the parents of six children: Rhoda J.,
George F., Wilham H., Charles W., Daria N. and Sadie I. ; and James
S. deceased. Has a fine farm of three hundred and sixty acres, which is
well improved.
SUMMERS, JAMES M., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Malvern; born
August 20, 1829, in Springfield, Illinois. While yet small he went with
his parents|_to Tazewell county, Illinois, and remained there until 1855, en-
gaged in farming and stock-raising. He then came to this county and
entered several tracts of land. He still resides where he first located on
coming to the county, and now owns about one thousand, acres of land,
upon which are all the modern improvements. Was married February
5, 1863, to Miss Charlotte Rains, a native of Missouri. He had by this
union three children: Charles W., Lillian A. and John H. Mrs. Summers
died April 6, 1871. Mr. Summers was again married June 9, 187^, to
Ella I. Brown, a native of Illinois. By this marriage he is the father of
four children : Milton A., Ross B., Laura and Eunice.
SUMMERS, H. W., farmer and stock raiser, P. O. Malvern; born
July 4, 1826, in Tazewell county, Illinois, where he remained until 1855.
In this year, in company with his brothers, he came to Mills county, and
entered considerable land, and begun to lay the foundation for his future
home, which was done in a permanent manner. His farm is admirably
adapted to stock raising, in which enterprise he is extensively engaged.
His farms consists of 2,000 acres, 200 acres of which is in tame grass and
pasture. Mr. Summers ships a great deal of stock, and on one of his
stock trains en route to St. Louis, while crossing the railroad bridge over
the Missouri river at St. Charles, the bridge gave way, and John, the
eldest son of Mr. Sumners, went down with the ill-fated train. Theunfor-
fortunate young man was taken from the wreck alive, but survived only
three days. Mr. S. was married February 24, 1850, to Miss Hannah F.
Jennings, who was born in Virginia, June 2, 1832. They are the parents
of five children, three of whom are now living: William L„ Laura A.
and Edward L.
SUMMERS, WILLIAM G., farmer and stock raiser; born March 25,
1831, in Tazewell county, Illinois, where he remained until 1837, and then
emigrated with his parents to Davis county, Missouri, and resided there
about one year. In 1838 he went to Lee county, Iowa, and one year later
returned to Tazewell county, Illinois, where for several years he was
history' OF MILLS COUNTY. 655
engaged in farming. He came to this county in 1856, arriving October
22d. He had entered several tracts of land before coming to the county^
and with the assistance of his three boys (who are now living in the
immediate vicinity) soon succeeded in improving considerable of the then
wild lands, of what is now White Cloud township. Mr. Summers owns
1,500 acres of land, 1,000 acres of which is under cultivation, with hedges,
orchards, barns and an extensive dwelling house, with all modern improve-
ments and conveniences. The Wabash railroad runs within a few rods of
his dwelling house, which is about eighty rods from Lawrence, the Junc-
tion of the Wabash railway, and the branch of the C, B. & Q., running
from Hastings to Sidney, the county seat Fremont county. He was mar-
ried September 23, 1855, to Miss Mary A. Kellogg, who was born in
Tazewell county, Illinois, November 11, 1834. They are the parents of
eight children : Verona E., Kate F., William Grant, Mary E., Sanford W.,
Varna A. and Harrison L.
SALYERS, SAMUEL S., farmer, P. O. Clark; born October 24,
1831, in Jefferson county, Indiana, where he remained until twenty-five
years of age. He then moved to Marion county, Iowa, 1856, and engaged in
farming until 1861, when he went to Monroe county, Iowa, and to Mills 1870.
He enlisted August 15, 1862, in company G, Thirty-fourth Iowa infantry,
and while in the service participated in the following battles: Chickasaw
Bayou, Arkansas Post, siege of Vicksburg, Yazoo City, Graham's Plantation,
Fort Gaines, Fort Morgan and Fort Blakely. Was mustered out at Daven-
port, Iowa, September 5, 1865, and returned to Monroe county, where he
remained until 1870. He then came to Mills county, and in 1874 located
on section 13,. White Cloud township, where he now resides. Was mar-
ried May 26, 1853, to Miss Melissa J. Copeland, a native of Indiana.
They are the parents of five children, four of whom ore now living:
George M., James M., William S. and Robert F.
VAN DOREN, WILLIAM, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Malvern;
born October 6, 1834, in Morris county, New Jersey, where he remained
until about seventeen years of age. He then went to Summerset county,
same state, remaining there but a short time, when he went to Newark,
where for about two years he was employed as clerk in a wholesale gro-
cery house. In 1855 he came to this county, rented land, and was en-
gaged in farming until 1863, when he made a trip to Montana Territory.
He only remained in the Territory one season, as the Indians were rather
troublesome, and Mr. V. concluded it to be somewhat safer in Iowa and
so returned. In 1865 he purchased the, southeast quarter of section 6, in
this township, and for the first time engaged in farming on land of his
own. His farm now consists of 286 acres, under good cultivation and
with many substantial improvements. He also owns a farm of 240 acres
in Cass county, Nebraska, which is partially improved. He has just fin-
656 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
ished a term as member of the board of supervisors, in which capacity he
has given entire satisfaction. Was married December 15, 1855, to Miss
Ellen J. Hargan, a native of Indiana. He has seven children living:
Milton, Clarence, Alice, Anna, Lewis, Ella and Franklin. His aged
mother-in-law, Mrs. Hargan, who is now eighty-eight years of age,
makes her home with him, and is apparently yet in good health.
WEAVER, M., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. White Cloud; born
April 27, 1833, in New Jersey, wh^e he remained until twenty-two years
of age, and then came to La Salle county, Illinois, locating on and owning
the land where Marsailles now stands. He was engaged in mercantile
pursuits for a time, and afterward in farming. He remairied in this
county about twenty-one years. In the fall of 1874 he located on the
northeast quarter of section 13, where he now resides. He has added to
his farm until it now consists of 245 acres, upon which is a good orchard
and substantial buildings. His farm is very desirably located one-half
mile north of Strahan. Was married March 7, 1855, to Miss Sarah
Hiler, who was born April 15, 1833, in New Jersey. They have two
children: EmmaL. and Ella F. He enlisted in company E, 153d Illinois
volunteer infantry, in February, 1866, being engaged most of the time in
garrison duty. He was mustered out September 15, 1865.
WEAVER, WILLIAM, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. White Cloud;
born November 15, 1830, in Morris county, New Jersey, where he re-
mained until twenty-one years of age, engaged in farming. Was married
December 31, 1851, to Nancy J- Van Doren, who was born October 11,
1830, in Morris county. New Jersey. They are the parents of eight chil-
dren, five of whom are living: Joseph S., James E., John F., Charles and
Howard. He came to Mills county in September 1867, first locating in
the eastern part of the count}'-, and after living in various parts of the
county, finally settled on section 34, White Cloud township, where he now
resides. He owns a farm of 202 acres, weU improved. He is also im-
proving a farm of 160 acres in Washington county, Nebraska. Mr. W.
is an old settler, and takes great pride in the development of MiUs county.
PLATTVILLE TOWNSHIP.
AULT, JOHN E., carpenter and joiner. Pacific Junction; born August
19, 1839, Tioga county, Pennsylvania. His life was an uneventful one
until the commencement of the civil war, when he enlisted in company C,
Pennsylvania infantry, January 16, 1862. He was in the battles of Core
Creek, Gum Swamp, Cole Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Harrison, and in all
the other engagements participated in by his regiment. He entered as a
HISTORY OK MILLS COUNTY. 657
private, and came out as a lieutenant. He came to Iowa October 9, 1880,
and located at his present place of residence. In addition to his trade he
conducts a restaurant and boarding house. He was married September
18, 1865, to Miss Ella A. Laphear, of Tioga county, Pennsylvania. They
are the parents of four children. Minnie A., V. Kale, Willie C. and
Frank A.
ARRISON, EDWIN R., farmer, section 30, P. O. Pacific Junction;
was born April 28, 1840, in Cassopolis, Cass county, Michigan. When
efght years of age he removed with his parents to Appanoose county,
Iowa, where he received his education in the common school. In 1861
he enlisted in the Fifth Kansas volunteers, company A, and remained in
the service until 1865. While in service he participated in the battles of
FortStott, Morristown, and in numerous engagements in the guerilla war-
fare, first having been transferred to the Sixth Kansas regiment, company
B; February 14, 1862, he re-enlisted as a veteran, and in July following
was taken prisoner and kept in confinement about ten months at Camp
Ford; while here his health was injured by exposure. After his discharge he
came to Iowa where he remained a short time, when he went to Nebraska,
remaining about three years, after which he returned to Iowa settling on
the farm he now occupies. He was married May 14, 1871, to Mary
Green, of Boone county, Illinois. They have four children: Willie L.,
Laura O., Stella and Eva M. His farm contains eighty acres.
BALDWIN, THOMAS J., farmer, P. O. Henton; was born Janu-
ary 6, 1836*, in Caldwell countj^ Missouri. When a child he accompanied
his parents to Gentry county, Missouri, where he matured and was edu-
cated. His life has been passed in the pursuit of agriculture, which occu-
pation»he now continues on section 6. H,e came to Mills county, in 1853^
but soon after returned to Missouri. He again came in 1864 and located
permanently. He was married July 25, 1858, to Miss Elizabeth Queens-
bury a native of Virginia. They are the parents of five children living:
Emily A., Sarah J., Robert L., Alice F., Virginia B., and two deceased.
Mr. Baldwin was a faithful soldier in the Confederate army; stood by;the
state of .his birth, and was true to the principles he believed were right.
The result has been accepted, but his honesty and bravery none will
question.
BRAUNSFIELD, F., Pacific Junction ; was born in Tuscarora county,
Ohio, August 10, 1842. In August, 1862, he enlisted in company K,
Ninety-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry, and was in the battles of Rich-
mond and Crab Orchard. He was discharged at Columbus, Ohio, in Sep-
tember, 1863. When he came to Iowa he located in Mahaska county,
and leasing a coal mine, operated it until 1878, He then went to Albia,
and in 1880 came here. He was married October 13, 1872, to Miss Jane
Wake; they are the parents of two children: Minnie M. and William R.
22
658 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
BIRDSALL, JOSEPH R., farmer, section 25, P. O. East Platts-
mouth; was born near Niagara Falls, Canada, October 20, 1814, obtain-
ing his education in the neighborhood schools of that locality. When
quite young he began a mercantile life, and for some years was very suc-
cessful, but owing to causes beyond his control he eventually lost all his
property. He remained in his native land until he had succeeded in pay-
ing all his liabilities, which was in 1860, when he came to Iowa, locating
in Mills county. After coming here he worked as a farm hand until he
had saved about two hundred dollars, with which he purchased the eighty
acres which he now occupies. He was married in 1842 to Mary A.
Wynings, of Canada; they have had three children: Emily, Henry and
Oscar; the last two being deceased. His first wife having died, he was
married to Margaret Hines, of Greene county, Missouri, by whom he has
had seven children : Mary, Peter, Eli, Albert, Laura, Weston and Ross.
Mr. B. is a member of the church of United Brethren.
BARBER, W. L., blacksmith and wheelwright, P. O. Pacific Junction;
was born August 27, 1849, in Nodaway county, Missouri. In 1863 he
moved with his parents to Nebraska. In 1865 he came to Iowa, and
located at Fremont City, Fremont county, but soon after removed to his
native county of Nodaway. In 1869 he became a resident of Benton
county, Arkansas. He became identified with the citizens of Pacific Junc-
tion in November, 1880. Mr. Barber was married in 1871, to Miss
Esther A. Owens, of Nodaway county. They are the parents of three
children: Mary E., William D. and Albert M.
COLE, MAJOR GEORGE EMMET, justice of the peace and pro-
prietor of Eclipse hotel ; was born in Dublin, Ireland, February 5, 1839.
His earlier education was received in the ordinary city schools, Ifut fin-
ished in the famous Trinity college. At an early age he entered Wool-
wich military academy, and received the training of a soldier. At twenty-
one he entered the British army, to engage in the Russian war, being
enrolled as a lieutenant. He participated in the battle of Sevastopol, and
other important engagements. He was sent, finally, on special duty to
Greece, to remain five years. He came to the United States in 1862, and
June 2, of that year, enlisted in the Second Massachusetts volunteer corps,
and the rank of adjutant was soon afterwards conferred on him. He
was in the battles of Kingston, Pittsburg, Richmond, Fort Fisher, Wil-
mington, where for gallant conduct he was made a major, Fort Cas-
well, Newberg, and many others. He was discharged September 3, 1865.
In 1871 he located in Nebraska, and in 1874 became the warden of the
Nebraska state penitentiary, serving for two years; he then came to
Pacific Junction and has since resided here. His military record is doubt-
less the brightest in the county, since he is the hero of two wars. He is
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 659
a gentleman of culture and ability, a member of the M. E. church, and an
active, enterprising man.
DILL, BENJAMIN, farmer and stock-raisef, section 30, P. O. Pacific
Junction; was born in Vinton county, Ohio, March 11, 1820. In 1847 he
engaged in the tanning business, and followed this until 1858. He then
purchased a foundry, which proved a successful venture until 1862, but
continuing operations he was obliged to suspend business in 1865. He
then became a resident of "Whiteside county, Illinois, and for two years
following was engaged in farming. The succeeding two years he con-
ducted a meat market, and at the close of 1867 came to Mills county. He
subsequently went to Cass county, Nebraska, but remained a short time,
when he again returned to Mills county. In 1875 he came to his pres-
ent home. He owns a finely improved farm of some one hundred and
fifty acres. He was married March 12, 1840, to Miss A. Cathin, a native
of Vinton county, Ohio. They are the parents of eight children : Clinton,
Sanford, Ellsworth, Andrew, Esther J., Minnie, Benjamin F. and Mitchell
E. His father, Andrew Dill, was a native of Ohio; his mother was the
daughter of Benjamin and Eliza Yhetter, and was born January 1, 1801,
in Pennsylvania. They were married in May, 181 9, and were the parents
of eight children, the oldest of whom is the subject of this sketch. Mr.
Dill has held many local oflfices of trust, and filled them all with complete
satisfaction.
EVANS, HENRY, P. O., Pacific Junction; was born March 12, 1847,
in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. When nineteen years of age he
found employment in the smelting works at Boiler Springs. After fol-
lowing this occupation four years he moved to Buchanan county, Mis-
souri, and for two years was engaged in farming. Since that date to
April, 1871, he has been connected with various railroads. At that date
he returned to Pennsylvania. In September, 1875, he went to St. Joseph,
Missouri, and has been in the employ of the K. C. C. B. & St. Jo. R.
R., ever since. He came to Pacific Junction in April, 1880. He was
married February 18, 1865, to Miss Matilda Brewer. They are the
parents of two children: Lydia A. and John E. Mr. Evans is a mem-
ber of the A. F. and A. M. and I. O. O. F.
EVANS, MEVREL L., farmer, section 8, P. O. Pacific City; born
October 9, 1815, in Berkley county, Virginia. He removed with his
parents, at an early age, to Belmont county, Ohio, where he remained
until he was eleven years old. He then went to Wayne county, Indi-
ana, where he grew to manhood His father died when he was small,
and he was then apprenticed to Jeremiah Crampton to learn the trade of
a tanner. He then went to the western part of Indiana and engaged in
farming for three years, and later, worked several years on the Erie canal.
In 1842 he went to Holt county, Missouri, where he resided until 1863,
660 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
when he came to this county. Was married January 7, 1846, to Miss
Eliza Jane Templeton, of Hancock county, Indiana. They have had
ten children, of whom seven are living: Anna A., Elizabeth E., Laura L.,
MoUie L., Jennie B., Charles W. and Nannie M. He owns a farm of
200 acres, well improved; excellent dwelling house and barn, and a fruit-
ful orchard. Mr- Evans is a good citizen, a kind husband, and with the
aid of his good wife, has raised an intelligent and moral family.
GODSEY, D. I., farmer, section 5, P. O. Henton; is a native of Wash-
ington county, Virginia, born January 1, 1826. At an early age he went
to Meiggs county, Tennessee, and there reached his majority. The greater
part of his youth was passed in farm labor. In 1852 he moved to Put-
nam county, Missouri, where he remained until 1864. In that year he
came to Mills county, and purchased a part of his present farm. He was
married February 18, 1851, to Mrs. Margaret T., daughter of Jonathan
and Hannah Collins. They are the parents of nine children: Leonidas
D., Lycurgus J., Mansfield S., Samuel W., Stephen T., Sarah E., Jack-
son, Martha, and William E., (deceased).
GILLILAND, EDWARD, farmer, P. O.Pacific City; born in Brown
county, Kentucky, May 6, 1814. At an early age he moved with his
parents to Orange county, Indiana, and there passed the major part of his
youth. In 1851 he became a resident of Atchinson county, Missouri, and
in May following came to this county. He first located in Plattville town-
ship, and in 1857 located where he now resides. He was married Feb-
ruary 15, 1835, to Miss Florence Wright. They are the parents of eight
children, six of whom are now living: Reuben W., John W., Amanda K.,
Emma, Shirly, and Anna. Mr. Gilliland has long been identified with
the best interests of Mills county, and is an honored and exemplary citi-
zen.
GUNSOLLY, THOMAS, farmer, P. O. Pacific Junction; was born
October 3, 1851, in Oak township, Mills county, and has been a continu-
ous resident of the county. His education was wholly received in the
common schools, and his youth was passed in the farming vocation. He
was married June 24, 1872, to Miss Mary E. Allison, of Cumberland
county, Illinois. They are the parents of four children, Samuel C, Wil-
liam T., Sarah C, and Nettie V.
GREEN, GEORGE W., farmer, section 30, P. O. Pacific Junction;
was born in Brown county, Missouri, October 27, 1838. When thirteen
years of age, in company with his parents, he removed to Monroe county,
Iowa, and there grew to manhood, acquiring his education at the common
school. From 1859 to 1865 he resided in California, where he engaged
in various kinds of business. In the fall of the latter year he came to
Mills county, Iowa, and has succeeded since that time in acquiring a good
farm of eighty acres.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 661
GREEN, LEVI, the father of George M., is a native of Henry county,
Kentucky, where he commenced life as a farmer, which pursuit he still
follows. He was married to Nancy Green, of Henry county, Kentucky,
by whom he became the father of three children: James, Matilda, and
John. His first wife having died, he remarried in 1836, taking for his wife
Evaline Little, of Henry county, Kentucky. The result of this union
was five children, four of whom are now living: George, Elizabeth, Wil-
liam, and Mary Ann; Caroline having died. At the age of twenty-five
Mr. Green removed to Missouri, and in 1852 came to Iowa, locating in
Mills county in 1862, where he was one of the earliest settlers.
GREGORY, CHARLES H., fiimiture and lumber dealer. Pacific
Junction; was born December 17, 1831, in Steuben county. New York.
He was there educated and grew to man's estate. In March, 1852,
he went to Jackson county, Michigan, and after a short time went to
Rock Island county, Illinois. Two years after this he became a resident
of Henry county, same state. While there he enlisted in company B,
25th infantry, August 15, 1861. He was in the battles of Chickasaw
Bayou, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, Missionary Ridge, and numerous
other engagements. He was discharged for disability, October 8, 1864.
Soon after the close of the war he engaged in the stock business in Mon-
tana territory, where he remained some four years. He then went to
Utah; from Utah to Nebraska, and to this place in 1880. He was mar-
ried in 1855 to Miss A. E. See, a native of Indiana. They are the par-
ents of eleven children, seven of whom are now living: James C, Porter
B., WilHam H., Jane E., Samuel T., Corwin I. and Sarah M.
GILLlLLAND JOHN W., farmer, section 8, P. O. Pacific City;
born February 2, 1842, in Pulaska county, Indiana. When quite young
he came with his parents to this county. His youth was passed on his
father's farm and in attending the district schools and the Glen wood
city schools, where he received a good business education. He was mar-
ried September 34, 1862, to Miss Elizabeth E., daughter of William and
Mary Stone. Eight children have been born unto them, of whom seven
are living: Viva, Clyde, Carrie, Walter, Gertude, Bernard and Pearl.
Mr. and Mrs. G. are worthy members of 'the Congregational church. He
has always been identified with every move that had for its object the
advancement of his township and county. He has frequently been
elected to the office of township trustee, and is at present one of the mem-
bers of the board of county supervisors; in all cases giving satisfaction
to his constituency. He owns a fine farm, well improved, with a good
substantial barn, and a large and productive orchard. He began life with
very limited means, but by industry and strict economy has secured his
present enviable position.
662 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
INGRUM, JAMES, farmer, section thirty-two, P. O. Pacific Junc-
tion; was born in the state of Illinois, February 12, 1844. At a very early
age he moved with his parents to the state of Wisconsin, and when five
years of age to Richland county. When twenty-one he went to Califor-
nia, and for fourteen years resided there, engaged in rnining for the prec-
ious metal. In 1876 he came to Mills.county, and has since been engaged
in farming. He was married in April, 1867, to Miss Mary Williams, a
native of Erie county. New York. They are the parents of six children:
E. Ellsworth, Carrie E., Ella E., Oscar L., Jessie and Martin.
KENNY, HUGH, farmer, section 18, P. O Pacific Junction ; was born
May 23, 1834, in Ross county, Ohio. He there grew to man's estate, and
passed his youth in farm labor, and obtaining the rudiments of an educa-
tion. In 1854 he came to Iowa, and located in Wapello county, but two
years thereafter he came to Mills county and located at Glenwood. The
year following he went to Pacific City, and was one to lay out that vil-
lage. In 1855-56 he was employed by the government as a freighter
across the plains; and after leaving this business, confined his exclusive
attention to farming. The farm he now occupies was purchased in 1874.
He was married in 1860, to Miss Adaline Fowler, a native of Jackson
county, Ohio. They are the parents of four children : David W., Nancy
v., Sarah and Walter L. Mr. Kenny has long been a settler in his
neighborhood, and has filled various offices of trust and prominence.
KROON, CHARLEY, merchant, P. O. Pacific Junction; was born
June 6, 1845, in Sweden, where he reached maturity. He came, to Amer-
ica in 1868, and located for a brief period in the city of New York. He
afterwards went to Porter county, Indiana, and engaged as a farm la-
borer, working for seventy-five cents per day. Better employment pre-
senting itself to him, he began work on a railroad, and continued this until
September 12, 1872. His steady habits led to promotion, and he became
baggage-master at Shenandoah, Iowa. November 12, of the same year,
he was transferred to Pacific Junction, and became, in addition to his
other duties, local mail agent. After a service of five years he formed a
partnership with George Alden, and engaged in the mercantile business.
Mr. Kroon came to this country with nothing save a will and persever-
ance. He now owns the best stock of goods in Pacific Junction, and
besides his business interests, looks after some public matters, as he is
now school director, and has been township trustee.
KLINE, JOHN, P. O. Pacific Junction ; is a native of Union county,
Pennsylvania, where he was born November 19, 1838. At an early age
he moved with his parents to Morgan county, Illinois. July 20, 1862, he
enlisted in company E, One hundred and first Illinois Infantry, and was
engaged in numerous battles, among which were Lookout Mountain,
Resaca, Dallas, Cassville, Kenesaw Mountain, and Atlanta. At the bat-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 663
tie of Dallas he received a slight flesh wound. He was discharged as an
orderly, June 18, 1865. Mr. Kline has been a resident of numerous pla-
ces, and been engaged in many kinds of business. For a number of years
he was employed in railroading, and successively promoted from the
lower positions to that of conductor. He became a resident of Pacific
Junction in 1877. He was married September 23, 1875, to Miss Lizzie
Barbar, a native of Canada. They are the parents of one child: John R. B.
LUNGER, E. J. proprietor of the Pamter house. Pacific Junction, is
a native of New York, born December 10, 1857. He came to Iowa in
January, 1874, and located in Cass county, finding employment in a drug
store at Oneida. The following summer he engaged in farming, and
then in the hotel business. He came to Mills county, and entered in the
hotel business at Glenwood. In May, of 1880, he came to Pacific Junc-
tion and began in the same business at his present stand. He was mar-
ried October, 1877, to Miss Mary L. Schall, a native of Philadelphia.
They are the parents of one child: Maggie B.
LILLY, J. J., P. O. Pacific Junction; born May 23, 1853, in Pennsyl-
vania, and at an early age moved to Freeport, Illinois. When fourteen
he became a resident of Ogle county, and there reached man's estate and
received his education. He learned the plasterer's trade, and followed it
some ten years. He engaged in his present business in 1880.
MARTIN, H., foreman in car shops C, B. & Q. and K. C. R. R., was
born November 26, 1847, in Schenectady county, New York. He passed
his youth in acquiring an education and in learning the trade of a machin-
ist. At twenty-one he became a foreman in the locomotive works in his
native city. In 1869 he went to Utah, where he remained a year and a
half; he then became an engineer on the Missouri Pacific R. R., which
business he followed for one year. He then went to Laramie City,
Wyoming Territory. He afterward returned to New York, and then
again came to the west, locating at Creston, Iowa, in the employ of the
C, B. & Q. R. R. In September, of 1880, he came to Pacific Junction?
as foreman. He was married in November, 1873, to Miss Elizabeth
Whalon, of Albany county, New York. They are the parents of four
children: Maggie, Ellen, Annie and William R.
MITCHELL, HOWARD A., painter, P. O. Pacific Junction, is a
native of Warren county, Illinois, where he was born March 6, 1840. He
began to learn his trade in 1864, and has followed the same until the pres-
ent time. He came to Mills county in 1868, and located at Malvern. In
1880 he came to Pacific Junction, and entered upon his trade. He was
married in 1871 to Miss Laura Stafford, a native of Indiana. They are
the parents of four children : Martha J., Albert E., Abbie and Howard A.Jr.
MORRIS, J. D., of the firm of Morris & Parish, publishers of the
Republican-Leader and Pacific Junction Gazette. Mr. Morris is a
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
native of Monmouth county, New Jersey, where he was born January 12,
1834. Completing the studies of the common school, he furtlier prosecu-
ted his education at Burlington university and Franklin college. He
graduated from the Chicago medical college in 18(52, and began the prac-
tice of medicine in Vermillion county, Indiana. In 18(58 he moved to
Bedford, Taylor county, Iowa, continuing the practice of his profession
until 1876. He then purchased the Bedford Argus and began his career
as a newspaper man. After a year's successful pubhcation he moved to
Des Moines, and began the publication of the Beacon L/'ofit, a religious
paper devoted to the interests of the Baptist denomination. This venture
was not a financial success. In October, 1877, he established the Capital
City Record, which, in the summer of 1878 was changed to the Des
Moines News. In February, 1879, he assumed the management of the
Malvern Leader, a paper which, the following year, was consolidated with
the MiJls County Refublican, under the title of the Refjiblican-Leader.
December 4, 1880, he established, in connection with Mr. Parrish, The
Pacific Junction Gazette. He was married November 4, 1858, to Miss
Mary J. Hancock, a native of Illinois. They are the parents of three
children: Margaret E., Lydia L. and Joseph C. During his residence in
Bedford he was a member of the city council, and mayor for a term of
two years.
MOON, HENRY, farmer and stock-raiser, section 25, P. O. East
Plattsmouth; was born May 1, 1818, in Ireland. Ot the age of twenty-
five he came to the United States and located at New York. Shortly
afterwards he went to New Orleans, where he remained five years. He
lived in various states and cities previous to coming to this county. He
is one of the early settlers of this county, and has contributed to its growth
and prosperity. He was married November 13, 1856, to Miss R. McPar-
land. They are the parents of nine children, six of whom are living:
Mitchell, Hugh, Henry, Annie M., William J. and Rosa C. The farm of
Mr. Moon comprises some two hundred acres, all in a splendid state of
cultivation, attesting his skill as a farmer.
PAINTER, J. A., Pacific Junction ; is a native of Green county, Penn-
sylvania, where he was horn July 27, 1815. He moved to Ohio at an
early age, and there reached his majority. In 1842 he moved to Andrew
county, Missouri, and remained until 1851, when he came to Mills county.
He first located in Glenwood, and in 1857 went to Pacific City. He came
to Pacific Junction in 1873 and engaged in the hotel business, keeping the
house known as the Painter House. He was married March 22, 1838,
to Miss Nancy Graham, also a native of Pennsylvania. They are the
parents of nine children, four now living: John, Martha J., Libbie and
Andy.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 665
RUSSELL, SAMUEL S., farmer section 25, P. O. East Platts-
mouth; was born May 29, 1826, in GMord county. North Carolina. At
an early age he moved to Orange county, Indiana, with his father's fam-
ily, where was passed his youth, and received his education. At the age
of eighteen he moved to Boone county, Missouri, and after a residence of
six years came to Iowa, locating in Monroe county. In 1865 he came to
Mills county and has since resided here. He has been thrice married;
he first married Miss Mary Gleason a native of Henry county, Kentucky,
by whom he is the father of three children, all now deceased. He mar-
ried Miss Mary A, Little, a native of Henry county, Indiana. They
are the parents of ten children, five of whom are now living: Sarah, Ner-
ton J., Emaline, Jefferson A. and Sampson R. May 16, 1870, he was
married to Miss Margaret McDaniel, a native of Nodaway county, Miss-
ouri. The}*are the parents of four children : William T., Andrew J., John
A. and JuUus F. Mr. Russell is an active member of the United Breth-
ren Church, to the interests of which he has devoted much time and
energy.
OAK TOWNSHIP.
ALLIS, OTIS E., farmer and stock-raiser, section 8, P. O Council
Bluffs ; born December 4, 1844, on Loup Fork, Western Nebraska. He
shared the fortune of his father in that wild country until he arrived at
manhood. When seven years of age he was shot in the eye by an Indian
lad, from the effects of which he lost that member. He came to this
county with little capital, but by industry and economy he was soon able
to purchase one hundred and twenty acres of land, to which he has since
added three hundred acres. His farm is well improved, an elegant dwell-
ing-house, nestling among a beautiful grove and ornamental trees, a good
barn, and many other substantial improvements. The farm is well shel-
tered and watered, and othervvise well adapted to the raising of live stock.
Mr. Allis was married May 21, 1871, to Miss Ellen, daughter of Hiram
and Agnes Edward, of Lincoln, Illinois. They are the parents of four
children; Elsadie A., Oliver E., William R. and Samuel. Mr. Allis has
been closely identified with the interests of his county, having filled many
important local office* with credit to himself and constituents.
ALLIS, HENRY, farmer and stockraiser, section 17, P. O. Council
Bluffs; born March 2, 1839, in Nebraska. His youth was passed on the
frontier among the Indians. He received his education in the mission
schools, that were established in the Indian country. He served some
time as an Indian interpreter for traders, and in the employ of the gov-
666 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
ernment, and was at one time clerk in a trading store on the Pawnee res-
ervation. In 1862, he went to California, where he engaged in farming.
He came to this county in 1868. He owns a well-improved farm of 200
acres. Mr. Allis is the oldest white person now living who was born in
the state of Nebraska.
BRITTAIN, WILLIAM, farmer and minister. Mr. Brittain is a na-
tive of England, where he was born October 30, 1818. He resided in
England, engaging in farming, during his early manhood, or until 1846,,
when he came to America and located in this connty. He was probably
the first settler in this county, and a further and more complete account
will be found in a preceding chapter on early settlers and settlements. la
July, 1846, he located at a point some ten miles southwest from Glenwood,,
and remained two years, at the expiration of which time he moved to
Glenwood, and became one of the founders of that city, unde* the name
which it then bore of Coonville. His was the first house ever built in
place. August 14, 1843, he was married to Miss Nancy Bayners, who was
a native of England. They became the parents of twelve children, six
of whom are now living: Catherine R., wife to Edward Anson; Caro-
line, the first person born in the county and now living in Glenwood ;
Mary A., Julia, wife to P. Tyson ; Williard B. and Lucy A. Mr. Brit-
tain was ordained a minister of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ,
of Latter Day Saints, May 19, 1864, and he is to-day a staunch adherent
of this faith. Most of the remarks made under early settlers will apply
with marked emphasis to Mr. Brittain, who is both honored and influen-
tial as a citizen.
BUFFINGTON, E. H., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Glenwood;,
was born in Illinois in the year 1844. In 1853 hi§ parents came to this
county, and with the county young BufEngton grew to man's estate. The
country was new and schools were scarce, hence the major part of his
education has been derived from experience. He was married in 1868 to
Miss Mattie Frizzle, a native of Missouri, born in 1849. They are the
parents of five children: Eva E., Mary E., George W., Meda L. and
Marion A. Mr. Buffington is of German and French parentage. He has
long been identified with the county and its interests ; and while public
spirited has not neglected matters relating to private ends. He owns a
farm of 96 acres.
BYERS, JOHN, farmer, stock-raiser and fruit-grower, P. O. Glen-
wood; was born in Morgan county, Ohio, February '23, 1838. His youth
was passed on a farm, and his education received in a common school.
In 1S56 he came to Iowa and located in this county and became one of
the first settlers in Oak township. He served with credit in the war of
the rebellion, in company H, 13th Iowa infantry. In 1860 he was mar-
ried to Miss Rebecca J. Buflington, of Illinois. They are the parents of
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY, 667
five children: Mary O., Frances J., Rosa E. and Charles F., living, and
Nellie M., deceased. Mrs. Byers died November 3, 1874. August 14,
1879, Mr. Byers was married to Miss Sarah A. Thompson, by whom he
has one child, Edwin M. The family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
church. Mr. Byers has alwa3rs been deeply interested in the religious and
educational developement of his community, and withal is a man of great
enterprise. His farm comprises some 166 acres of choice land, well
improved, with buildings and orchard;
BARRETT, JOHN, farmer and stock-raiser, section 32, P. O. Hen-
ton; born in 1825, in county Mayo, Ireland, where he resided until twelve
years of age. He then went to Scotland and at the age of fourteen immi-
grated to America, first locating at New Orleans, where he remained one
year and then went to St. Louis. He came to this county in 18.57, loca-
ting in Lyons township, and two years later purchased the farm where he
now resides, consisting of 300 acres, well improved. He was married
December 25, 1855 to Miss Ellen Whalen, a native of Ireland. They are
the parents of ten children of whom eight are living: Mary B., Kate,
John T., Frank, Timothy, Henry, Edward and Peter. The five years
preceding his arrival in this county were passed in steamboating. Since
coming to Mills county he has been continually engaged in farming. He
came here without means but by good management and economy has
reached his present enviable position in life.
CATTRON, JAMES H., farmer, P. O. Glenwood; was born in Ful-
ton county, Illinois, in 1839, on the 5th day of September. While he was
yet a child his parents moved to Lafayette county, Missouri, where he
matured and was educated. In 1853 he came to this county, thus becom-
ing one of its early settlers. In 1868 he married Miss Mary E. Buffing-
ton, by whom he is the father of two children: Almira G. and Mary G.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Cattron are members of the M. E. Church. He owns
a fine farm of one hundred and thirteen acres.
FOWLER, H. P., P. O. Glenwood; among those who came to Mills
county at an early day, and contributed to make it what it is. None are
more worthy a place in this volume than Mr. Fowler. He was born in
Tennessee, in the year 1825, and when a child removed to Lafayette
county, Missouri. In the spring of 1855 he came to this county, and
located some six miles north of his present home, and to the farm he now
occupies in the year 1862. He was married in 1857, to Matilda Cotton,
a native of Missouri. They are the parents of six children: Emma F.,
Martha, John W., Etta E., Verna E., and Robert A. Mr. Fowler is a
member of the M. E. Church, in high standing, and consecrated to its
service. His farm comprises one hundred and ten acres.
GERARD, NICHOLAS, miller, P. O. Glenwood; was born in Ger-
many in the year 1820. His youth and early manhood were passed as a
•668 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
miller and factory man, until 1854, when he came to America, and located
in this county in the fall of that year. In 1854: he joined with his brother
in the milling business, but subsequently became sole proprietor in the
mills. His business is successful and his trade large and increasing.
GERARD, J., farmer, P. O. Glenwood; was born in Prussia in 1824.
He there grew to man's estate, and learned the occupation or trade of a
miller. In 1854: he came to America, and in the fall of that year located
in this county. He was married in 1870 to Miss Emily Rapp, also a
native of Prussia. Thpy are the parents of four children: Anna, Fred,
Joseph, and Pale. His wife died August 20, 1879, and lies buried at the
Lutheran cemetery in Oak township. The farm of Mr. Gerard com-
prises 380 acres of land, and is one of the finest in the township. Begin-
ning as a day laborer the success which he has attained marks what
patient toil and frugality may accomplish.
HUTCHENS, JOHN, farmer, P.O. Glenwood; Mr. Hutchens was
born in Sarah county. North Carolina, December 20, 1816. When three
years of age went with his parents to Wayne county, Indiana, and here he
was educated; the schools of his immediate neighborhood being con-
ducted on the subscription plan. In 1841 he went to Andrew county,
Missouri and improved a farm, on which he remained until 1854, when he
came to this county. The farm on which he located comprises some 170
acres of land, all under excellent cultivation. He has been twice married.
On October 5, 1838, he was joined in marriage to Miss Nancy Brown, a
native of North Carolina, who died November 16, 1855. By this wife
he is the father of seven children, three of whom are now living: Isaac,
Daniel and David. February 18, 1857, Mr. Hutchens married Mrs.
Eliza A. Brower, a native of Thompkins county. New York, born Octo-
ber 20, 1823. From this union there resulted the birth of six children,
three of whom are living: Joel, Omar and John. Mrs. Hutchens was
the mother of seven children by her first husband, William Brower, of
whom three. Alma, Byron and George, are living.
MOFFITT, W. H., farmer and stock-raiser on section 24; born on
the 6th of March, 1843, in Randolph county, North Carolina. In 1849
his parents came to Jefferson county, this state. In 1852 they went to
Pottawattamie county, and in 1865 Mr. MofKtt came hither, and has been
since that year, a continuous resident. The farm he now occupies was
purchased in 1872. December 30, 1863, he was married to Miss Electa R.
Anderson, a native of Illinois, born October 16, 1845. They are the
parents of five children: Lewis A., born October 23,1864, Olive N., born
June 19, 1866; Ulysses Y., born May 11, 1868; Ira H., born June 12,
1871, and James A., born November 6, 1878. Mr. Moffitt is one of the
most successful farmers in the county. P. O. Glenwood.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
MEADOWS, ISAAC, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Glenwood; was-
born March 13, 1813, in Washington county, Virginia, where he resided
until mature. His youth was passed in agricultural pursuits, and hence
his education was limited to the common school. In 1835 he moved to-
Saline county, Missouri, where he remained until 1853, when he became
identified with Mills county interests as a resident farmer. He was mar-
ried in 1842 to Miss Rhoda Warren, a native of Tennessee. His first
wife to whom he was married in 1840, was Miss F. Cooper, who died in
the year following. As the fruit of his second union there were born to
him nine children, six sons and three daughters: Harvey, Nathaniel, Ben-
jamin J., William, George, Sarah, Gilla A., Belle and Joel.
PRINDLE, LYMAN D., farmer, P. O. Glenwood; was born in
Massachusetts, May 4, 1823. His education was received in the common
schools of the old bay state. From that state he moved to Indiana, thence
to Kentucky, and finally to Mills county in 1856. Subsequently to his
coming he was married to Miss Mary J. Grant, a native of Ohio, by whom
he jhas four children: CorneKa S., Charles D., Henry A. and Mary J.
Mr. Prindle is another of Mills county's self-made men, having come with-
out means, and gained a compentence. His farm has four hundred and
thirty-three acres.
TURNER, ALBERT W., farmer, section 29, P. O. Henton; born
August 22, 1845, in Lincolnshire, England. He immigrated to America
with his parents when eight years old. He first located, April 3, 1853, at
East Plattsmouth, in this county, and soon after went to St. Marys where
he grew to manhood. When fifteen years old he went to Utah, where he
engaged in teaming. He soon after became connected with Holliday's
stage line, and served this company in different capacities for some time,
and was afterward appointed express messenger. After traveling exten-
sively through the west and south, he returned to Mills county, and en-
gaged in farming. He was married December 31, 1869, to Miss Sarah
Gowens, a native of East Plattsmouth. They are the parents of five
children, four of whom are living: Oliver F., Lewis C, James A. and
George W. By patient toil and frugality he has secured a good farm of
one hundred and twenty acres, which is substantially improved.
WARREN, I. M., farmer and stock-raiser by occupation, P. O. Glen-
wood; was born in Lafayette county, Missouri, where he was educated.
In 1853 he came to Iowa and located near his present home. He was
married in this county to Miss JuKa Stranathan, a native of Illinois. They
are the parents of eight children: five now living: Flara E., Charles R.,
Edwin M. S., Wilbur P. and Clyde N. Mr. Warren is an active member
of the M. Church, to which he is a liberal contributor financially. He
enlisted August 16, 1862, in company B, Twenty-ninth Iowa infantry, and
participated in all the fortunes of that regiment, as narrated in its history
■670 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
in this volume. He owns a farm of three hundred and sixteep acres of
land, all accumulated since coming to the county. He came poor, and by
care and frugality has thus gained an honorable competence.
WALL, MAJOR W. R., M. D., this gentleman is a native of Knox-
ville, Tennessee, where he was born February 28, 1828. His father died
when Major Wall was quite young, leaving him in the sole care of his
mother. At a quite early age he moved with his mother to Marion
county, Indiana, where he attained his majority. When fourteen years of
age he was apprenticed to a shoemaker to learn that trade. He followed
this occupation until the breaking out of the Mexican war. He enlisted
in Co. G. of the regular infantry April 12, 1847. He was stationed along
the Rio Grande, and did efficient duty in various capacities until his mus-
ter out in 1849. He then returned to Terre Haute, Indiana, and resumed
his trade of shoemaker. While in this business he passed his spare time
in reading medicine and law. In 1856, he was admitted to the bar, and
during his legal practice he prosecuted vigorously the study of medicine.
He also attended the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, and
in 1858, began the practice of medicine, which he continued until the
commencement of the last war. At an early day in its history he was
appointed a captain of a company of state militia, but soon resigned to
enlist in active service as a private, April 18, 1861, in company I, 8th In-
diana infantry. At the organization of this company he was elected first
lieutenant. The company disbanded at the expiration of three months,
but was immediately reorganized with Dr. Wall as captain. He was
aide-de-camp to General Rosecranz in the battle of Rich Mountain, and
participated in numerous other engagements, among them Springfield,
Fremont, Pea Ridge, Little Red river and many others of minor impor-
tance. In the autumn of 1362, he resigned owing to ill health, and passed
the year following in the practice of his profession. In August, 1863, he
agaih enlisted as a Colonel in the Indiana Legion. He soon resigned that
position and accepted a lieutenancy in the 9th Indiana Cavalry. December
9, 1863, he was promoted to a captaincy. He was in the battles of Pu-
laski, Florence, Athens, Columbia, Nashville, Reynolds' Hill, Sugar
Creek, and others. He was afterwards commissioned a major of his regi-
ment, and placed in command at Vicksburg and Port Gibson. He was
mustered out in September, 1865, and returned home to engage in the
practice of medicine. In 1866, he engaged in railroad building as a con-
tractor, and in the following year abandoned this business and came to
Audubon county, Iowa, and two years later to Mills county. In 1871, he
purchased his farm and began agricultural pursuits. His farm comprises
two hundred and sixty acres, well improved. He was married Decem-
ber 20, 1849, to Miss Elvira Scott, a native of Terre Haute, Indiana.
They have had nine children, four now living: Mary L., Florence, Eliza-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 671
beth and Edward. He was married a second time to Miss Harriet Allis,
May 26, 1871. They are the parents of three children: Emmaline, Wil-
liam and Martha. Dr. Wall is a member of the Masonic order ; and his
life is an exemplary one, both from a moral and business point of view.
WILLIAMS, MARSHALL J., P. O. Glenwood; a son Dr. S. W.
Williams. The doctor was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, October 18,
1823; died June 8, 1880, of dropsy. Among the professional and business
men of Mills county, whose names appear in this book, none have been
more closely identified with its growth and prosperity than he. He was
ever ready to extend a helping hand to all enterprises which promised to
be beneficial to the citizens of the county. As a physician he was very
successful; answering all calls promptly, either of the rich or poor. The
doctor was a self-educated man, having at the early age of fourteen years
gone to Cape Girardeau county, Missouri, where he acted in the capacity
of clerk in a dry goods store for seven or eight years, his leisure hours
being passed in reading medicine. After taking a course of lectures at
the Louisville medical college, he commenced the practice of medicine in
his former home. In 1850 he returned to the college and graduated at
the head of his class ; a short time after this he removed to Council Bluffs
where he resumed the practice of his profession in connection with P. J.
McMahan, a prominent physician of that place. In 1865, owing to failing
health, he gave up practice and located on a farm near Glenwood, leaving
his former profession entirely, except when called upon to consult with
other physicians. In 1856 he was married to Janet Grierson, a native of
Scotland, the result of this union being two daughters : Rowena, and
Sarah E., wife of James Record, and a son, Marshall J., aged seventeen
years.
GLENWOOD TOWNSHIP.
ARCHIBALD, O. W., M. D., superintendent Iowa asylum for feeble-
minded children, was born in Stillwater, Nova Scotia, November 26, 1849.
His early youth was passed in labor on a farm, and in attendance on the
common school. When fifteen years of age he began to teach school,
devoting his extra hours to study and self-improvement. At the age of
nineteen he began the study of the science of medicine, with Dr. R. H.
Mohr of Fairfield, Iowa. In the fall of 1869 he entered the college of
physicians and surgeons, at Keokuk, Iowa, remaining through the session.
He then entered the Missouri medical college, of St. Louis; continued his
studies there during the session of 1872-73, and graduated with honor at
its close. After a practice of four months duration, he located at Mount
672 His'roRY OF mills county.
Pleasant, Iowa, and was soon appointed assistant surgeon to the insane
asylum in that city. This position he retained for a year and a half, and
then entered upon the practice of general medicine. He came to Glen-
wood in 1875, and in September of the following year was appointed to
his present responsible position. Other facts of interest connected with
Dr. Archibald, as a superintendent, may be gathered from the history of
the asylum to be found on another page. He was married to Miss Adel-
phia Sliver, Ma\f 18, 1872. They are the parents of two children: Mark
R., deceased, and Maude M. Dr. Archibald needs no other eulogy than
the condition of the institution of which he has control.
BENNETT, BARTON S., farmer and stock raiser, section 26, P. O.
Glenwood; born October 14, 1837, in Hardin county, Kentucky. At an
early age he moved with .his parents to Granger county, where he
remained until seven years of age, and then went to Holt county, Mis-
souri, where he grew to maturity. His youth was passed in farm labor
and attending the common schools. In 1854 he went to Nemeha county,
Nebraska, and remained there until 1863. He then went to Fort Kearney
and resided there about five years. In 1867 he came to Iowa, and pur-
chased the farm in this county upon which he now lives. Was married
December 29, 1856, to Miss Ann Entwistle, a native of England, by
whom he was the father of six children: Sarah E., Mary E., Ehza J.,
Charles Henry, Emma and Francis. He was married a second time Feb-
ruary 26, 1881, to MrsYGenevia Green, daughter of Joseph H. and Mary
E. Brown. Mrs. Green was previously married to Mr. Samuel H. Green,
by whom she was the mother of one child. Lulu E. Mr. Bennett now
enjoys the posession of a fine farm of 120 acres, with a good dwelling
house, substantial barn, and a large and productive orchard. His wife is
a lady of culture and refinement, who devotesjier time to making home
attractive.
BYERS, M. H., county recorder, P. O. Glenwood; born January 12,
1846, in Noble county, Ohio. In 1851, in company with his parents he
moved to Washington county, the same state, going from there in 1852,
to Kansas City, Missouri, where he remained only one year, when he
came to Glenwood. His early training was that of a farmer, his educa-
tion having been received in the common schools. He enlisted for the
suppression of the rebellion, January 4, 1864, in the twenty-ninth Iowa
infantry, company B, and was with General Steele in his campaign to
relieve Gen. Banks on the Red river. He was also at the seige of Mo-
bile, and was with Sheridan in his campaign in Texas. He was mustered
out of the service August 10, 1865, and returned to Glenwood, after which
he held the position of clerk in a store for ten years. In 1878 he was
elected recorder for Mills county, and re-elected in 1880. He was mar-
ried December 1, 1870, to Carrie S. Daniel, of Mills county, Iowa. They
have four children: Edith M., Bessie D., Nettie D. and Roscoe G.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 673
BARTHOLOMEW, JACOB, Glenwood, of the firm of Bartholo-
mew & Hubbell, was born in Ohio, December 18, 1824. When sixteen
years of age he removed with his parents to southern Illinois and remained
about three years, after which he resided in Iowa county, Wisconsin, until
1850, when he sought the gold fields of California eight years of his life
being passed in that portion of the west. He then returned to Wisconsin
where he resided but a short time before going to Illinois where he resided
until he came to Iowa, locating in Madison county. From thence he became
a resident of Brownsville, Nebraska, where he remained until coming to
this county ^in 1870. When twenty-three years of age he commenced
learning his trade, and has followed it to the present time. Eleven vears
of successful business have shown him to be a mechanic of the first order.
His enterprise has closely identified him with the merchanical interests of
the town. He has been twice married; the first time to Judith A. Lin-
gral of Kentucky, in 1860, who died in 1863. There were born to them
two children : Josephine and Cornelia, the latter of whom is deceased. His
second wife was Frances Kettner a native of Illinois, to whom he was
married in 1874. On the the fourteenth of March. 1881, he purchased
the livery business of Chatfield & Blackmore which is already large and
prosperous .
CILLEY, HORATIO G., lumber merchant, P. O. Glenwhod. Mr.
Cilley is a native of South Deerfield, New Hampshire, where he was born
November 1, 1841. He received but a common school education, and
passed his early youth in farming. In 1863 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio,
and engaged in the lumber business until 1871, when he became a resi-
dent of Glenwood and engaged in his former business of lumber merchant
, which he followed until 1879. Adding to this business that of farming and
stock-raising. Mr. Cilley has proven his energy and business capability.
He is now the manager of the Glenwood opera house, a fine structure" of
its kind, and with the erection of which Mr. Cilley was close identified.
He was married in 1868 to Miss Julia A. Harrington of Cleveland, Ohio.
By this marriage he has three children, one only, Horatio G., now living.
He is a man of influence and worth, a lover of nature, a genial companion
and thorough business man."
CRONE Y, CHARLES A., editor Glenwood Opinion; was born in
London, Madison county, Ohio, the twenty-second day of February 1840.
In 1855 he came to Iowa with his parents; they located in Oskaloosa;
there he spent his days in acquiring an education and a knowledge of the
printing business. At the breaking out of the rebellion he responded to
his country's call and enlisted May 23, 1861, in company H, Third Iowa
infantry. He was with his company in all engagements in which they
participated. Was mustered out June 14, 1864. In the autumn of 1869
he went to Seward, Nebraska; there he established \he Seward Reporter-
23
674 . HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Ifi the spring of '71 he moved to Des Moines of this state, and in 1877
can:»e to Glenwood, where he has since made his home. He was married
May 3, 1866, at Oskaloosa, Iowa, to Miss Amanda J. Salisbury. She is a
native of Indiana . They have one child, Jessie G. Mr. Croney is a man
of decided opinions, of a retiring nature, and prefers the peace and quiet
of his legitimate pursuits to the turmoil of public life. Politically he is of
the republican faith and an able advocate of its principles..
CONGER, JOSEPH, lumber merchant, P. O. Glenwood; was born
in Knox county, Ohio, December 10, 1821, where his boyhood and early
manhood days were passed on the farm until 1850, when he engaged in
mercantile pursuits and followed them until 1855. In 1866 he came to
Silver Creek, Mills county, and built the first saw-mill in that section of
the county. In 1858 he removed to Ingraham township and resumed
farming, which! occupation he followed until 1872, when he removed to
Glenwood and took the position of clerk in a store, where he remained
until 1875, when he entered the firm of Hoch & Conger, lumber dealers.
August 22, 1848, he was married to Harriet Wilkinson, of Cuyahoga
■county, Ohio. They have been the parents of one child, who died in
1875.
COOLIDGE, JOSEPH W., was one of the earliest settlers in this
county, and for many years identified with its material interests and pros-
perity. He was born in Bangor, Maine, May 31, 1814. Two years there-
after he accompanied his parents to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he grew to
man's estate, and was educated. At the age of fifteen years he began to
learn the trade of a carpenter, working with his father, who was master
of the carpenter's art. When twenty-one years of age he moved to Illi-
nois, and located in Tazewell county, near the town of Mackinaw, where
he plied his trade until 1840. In that year he moved his family to Cald-
well county, Missouri, where they remained about eighteen months, and
having become identified with the Mormon church, were driven from that
state into Illinois, and located at Nauvoo, and here they remained until
the spring of 1846. Mr. Coolidge, during his residence in Nauvoo, was
a prominent member of the church whose faith he had espoused, and was
an elder in the same. At the death of Joseph Smith he was administra-
tor of the estate of that noted leader. In 1846, as has been said, he left
Illinois for the west with the remainder of the Mormon population of
Nauvoo, and located on the present site of Omaha, in Nebraska. After
a residence of some eighteen months at this point he crossed the Missouri
to Council Bluffs, and resided at that point nearly a year. He then came,
in 1849, to Mills county and built what is now Gordon's mill, the first in
the county. In 1851 he sold his mill and entered the mercantile business
in the embryo city of Glenwood, as has been elsewhere narrated. Mr.
Coolidge was long identified with the milling interests of western Iowa,
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 675
and built several mills, all of them, however, not resulting in financial suc-
cess. In 1860 he was appointed postmaster at Glenwood, which position
he retained until his death, January 13, 1871. Mr. Coolidge was married
to Miss Elizabeth Buchanan, December 17, 1835. Mrs. Coolidge is a
native of Fayette county, Kentucky, where she was born July 1, 1815.
In 1830 she moved, with her parents, to Tazewell county, Illinois, and
there met and married her husband. They were the parents of eleven
children, six of whom are now living: Henry P., Sarah, now Mrs. Tinkle;
Timothy, William, George, and Mary. Mr. Coolidge entered the land
on which Glenwood is situated, and surveyed the town plat.
CARTER, JOHN, section 28, P. O. Glenwood; the grandson of a
revolutionary soldier, and a son of a soldier of the war of 1812; he first
saw the light of day March 3, 1829, and Tennessee was his birthplace.
At a youthful age he moved with his parents to Fayette county, Indiana.
His time was spent until his eighteenth year in agricultural pursuits,
when he moved to Gentry county, Missouri, remaining about nine years.
After going to Monroe county, this state, he came, in 1852, to Mills
ccunty. He enlisted, in March, 1862, in company B, Twenty-ninth Iowa
infantry, accompanied by his son, S. R., a lad of sixteen summers, and
participated in the fortunes of their regiment, a sketch -of which will be
found elsewhere in this work. Mr. Carter was united in marriage Jan-
uary 24, 1843, to Miss Amanda Thomson, of Gentry county, Missouri,
who died October 4, 1854. By this union they had six children, three
sons: S. R., E. B. and I. L,.: three daughters: Martha, Catharine and
Sarah. He was again married September 13, 1855, to Mrs. McCoupin,
of Indiana. This union has brought four children: D. A., James, Ada
M. and P. Mr. Carter is highly esteemed by his neighbors, and is a
member of the M. E. church. He owns a fine farm, well stocked and
nicely improved, on which is an orchard of eight hundred trees.
COLWELL, J. P., P. O. Glenwood; is a native lowan, and was born
in July, 1844, in Wapello county, where he remained twelve years, when
he came to this county, settling in Glenwood, his father having died
twelve years previous. Here he engaged in teaming and in the harness
business, and for six seasons was engaged in hauling goods from the Mis-
souri river to the mountains. He was united in marriage to his wife,
Jane, in November, 1874. He is located on a snug farm with a comforta-
ble house and a good orchard of three hundred trees. He is a kind hus-
band and a good neighbor.
DILL, ANDREW, farmer and stock raiser, section 27, P. O. Glen-
wood; born January 15, 1850, in Vinton county, Ohio, where he remained
until fourteen years of age, and then went to Whiteside county, Illinois.
Four years later he came with his father to Mills county, Iowa, and the
following year went to Nebraska, where he remained a short time and
676 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
then returned. His youth was passed chiefly in mechanical pursuits, his
father owning a foundry. He remained with his father until 1872, and
then commenced business for himself. Was married December 31, 1872,
to Miss Leathy, daughter of Judge J. F. and Mary M. WiUiams, a native
of Holt county, Missouri. This happy union has brought to them three
children: John, Mary M. and one yet unnamed. Mr. Dill is an active
member of the Christian church, and a respected member of society. He
owns a good farm of 160 acres, with an elegant dwelling house and
superior facilities for stock raising, in which enterprise he is largely inter-
ested.
DEACON, E. T., farmer, section 22, P. O. Gleriwood; born January
31, 1828, in Burlington county, New Jersey, and there grew to manhood,
receiving his education in the common schools. When fourteen years of
age he was apprenticed with Louis Leeds to learn the trade of a blacl^-
smith, with whom he remained seven years. He had b}'^ this time accumu-
lated means sufficient to go into business for himself, and thus continued
for twelve years, when, owing to ill health, he engaged in farming. He
came to Iowa in 1867, and located on the farm where he now resides.
Was married January 4, 1852, to Miss Mary Jane Scott, a native of New
Jersey. Was married a second time, November 22, 1856, to Ruth Ann
Glover, of !New Jersey. Seven children have been born to them, three
of whom are now living: William B., Isaac Ellsworth and Laura S. Mr.
and Mrs. Deacon are members of the M. E. church. He is a member of
the I. O. O. F., and of the Centennial Life Association. His life has been
one of trials and hardships. Death claimed for his own two promising
sons, recently, who were looked upon as a help and comfort to Mr. and
Mrs. D. in their declining years. He owns a neat little farm of 120 acres,
well improved.
DYAR, C. H., merchant, P. O. Glenwood; was born in Washington
county, Ohio, February 24, 1846. He came to Mills county in 1869, and
engaged in farming. Soon after he began teaching, being employed at
Hintonville, where he taught one term. In April, of 1870, he began the
mercantile business with a capital of one hundred and sixty dollars.
From this small beginning he has realized large results ; being now among
the foremost merchants of the county. His business has so increased that
a branch house has been established at East Plattsmouth, and since 1878
has been doing a large business. To his mercantile pursuits he has added
that of a farmer, and owns two farms, one in Ingraham and the other in
Glenwood township; both are equal to the best in the county. He was
married in 1874, in Indiana, to Miss Alice Martin, a native of that state.
They have a family of three children : Oscar, Delia and Edgar. They,
are members of the Congregational church, and among its most ardent
supporters. His business qualifications are too well known to need com-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 677
ment, and it may only be said they place him among the foremost mer-
chants of the town.
DEAN, SETH, county surveyor, Glenwood ; was born in* Mills county,
Iowa, October 20, 1851. His life was passed on the farm until 1872, when
he went to Ohio to engage in the study of civil engineering. In 1874 he
went to Kansas, where he remained but a short time. He has enjoyed
the respect and confidence of the public, having been chosen at various
times to fill public offices, among which are those of county surveyor, to
which he was elected in 1877, and again re-elected in 1879; and sheriff, to
which office he has been elected three several times; the evidence of his
popularity consisting in the fact that although the county is largely repub-
lican, Mr. Dean has always been elected as a democrat. In addition to
the public positions held by him, he is also a member of the western soci-
ety of civil engineers of Chicago, and the Park Benjamin expert associa-
tion, of New York. He was also an observer in the Iowa weather service
for three years. His education was received at the common school and
Tabor college. His present wife was Annie Baxter, of Glenwood, Iowa,
to whom he was married April 9, 1879, he having been previously mar-
ried to Mary L. McClanathan, of Washington county, Ohio, February
14, 1856. He has been the father of seven children, all boys, three of
whom. Collier, Harry and J , are now living, the others having joined
his first wife on the other shore. He has been very successful, financially,
being the owner of a well improved farm of three hundred and twenty
acres, the result of his exertions.
FLOOD, JAMES H., farmer, section 15, P. O. Glenwood; born
March 15, 1833, in Green county, Ohio. When twelve years of age he
moved with his parents to Randolph county, Indiana, and grew to matu-
rity in that state. His youth was passed in farming and attending the
common schools. In the fall of 1859 he came to Iowa, locating in Mont-
gomery county, where he remained until October, 1880, and then located
on the farm where he now lives. Enlisted February 20, 1863, in com-
pany K, Fourth Iowa infantry, and participated in the battles of Resaca,
Dallas, New Hope Church, Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, Nickajack
Creek, Chattahoochee River, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, Little
River, Oquakee River, Savannah, Griswoldville, Columbia and Bentons-
ville. Was wounded in both hands at Ezra Chapel. Was discharged
July 24, 1865. He was married November 5, 1857, to Miss Martha
Chenoweth, of Dark county, Ohio. They are the parents of ten chil-
dren: Jonathan, Nathaniel S., Joann, William P., Mary Jane, Oliver M.,
Tabitha, Sarah Emeline, Amelia and Adelia, the two last named being
twins. Mr. and Mrs. Flood are members of the Methodist Protesant
church. He owns the pleasant home where he now lives and a fine farm
of 200 acres in Montgomery county.
678 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
FRENCH, A. D., county treasurer, Glenwood; was born in Berkshire
county, Massachusetts, January 13, 1842, remaining in that state until
1858, when he went to Illinois, where he remained, following the occupa-
tion of farmer, until August 14, 1862, when he enlisted in the Eighty-
ninth Illinois infantry, company A,' and served until May 24, 1865, when
he received his discharge. While in the service he participated in the
battles of Stone River, Liberty Gap and Chickamauga, where he was
wounded while in the act of charging a battery, having his left arm broken
by a gun shot which also entered into his side, coming out of his back.
After receiving this wound he was taken to Jefferson Hospital, from
which place he was discharged, as above stated. After leaving the army
he went to Hobart, Indiana, where he learned telegraphy, and in 1872
removed to Mills county, Iowa. While in Indiana he held the positions
of depot agent, telegraph operator, express agent and postmaster. After
coming to Mills county he held the positions of railroad agent and tele-
graph operator for five years. In 1877 he was elected county treasurer,
and in 1879 was re-elected. He was married October 24, 1867, to Annie
P. Rundel, of Lake county, Illinois, by whom he has had three children :
Katie M., Herbert A. and Raymond.
GOHEEN, S. G., section 26, P. O. Glenwood; is a native of Ken-
tucky and was born September 6, 1838. At the age of seven, he, with
his parents, moved to St. Clair county, Illinois, and in another seven years
moved to Champaign county. Ohio. His youth was passed on a farm
and in attending school. After attending school at Springfield he
attended college one year, and then attended Bryant & Stratton's busi-
ness college at Chicago and St. Louis. He enlisted in company C, 170th
Illinois infantr}', and participated in the battles of Clinton, Mississippi, Ft.
Dersey, Pleasant Hill, Centerville, Yellow Bayou, Lake Clicot, Tupelo, '
Hurricane Creek, Franklin and Nashville, and was discharged August 5,
1865. After the war he taught school for a short time and then came to
Mills county. He was married March 13, 1867, to Carolina Anderson of
Macon, Illinois. This union has brought them five children: ,W. C, J.
A., S. A., Tennie K. and Mary E. He is located on a good farm of 120
acres, and is engaged in stock raising. Mr. Goheen is secretary of the
school board, and himself and wife are members of the Congregational
church.
HENDRIE, JAMES S., sherifi", Glenwood; was born in Greenwich,
Connecticut, November 30, 1828. When ten years of age he removed
with his parents to Washington county, Ohio, the early years of his life
being passed on the farm. In 1852, with no capital but an indomitable
will and six dollars in taoney, he started for California by the overland
route, driving an ox team of five yoke of cattle from Burlington, Iowa,
to Sacramento, California, where four years of his life were passed in the
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 679
occupation of mining. Returning in 1856 to Ohio, he entered the mer-
cantile profession as a clerk, which occupation he followed for about four
years. While in the army he was captain of a militia company, and par-
ticipated in the campaign having for its object the capture of the confeder-
ate General Morgan, who was raiding ip that state. In 1866 Mr. Hen-
drie returned to Iowa, going to Montgomery county, and from there in
1868 to Mills count}-. He was married March, 18—, to Miss M. Bur-
kett, of Council Bluifs. As a business man he has been a success, he
being now possessed of a fair share of this world's goods, which have
been acquired by a persistent devotion to his business.
HOCH, WILLIAM, lumber merchant, P. O. Glenwood; was born in
Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, February 11, 1826, where he resided until
1840, when in compan}' with his parents he removed to Cedar county,
Iowa, and remained until 1848. During his stay in this county he learned
the blacksmith trade. Upon leaving Cedar county he engaged in steam-
boating until 1860, when he took the overland route to California, and
devoted three years to mining occupations, when he returned to Iowa,
going to Council Bluffs in 1854, and engaged in farming for about two
years, after which he came to Mills count}', engaging in the same occu-
pation- as at the Bluffs. In 1873 he was elected treasurer of Mills county.
In 1875 he formed a co-partnership with Mr. Conger for the purpose of
carrying on the lumber business, under the firm name of Hoch & Conger,
who are doing a first-class business.
HEINSHEIMER, D. L., merchant, P. O. Glenwood; was born in
Baden, Germany, March 19, 1847. When six years of age he came to
America, and went to Cincinnati, where his youth was passed until the
age of thirteen. He then came to Iowa, and settled in Mills county. He
soon after entered the store of P. D. Foster as clerk, where he remained
until 1872. He was then taken as a partner by his employer and con^-
tinued thus until 1875, when he engaged in business himself and in his
own name. He was married September i30, 1870, to Miss Sarah Pettin-
ger, of Glenwood. They are the parents of three children : Carrie, Ed-
die, and Leo D. Mr. Heinsheimer is active and energetic as a business
man, thoroughly reliable, and remarkably successful.
JONES, BENJAMIN F., blacksmith, P. O. Glenwood; is a native of
Pennsylvania, and was born in 1848. There he grew to manhood, and
was educated in the common schools. In 1863 he began to learn his trade,
which he completed and followed there until 1872, when he came to Glen-
wood and went into the employ of Geo. Davies, with whom he worked
about one year. He then went to California and remained about one year,
when he returned and again went to work for Mr. Davies, with whom he
worked four years. In August, 1877, he opened a shop on his own ac-
count and has continued it ever since, enjoying a fine trade and reputation
HISTORY OF M[LLS COUNTY.
as a mechanic in his line. He was married March 14, 1877, to Miss Cel-
esta C. Hamilton, a native of Iowa. By this union they have one child,
E. Pearl, born April 14, 1880.
KISBY, HENRY, farmer, P. O. Glenwood; was born March 12,
1818, in Lincolnshire, England. His early youth was passed in the com-
mon school of his native land, and in the occupation, incident to a farmer
boy's life. He came to the United States in the year 1847, and first set-
tled in the state of Wisconsin. In the spring of 1856 he located on his
present farm of fifty acres, and although he is not a large land holder,
what he has is. free from debt. He has been twice married ; his first wife
was Miss Ellen Needham, a native of England, she died September 14,
1865. On March 5, 1876, he married Miss Elizabeth Dee, by whom he
has four children, Margaret E., Eliza M., Susanna and William H. Mr.
Kisby is a devoted member of the Christian church.
KELLEY, P. P., mayor, of the firm of Kelley Bros., attorneys; was
born in Johnson county, Illinois, June 23, 1849. There his days were
spent until he was about seven years of age, when his parents brought
him to Mills county, and located in Anderson township, on a farm. There
he spent his early days in acquiring an education and in the pursuits of
agriculture. In 1869 he entered the State University at Iowa City, attend-
ing four consecutive sessions of that institution, graduating from the law
department in the spring of 1&76. He soon became associated with his
brother, Mr. E. L. Kelley, and began the practice of law in Glenwood,
and has since given it his entire attention. The firm are doing a good
business and have a large and very desirable practice in all Iowa courts.
They are closely identified with the interests of Mills county, and have
secured the entire confidence of its citizens. In the spring of 1876 Mr.
Kelley was elected recorder of the. city of Glenwood, and in the spring
of 1880 was unanimously elected mayor, and has discharged his official
duties to the entire satisfaction of the people. He is a man who has
done much for the development of the town and county, and has ever
made war on evil doers. He was married on the 19th of April, 1876, to
Miss Mollie E. Baker, a native of this county ; from this union they have
two children living: Freddie and Minnie.
LARAWAY, W. F., manufacturing jeweler. It is not with a histo-
rian's pen we deign writing a sketch of this enterprising- citizen of Glen-
wood, but merely to strike a contrast between the present industries of
the town and that of thirty years ago, when Glenwood was but a mere
hamlet or trading post for the pioneer, but with the hope it will serve to
show what can be accomplished where there is a mincj to plan and a will
to execute. Our subject was born in Washington county, Ohio, October
28, 1848. In 1853 his parents brought him to Dodge county, Wisconsin.
There he began the study of his present trade, which he has pursued
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY." 681
until the present time. In 1865 he moved to Cass county, Iowa, where
he conducted a business until 1869, when he came to Glenwood and em-
barked in his present line of trade on a small scale. From this nucleus
has sprung a business which is a credit to the town as well as its principal.
In 1879 he moved to his present quarters, which is a commodious store.
It is literally filled with the largest and handsomest stock of any house
of the kind in southwestern Iowa. It consists of watches, clocks, plated-
ware and jewelry of all descriptions. He has built up a trade in engrav-
ing which extends over a broad expanse of territory. He is engaged in
manufacturing everything in his line from a watch chain to a jeweler's
lathe. He is the inventor of the " Glenwood chronograph," which time-
piece excites the admiration of horsemen and people generally wherever
shown, and manufactures many other articles of value and curiosity
which are a standing credit to his skill. He erected the first transit (for
taking the correct time from the sun,) in the county, which is an instru-
ment of delicate mechanism; and in fact everything about his establish-
ment is indicative of the man of skill and energy. His is by far the oldest
house of the kind in the county, and is now enjoying a patronage from
the people which is commensurate with his untiring energy as a business
man. He is a gentleman of liberal culture and is highlj' esteemed as a
citizen.
MICKELWAIT, RICHARD, section 36, P. O. Glenwood. A prom-
inent farmer of Mills county, who owns a fine farm of five hundred acres
well stocked and improved, with a large house and a commodious barn.
He deals extensively in stock, and is connected with his brother in Glen-
wood in the brokerage business. He was born in England, in September,
1831. His parents immigrated to America when he was a year old, and
settled in Morgan county, Illinois, remaining about ten years; they then
moved to Henry county, where our subject engaged in farming and at-
tending school. In 1851 he came to this county; after remaining a short
time, he went in 1852 to Oregon, and thence to California, where he
engaged in mining and dealing in stock. In 1861 he returned to Mills
county, locating north of Glenwood, where he remained about four years,
then coming to his present home. He was united in marriage October 1,
1861, to Miss Mary E. Morrison, of Lee county, this state, who was born
January 9, 1842. This union has brought them five children: Maggie
M., Eva J., Ralph R., Lula M. and Emma J., deceased.
OTIS, GEORGE T., blacksmith and liveryman; P. O. Glenwood;
born June 2, 1842 in Washington county,' Ohio, where he remained until
eight years of age, and then moved with his parents to Parkersburg,
West Virginia. When fifteen years old he came to Iowa, first locating at
Burlington, and came to Glenwood in 1857. In 1858, in company
with his father, he went to Colorado and took up a homestead, but soon
682 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
became dissatisfied and returned to this county. Three years later he
went to Montana territory, where he remained about three years engaged,
in mining, and returned again to Glen wood. In 1866 he began wagon^
making and blacksmithing, at which trades he had worked with his father
from childhood. In 1878 he purchased the livery barn he now owns, and
since then has successfully conducted both enterprises. Was married
December 1, 1869, to Miss Florence Yockey, a native of Ohio. They
are the parents of three children: Carl H., Donelland and Linedell.
The parents of Mr. Otis were among the early settlers of Mills county.
His father was successfully engaged in business in Glen wood for several
years, where he resided until his death, which occurred in August, 187 9.
Mr. Otis is a courteous and affable gentleman, and as a business man con-
tributes materially to the advancement of the community in which he
resides.
OSBORN, S. C, county auditor, Glenwood; was born in Lafayette
county, Wisconsin, July, 7, 1847, and resided there until 1864, when he
came to Mills county, Iowa. His early Hfe was passed on the farm. He-
received his education at the common school and Tabor college. In 1872
he went to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was superintendent of the state-
normal school until 1876, when he returned to Mills county and followed
the occupation of farming until 1879, when he was elected auditor. He-
was married to Annie C. Gates, of Tabor, Iowa, November 30, 1868.
They have four children: Walter G., Fred F., Bessie F. and Annie. Mr.
Osborn is the owner of a beantiful farm of 120 acres, the result of his
own labors.
PARSONS, W. H., homeopathic physician and surgeon, Glenwood;
was born in St. Clair county, Michigan, October 22, 1842; When he was.
about eighteen years of age he began the study of medicine with Doctor-
Padfield of that county, as his preceptor, and continued it until the break-
ing out of the rebellion. He enlisted October, 1861, in company E, Tenth
Michigan infantry, and served to the close of the war. He was engaged
with his company at the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Stone River, Chicka -
mauga, Mission Ridge, Dalton, Resaca, Rome, Battle in front of Kene-
saw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek and many others. He was mustered
out August 1, 1865; having served his country faithfully for upwards of
four years. Was on the medical staff about three years of his time of ser-
vice. He then returned to his home, but owing to sickness contracted
during his service was prevented from pursuing his medical studies for-
about three years which he spent in traveling as a commercial salesman.
In 1868 he entered the Homeopathic Medical College of Chicago, grad-
uating from that institution in the spring of 1871, He soon located at
Atchison, Kansas, where he practiced until the autumn of 1874, when he
came to Burlington, Iowa, and in 1878 came to Glenwood, where he now
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 683
enjoys a large and successful practice. He is a member of the State Medi-
cal Society, and president of the Western Association of Homeopathic Phy-
sicians. He was married at DeKalb, Illinois, September 15, 1869, to Miss
Lizzie C. Hubbard, daughter of L. Hubbard. She is a native of Massa-
chusetts. They have three children living: Fred, Willie T. and Lula K.
RUSSELLjL. W., merchant, P. O. Glenwood ; is a native of Franklin
county, Maine, where he was born April 4, 1848. In 1855 he came to
Mills county and has since made it his home. His business life began as
a clerk at the age of twelve years. In 1868, just twenty years from his
birth, he began business for himself, and has been remarkably successful.
In 1871 he was married to Miss Alice M. Jackson of Glenwood, by
whom he has three children: Mary S., Neva D. and Levi W. He stands
foremost among the most enterprising business men of the county, and
his business interests are second to no other firm.
RUSSELL, A. J., merchant, Glenwood; was born in Maine in 1837.
where he was raised until he attained his eighteenth year. His early
youth was spent in acquiring an education, and in mercantile pursuits as
a clerk. In 1855 he moved to Parkville, Missouri, where he spent about
six months when he came to Glenwood, and soon engaged in mercantile
business as a clerk. In 1863 he embarked in trade for himself in the gro-
cery line. In 1864 he added a line of dry goods. In the spring of 1870
he moved to his present store where he carries a large stock of dry goods,
clothing, groceries, jewelry, etc. He was married in Glenwood in 1860
to Miss Sarah Hibbs. She is a native of Indiana. Their family consists
of seven children : Lucy, Charles, Frank, Fred, Archer, Edward and a son
A. J., junior.
ROBINSON, J. E., county clerk, Glenwood; was born in Guernsey
county, Ohio, March 15, 1853. In 1854 he came with his parents to
Marion county, Iowa, leaving there in 1855 for Union county, where he
resided until 1871, when he came to Mills county; he obtained his edu-
cation in the common schools. After coming to this county he acted as
clerk in a store in Malvern for five years, at the same time being deputy
postmaster. In 1878 he was elected county clerk, and in 1880 was re-
elected. He was married May 19, 1878, to Lizzie Kemmer of Union
county, Iowa. They have one child, John R.
STARBUCK, ELISHA, P. O. Glenwood; born April 10, 1801, in
Clifford county, North Carolina. When four years of age he moved with
his parents to Ohio, locating in Belmont county, where he grew to matu-
rity, attending the public schools and working on a farm. Thirty years
of his life were passed dealing in horses, in which business, he
was an expert. He located in Clarke county when he first came to this
state, and came to Mills county in 1878. Was married in 1829 to Miss
Mary Plumer. They are the parents of ten children, eight of whom are
684 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
now living: Robert, Abram, Rachael, Elizabeth, Sarah, Elisha, jr., Mary
and Hezekiah. . The others, John and George, died while in defense of
their country during the war of the rebellion.
SWINNERTON, M., proprietor of the Mills county marble and stone
works, which were established in 1874, and conducted successfully until
March, 187T, when Mr. Swinnerton visited Europe where he spent about
three years. He then returned to Glenwood and resumed his business in
July, 1880 ; since then he has been doing an extensive business in this and
surrounding counties. He is a first-class workman, having had upwards
of twenty-six years' experience in the business, arid it can be truthtuUy
said that he stands at the head of his art. He has gained a reputation
for honest and upright dealing which is a standing credit to his integrity
as a business man. He allows nothing but first-class work to leave his
shops, and always employs skillful workmen. He manufactures every-
thing in his line, from a paper weight to a family monument. He has exe-
cuted many pieces of creditable work since his settlement in the county,
and is now enjoying a trade which is commensurate with his untiring
■efforts to please the public. His success in this line. can only be attributed
to his skillful management and honest dealings. He has proved himself
a benefactor to the town in which he resides, as he has built up an indus-
try of which the people of the county should be justly proud.
SHERMAN, C. W., editor Journal, Glenwood, Iowa; is a native o£
Richland county, Ohio, where he was born June 9, 1841. His father,
Henry Sherman, was a native of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and his
paternal grandfather was a soldier in the revolutionary war and a mem-
ber of the Roger Sherman family. His mother was of German descent,
a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and whose maiden name was
Nazor. The youth of Mr. Sherman was passed in the ordinary manner,
with no occurrences of note, except that his father died in 1844, leaving
him without a paternal guide at the age of three years. In 1856 Mr.
Sherman came to Iowa in company with an elder brother, remaining a
few months in Winnesheik county, and then joining a surveying party he
went to Minnesota. In the following spring he went to Council Bluffs —
performing the long journey on foot — and entering the printing office of
the Weekly Non-pareil began the printing trade. In 1860 he went to
Omaha and remained one year. In the spring of 1861 he made two trips
as a teamster across the plains. At the commencement of the war he
■determined to enlist; in order to do this he came to Marion county, Iowa,
where his mother had previously located, and enlisted August 20, in com-
pany K, Third Iowa Cavalry. He was in the battles of Vicksburg, the
second battle of Jackson, and on the raid from Grenada to Memphis, in
the engagements at Guntown, Harrisburg, Tupelo, Old Town Creek and
others. His regiment was one of those sent in pursuit of General Ster-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 685
ling Price in Missouri, during which he participated in the battles of Big
Blue, Little Blue, Independence and Little Osage. Thence they pursued
Price's army into the Indian Territory. Returning he was assigned to
Wilson's cavalry corps of the Army of the Cumberland, and was in the
battles from Montevallo to Selma, a struggle lasting nearly three days.
He participated in the last battle of the war, that fought in front of Colum-
bus, Georgia. He was twice slightfy wounded during his service, at
Salem and at Village Creek, in Arkansas. He was promoted from the
ranks to be a sergeant, on account of meritorious conduct. He was dis-
charged at Atlanta, Georgia, and mustered out at Davenport, Iowa, Aug-
ust 15, 1865. In December of that year he purchased the Eddyville Star,
and began his career as an editor. After a year he became associate edi-
tor of the Burlington National Merchant. He next established the ^uincy
Journal, in Adams county, and in 1869 the Villisca Journal in Montgom-
ery county. In 1872 he established the yiswrwa/ with -which he is stiU
connected, and to the history of which the reader is referred. He was
married at Knoxville, Iowa, in 1866, to Miss Orilla Groom, a native of
Iowa, born on the banks of the Des Moines, while this now great state
was still a territory. They have a family of four children : Eva, Charles,,
Mary A. and Frank M. He has gained the reputation of being an excel-
lent man, and adds to his business qualities great energy and tact. He is
respected and widely known, and a justly esteemed member of the com-
munity, and a consistent Christian.
SPRAGUE, IRA A., of the firm of Sprague & Co., Glenwood Iron
Works. The subject of this sketch was born in Ohio in 1820. There
he spent his early youth in the pursuits of agriculture and acquiring a
liberal common school education. In 1843 he went to. Massachusetts to
learn the trade of an iron worker, devoting about two years to its pur-
suits there and in New York, returning to Ohio at the end of that time,
having spent his time in some of the best shops in the country. In 1863
he turned his course westward, arriving in Adair county, Iowa, in June of
that year. The following spring he went to Adams county, where he
purchased and improved a farm which he still possesses. In 1869 he
went to Des Moines and took charge of the iron works of Tidrick
& Vorse, which he conducted for several years. In 1873 he came to
Glenwood, and with the assistance of its citizens erected his present shops.
He was married in New York state, in 1845, to Miss Mary Colville, a
native of that state. Their family now consists of three children, Charles
and Robert, who are in business with him, and a daughter Jessie. Mr.
Sprague is a man virtually self-made and self-educated, as he began busi-
ness for himself with very limited means, and through his habits of con-
tinued industry and close attention to business has succeeded in surround-
ing himself, as well as providing his children, with all the necessaries and
686 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
many luxuries of life. As a mechanic he stands at the head of his trade,
and in his shops can be seen many samples of his work, which are a
standing credit to his skill. He is a good citizen and has done much
toward the development of the business resources of the town in which
he resides.
HEAD, THOMAS H., agent Hawkeye Insurance, Co. ; is a native of
of Kentucky, and was born September 18, 1825. At the age of seven
years his parents moved to tbe state of Ohio, where he was raised to
manhood, and educated in the common schools. In 1844 he came to Illi-
nois, where he remained until 1857, when he came to Mills 'county, loca-
ting at Glenwood, where he has lived to see the barren spot grow to the
flourishing town now his home. He has devoted most of his time as a
millwright, in which trade he is very proficient. Of late years he has
been following lighter employment, and now represents one of the staunch-
est insurance companies doing business in the state. He was married in
1850 to Miss Sophronia Crosswait, a native of Tennessee. By this union
they have four children : Wm. P., Lula M., Carl and Vesta, living, and one
deceased. He enlisted July 1, 1861, in company A, Fourth Iowa infantry,
where he served about eleven months, and then was given a recruiting
commission in which he continued to the close of the war.
STAR BUCK, E., attorney, of the firm of Starbuck & Ivory, attor-
neys, P. O. Glenwood; was born in Belmont county, Ohio, the 9th day of
April, 1842. When he was about twelve years of age, his parents
brought him to Iowa, locating near Osceola on a farm. There his early
youth was spent in the pursuits of agriculture, and acquiring an educa-
tion. When he was about eighteen years of age he engaged in school
teaching, devoting about nine months in the year to its pursuits, and the
balance of his time to the duties of the farm. He began the study of law
in Osceola under the tuition of Messrs. Scovill & Clark, of that place, in
1862. In the autumn of 1862 he enlisted in company K, Thirty-ninth
Iowa infantry. He participated in some of the severest contested battles
of the war, among which were the battles of Dalton, Georgia, Resaca,
Snake Creek Gap, Altoona and others. He was on detached duty during
a part of his service; was taken prisoner at Parker Cross Road, and after
being kept a season of six or eight months was exchanged. He was pro-
moted to orderly sergeant during his service. On the 5th day of June,
1865, he was mustered out at Washington, and in the autumn of that year
he returned to Iowa, resumed the study of law, and was admitted to the
bar in Mills county the spring of 1866. He was married October 1866,
to Miss Sallie L. Delashnutt; she is a native of Jefferson county, this state.
Their family consists of three children living: Gertie, Essie and Frankie.
Mr. S. is now associated with Mr. T. W. Ivory. They practice in all Iowa
courts ; are also engaged in real estate and loan and trust business, and
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 687-
have identified themselves as among the leading attorneys of Mills county.
They have carried many prominent litigations to successful endings.
STEPHENS, T. L., postmaster, Glenwood; the subject of this sketch
was born in Carroll county, Ohio, the 20th day of October, 1838. When
he was about six years of age his parents brought him to Iowa, locating
in Scott county, where he made his home until 1860. He then entered
Cornell College at Mount Vernon, which institution he attended five years,
graduating in the classical course in the spring of 1865. He was then
employed as a tutor in that college for about three years. He then went
to Nebraska City, where he remained about one year, when he came to
Glenwood. In the spring of 1869 he was appointed principal of the
Western Iowa College, which he conducted about one year. He was
appointed superintendent of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home, which position
he held until the close of that institution, and its change to the asylum for
feeble-minded children. He then conducted the Glenwood Ofinion about
six months as its editor. He was oppointed postmaster the 23d of Feb-
ruary, 1876, which office he still holds. He was married at Mount Vernon,
Iowa, in 1865, to Miss Lizzie Prior. She is a native of Worthington,
Ohio. She is a lady of refinement and culture, and was a teacher in the
musical department of Cornell College previous to their marriage. From
this union they have one child living, Thomas L. ; they lost three. In
May, 1864, Mr. Stephens was enrolled as second lieutenant in company
D, Forty-fourth Iowa infantry, and was mustered out with the regiment
in 1865. In 1856 he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and has since been an active worker for the cause of Christianity. He
has been a local preacher in that body for the past eighteen years, and
local deacon since 1879. Mr. Stephens is a man who is highly esteemed
as a citizen, has done much for the elevation of his fellow beings, and has
made an efficient postmaster.
SCOTT, B. W., section 36, P. O. Glenwood; is a native of Tyler
county, Virginia, and was born March 18, 1826. At the age of eight
years he moved with his parents to Vah Buren county, Iowa, which was
then a territory and sparsely settled. He witnessed the great changes
made in that county in twenty-one years, and in 1855 came to Mills
county, arriving in October of that year; at first locating in Glenwood
and engaging in hauling goods from the Missouri river, then the only
thoroughfare by which the comforts of life were obtainable. He was
then elected by the people to the office of drainage commissioner, and
served four years. He also served as sheriff and acted as U. S. marshal.
After serving as sheriff for one year he resigned, to enable him to give
his attention to his farm, which contains 155 acres, is well improved, with
good buildings, an orchard, and is well stocked. He was married in June,
1852 to Miss Cynthia McCammon, of Van Buren county, who was born
688 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
in 1829. The fruits of this union are nine children: Charles B., Francis
M., Willard S., Georgfe B., Romain, R. F., Bert and Ada A. Mrs. Scott
is probably the oldest resident of Iowa in Mills county, dating her resi-
dence from 1834.
TERRY, ALBY, farmer, section 10, P. O. Glenwood; born in May,
1836, in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, where he remained until sixteen
years of age, spending much of his time in company with the Indians,
who thickly infested that country. In 1852 he moved to Warren county,
Illinois. A few years later he came to Iowa, locating in Madison county,
where he remained until 1863. He then went to Denver and engaged in
the manufacture of charcoal, returning to Madison county, Iowa, in the
following year. In 1866 he came to Glenwood, and in 1867 located on
the farm where he now resides. Was married February 7, 1857, to Miss
Sarah Ann Ludwick, of Pennsylvania. Six children have been born to
them — five now living: Harriett A., Van Doren P., Rosetta, John Francis
and Hazzard P. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and has served two
years as a policeman in Glenwood. He owns seventy-seven acres of land,
on which are good buildings and a fruitful orchard. His life has been
uneventful and unromantic. He is a man of strict integrity, and has
proven himself a valuable citizen.
TIPTON, THEODORE D., farmer and fruit grower, section 10,
P. O. Glenwood; born October 1, 1841, in Allen county, Ohio. When
thirteen years of age he moved with his parents to Atchison county, Mis-
souri, where he resided until 1856, and then came to this county. In
1859 he went to Denver, Colorado, and was engaged for three years in
freighting. In December, 1863, he enlisted in company F, First Nebraska
cavalry. While in this company he participated in many skirmishes with
the Indians, including the noted battle of White Stone Hill. During the
evening on the day of this battle the commander called for a volunteer to
carry a message to the general camp. Mr. Tipton responded promptly,
and set out late in the evening. He had not proceeded far when he found
himself pui-sued by Indians, and during the heat and excitement of the
chase he became lost. After four or five days' search, utterly exhausted,
and almost at the point of starvation, he reached his friends. He was
discharged at Omaha, after fourteen months' faithful service. In 1864 he
was employed by Judge Brown, who lived in Montana, to take his wife
and daughter from Nebraska City to that territory. He started in May,
in company with several others, who accompanied him until reaching
Soda Springs, on Bear river. Here they separated, and Mrs. Tipton
and the two ladies continued their journey alone. On reaching Crow
Foot river they encountered a band of about seventy desperate charac-
ters called "road agents," who seemed determined to get possession of
the ladies under his charge. Mr. T. and the ladies were some distance on
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 689
their way before the desperadoes missed them. They were hotly pur-
sued, and would have been overtaken, but just as they were about to
despair they descried a wagon train in the distance, and the road agents
seeing assistance at hand, abandoned the chase. Mr. Tipton delivered
his charge to Mr. Brown at Virginia City in safety. He remained in this
wild country about six years, engaged in various occupations, and then
went to Salt Lake City and engaged in the livery business. While in
this city he was disabled by the fall of a horse, and was compelled to
walk on crutches nearly three years. He has been engaged in the real
estate and mining business in various places in Iowa, Nebraska and Colo-
rado. Was married December 14, 1873, to Miss Sadie E. Strair, a native
of Champaign county, Ohio. They are the parents of four children:
Emma May, Homer Jasper, Orville DeLoss, and Elvira Leora; the two
latter deceased. Mr. T. has been an active member of the M. E. church
since childhood. He was the first commissioned officer in Nebraska, and
the first justice of the peace in Montana. He owns the Pacific Hill fruit
farm, consisting of one hundred and ninety-five acres, with an elegant
house and commodious barns.
WILLIAMS, JUDGE J. F., farmer and proprietor of Phoenix Mills,
section 22, P. O. Glenwood; born July 22, 1822, in Franklin county.
West Virginia. While yet a child he moved with his parents to Clay
county, Missouri. He attended the pioneer subscription schools, and
when large enough assisted his father in operating a ferry on the Mis-
souri river. He remained in Clay county until nineteen years of age and
then went to St. Louis, and obtained a position in a lumber yard,
remaining one year and then went to Holt county, Missouri, and took up
a claim in the district known as the Platte Purchase. He enlisted July 4,
1847, in company C, of the Oregon battalion. Captain James Craig, and
under command of Col. Lud wig Powell. He did faithful service during the
war with Mexico, until November 8,1848, when he was discharged at Ft.
Leavenworth. April 29, 1849, he started on an overland trip to Califor-
nia. While on this journey he measured the distance by means of a
roadometer attached to the wagon wheel, and collected other valuable
information, with the view of publishing a guide book, but sold his man-
uscript to Captain Belknap, who published it with success. He came to
Iowa in 1862, locating in Fremont county. In 1864 he went to Nebraska
City and engaged in the mercantile business, where he remained one
year, and then came to this county, locating in Lyons township. In 1867
he purchased the Phoenix Mills, and one year later settled on the farm in
connection with the mill. He owns two farms, consisting of 360 acres,
both well improved. Was married February 16, 1845, to Miss Sarah
Keeney, a native of Tennessee, by whom he is the father of one child,
Sarah. Mrs. Williams died in December, 1847. He was married a sec-
24
690 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
end time, March 6, 1852, to Miss Nancy Minerva Dodge, of Marietta,
Ohio. Six children have been born to them, four of 'whom are living:
Lethy E., Mary A., Elvira E. and John F. Mrs. Williams died in De-
cemberj 1867. Judge Williams is a member of the Masonic fraternity,
and also of the Christian church, in which denomination he has been an
elder for the past twelve years. He has filled numerous official positions,
being three times elected county judge of Holt county, Missouri.
WILSON, I. N., there are many men who have attained influence and
are entitled to be. remembered, and among them is this gentleman. He
was born in the year 1837, in Cambridge, Gurnsey county, Ohio. Ten
years afterwards his parents moved to Gibson county, Indiana. His
father was a skilled cabinet maker, and this trade Mr. Wilson acquired,
guided by the experience of his father. In 1857, the whole business of
the establishment devolved on him, owing to the death of his father. In
1865, he became a resident of Omaha, Nebraska, and engaged in the
furniture business in company with a Mr. Behu, the firm name
being Behu, Wilson & Co. In 1873, he disposed of his interests in Ne-
braska and went to Vincennes, Indiana, to take charge of a chair manu-
factory. This he conducted a few months and then returned to Omaha.
In 1876, he came to Glenwood and became established in his present busi-
ness, with a stock of goods valued at $5,000. In addition to his business
he conducts and owns a farm of something more than one hundred acres,
and raises on it some very fine blooded, stock. The farm is under an ex-
cellent state of cultivation, improved with orchards, a dwelling and other
necessarv buildings.
WHEELER, HON. WILLIAM, retired farmer, Glenwood; was born
August 18, 1810, in Bristol, Hartford county, Connecticut. At the age of
seven years he was bound out to work on a farm until fourteen years old;
all of his early life was passed as a farm hand except about six months,
when he was going to school, this being all the schooling he ever received.
In 1827, he, in company with a brother, went to Onondaga county, New
York, and engaged in farming until 1831, when he purchased a farm in
St. Joseph county, Michigan, residing on it for thirty-three years. Mr.
Wheeler was a delegate to the state convention which met in Michigan
in 1854, having for its object the formation of an anti-slavery party and
was a member of the committee which adopted the resolutions and plat-
form of what afterwards was known as the republican party. Besides
having held a number of minor public offices he served from 1860 until
1864 as member of the legislature and was instrumental in securing the
passage of many bills of public interest. In the latter year he removed
to Mills county, Iowa, locating at Glenwood, where he has ever since en-
joyed the respect of his neighbors. On July 16, 1831, he was united in
matrimony with Phebe D. Makyers of Ononda county, New York.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 691
As a result of this union they have ten living children : Daniel H., Wil-
liam B., C. S., Sibyl J., Clarrissa, Thede M., Mary P., Rhoda H., Zara
R., Jessie F. As a business man he has been very successful having
given each of his children good farms, besides retaining a competency for
himself in his old age.
WALKER, CARSON, P. O. Glenwood; a prominent early settler,
who was born April 27, 1829, in Morgan county, Indiana. At an early
age he moved with his parents to Hendrick county. His youth was
spent in farming and accquiring an education. At the age of twenty-two
he commenced teaching which he continued three years. In 1855 he
came with his father, Robert Walker, to Mills county and located where
he now resides. The following winter he taught school where the Mick-
elwait school house now stands. He engaged in teachingv the greater
portion of twelve years, since which he has followed agricultural pursuits.
He was married October 19, 1879, to Sally E. Phipps, of Mills county,
who was born October 25, 1845. Mr. Walker owns a well improved
farm, with good building and an orchard. He has served as township
assessor, and is at present an efficient treasurer of the school board, and
is esteemed as a good citizen.
INGRAHAM TOWNSHIP.
ALLISON, JAMES R., farmer and stock-dealer, section 13, P. O.
Silver City; born December 28, 1841, in Pennsylvania. In 1851 he came
with his parents, Henry and Nancy Allison, to this county, locating in
Ingraham township, where James labored on the home farm, and attended
the common schools. H^ was married March 9, 1865, to Miss Cynthia
MofFatt, a native of North Carolina. They now have a family of six
children: Elvira J., Nannie M., Mary A., Sadie, Clara, and James Clyde.
Mr. Allison possesses a beautiful farm of 450 acres, all under cultivation,
or in meadow. ' He is largely engaged in raising, feeding and shipping
hogs and cattle, and is one of the most successful farmers in Mills county.
Mr. Allison is a prominent member of the I. O. O. F., and of the M. E.
church. He is always foremost in advocacy of all schemes tending to the
advancement and improvement of his community and county. Mrs.
Allison is a zealous worker for the cause of Christianity, and is a member
of the Baptist church.
ARMSTRONG. J. T., physician and surgeon, is a native of Colum-
biana county, Ohio, where he was born December 28, 1856. During his
childhood his parents moved to JefFerson county, Iowa, and here he
attained his majority. His education, commenced in the common school.
693 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTV.
was completed at Parson's College, Fairfield, Iowa. In 1876 he began to
read medicine with Dr. O. W. Archibald, of Glenwood. He attended
medical lectures at the Iowa State University from 1877 to 3 879, and
graduated, finally, from that institution. He came to Silver City, and
locating began a practice which is daily increasing, and testifies to his
skill as a physician.
BURNHAM, Z. W., farmer, section 30, P. O. Silver City; born in
the state of New York, in 1799, where he grew to manhood, attending
the common schools and working at farm labor. In 1 821 he enlisted in
the New York state militia, under Captain Lyons. At the expiration of
four years he was promoted to a captaincy, and served four years. He
afterward reached the rank of colonel. In 1822 he was initiated in Came-
ron (N. Y.) Lodge of Masons. He served one year as W. M. of St.
Mark's Lodge, No. 58, in McHenry county, Illinois. He then organized
McHenry Lodge, No. 234,- with which he was connected about four
years. He also organized lodges at Richmond, Nunday, Rising Sun,
Wacondy, Dundee, Kane County, Algonquin, Silver Creek, No. 234, and
Silver Light Lodge, of Silver City. He was married in 1823 to Miss
Polly Goff", a native of New York. They have eight children : Harriet
R., William G., Abigail, Potter D. H., James H., Mary, Elizabeth and
Zemry W.
BURKET, JACOB, farmer, section 25; born in 1811, in Pennsylva-
nia, in which state he grew to manhood and acquired his education in the
common schools. He came to Mills county in 1852, and located on the
farm he now owns in 1857. This farm consists of 250 acres, and has
superior advantages as a fruit and stock farm, to which branches his labors
are chiefly directed. He was married November 4, 1836, to Miss Sarah
Stifiler, a native of Pennsylvania, by whom he was the father of seven
children, of whom four are living: Maria, John, Henrj"^ and Francis S.
Mrs. B. died in October, 1874. He was married a second time to Mrs.
Uker, a native of Germany, who lived but a few months after her mar-
riage. Mr. Burket came to this county a poor man, but by industry and
economy has succeeded in securing a comfortable home in which to spend
his declining years.
BANISTER, E., section 17, P. O. Silver City; is a son of one of the
first settlers of Henry county. Iowa, where he went in 1845, and was born
in Hamilton county, Ohio, August 27, 1840. After remaining in Henry
county about twenty-four years, and obtaining his education in the com-
mon schools; he moved to Madison county, where he remained eight
years, coming to Mills county in 1877. August 12, 1862 he enlisted in
company K, twenty-fifth Iowa infantry, and participated in the battles of
Chicasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Taylor
Ridge, Mission Ridge, and minor engagements. He was married Aug-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 693
usl 16, 1864, to Miss Mary J. Rowe, of Ohio, who was born in December,
1845. This union has brought them four children: Marietta, Allena,
Edwin D. and Delbert. Mr Banister is located on a good farm of eighty
acres, and is a member of the Society of Friends.
CROSBY, A. W., postmaster. Silver City; was born in Medina
county, Ohio, February 28, 1837. In 1840 he moved with his parents to
Fulton county, Indiana, where he passed the earlier years of his life. In
the spring of 1854 he came to Iowa located in Marion county, and
engaged in farniing and mercantile pursuits until the breaking out of the
late war. In the autumn of 1861 he enlisted in company G, Fifteenth
Iowa infantry. At the battle of Shiloh he was taken prisoner, and taken
to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, thence to Montgomery, and held a prisoner of
war until May, 1862, when he was paroled and sent to Benton Barracks.
He was honorably discharged in January, 1864. Returning to his home
in Marion county, he remained until 1879, when he came to Silver City.
His was the first store erected in Silver City, the object of his coming
having been to engage in business pursuits. On August 5, 1879, he
received the appointment of postmaster, and retains the office still. In
1860 he married Miss Mary L. Auten, a native of New Jersey. They
are the parents of four children, now living: Ida E., born in 1864; Alva,
born in 1868; Alice, born in 1872; and Clyde, born in 1878. Mr. Crosby
has built for himself not only a fine trade, but good reputation as a busi-
ness man and an exemplary citizen.
DAVIS, CORADON, farmer and stock-raiser, section 31, P. O.
Silver City; born in Ohio in 1833. When eighteen years of age he went
to Quincy, Illinois, where he remained about seven years. He then came
to Mills county, and with the exception of three years spent in Mon-
tana Territory, has since resided here. He was married January 17,
1853, to Miss Martha McCoy, who was born in Pennsylvania, June 23,
1838. they are the parents ot three bright and intelligent children: Mar-
garet Jane, Thomas B. and Nellie M. He is one of the most successful
and enterprising farmers in the township . He owns a beautiful farm of
155 acres, on which are many modern iniprovements, all obtained by his
own individual exertions.
EMERICK, DAVID, farmer and stock-raiser, section 31, P. O. Mal-
vern; born in 1810, in Ohio. In 1824 he moved with his parents to Mor-
gan county, Illinois. In the autumn of 1840, he came to Iowa, locating
in Henry county, remaining there until the spring of 1852 when he came
to this county and located on the farm where he now resides. His farm
consists of 570 acres, over 400 of which are in cultivation. He is exten-
sively engaged in stock-raising, and is enumerated among the leading
farmers of the county. He was married in 1835 to Miss Ann Eliza Rob-
ertson, a native of Ireland. They are the parents of eleven children seven
694 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
of whom are living: George, Columbus C, David, Annie, Martha, Wil-
liam, Frances A. and Ada. Mr. Emerick began life without means and
without an education, and never attended school a day. He received a
fair education by his own exertions, sufficient to manage his large and in-
creasing estates.
HAWLEY, C. D., section 7, P. O. Silver City; an enterprising farmer
and a native of Ontario county, New York, where he was born February
2, 1826. At the age of ten years he moved with his parents to School-
craft, Michigan, where he remained, engaged in farming and attending
school. In 1849 he located in Will county, remaining until 1864, when he
moved to Linn county, Iowa, where he remained one year. After re-
turning to Michigan, he came in 1873 to Mills county. In 1852 he visited
California, returning after two years absence. In April 1855 he was
united in marriage to Miss H. Campbell, a lady of culture and a native
of Quebec, Ontario, who was born July 22, 1836. They have two chil-
dren: Alice Belle and George W. The father and mother are both
members of the Baptist church, and enjoy a comfortable home on a good
farm of 120 acres.
HUFFAKER, L. W., P. O. Silver City; was born in Ripley county,
Indiana, August 11, 1842. When twelve years of age he moved to
Bureau county, Illinois, remaining until 1868. He then came to Mills
county, and locating in Ingraham township, engaged in farming. During
his residence in this county he has filled many places of trust and public
importance, discharging his duties to the entire satisfaction of his con-
stituents. In the autumn of 1873 he was elected justice of the peace,
and has filled the office with fidelity and credit until the present time. He
has also been township clerk for one term, was assessor for three or four
terms, and has filled all the positions on the school board, and is now sec-
retary of that body. He has often been a delegate to the various political,
conventions held 'in the county, and labored for the advantage of his
county and township. He enlisted in company A, Ninety-third Illinois
infantry, and after a service of thirteen months was discharged on account
of physical disability. Soon afterward he enlisted in the 148th Illinois
infantry, and served until the close of the war. He was married January
1, 1867, to Miss Sarah Henderson, a native of Pennsylvania. They are
the parents of five children living: Charles, Miles V., Lewis D., Ida May
and Viva Grace. He is now successfully conducting a good mercantile
business, while engaged also in general law.
HANNA, M. R., principal of schools. Silver City, a native of St. Law-
rence county, New York, where he was born August 28, 1842. His
youth was passed in the ordinary manner, in farming and obtaining an
education, the last being finished at St. Lawrence Academy. His first
school was taught when but fourteen years of age, and since that time
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 695
Study and teaching have been his main occupations. He married Miss
Harriet Barlow, September 12, 1865, who was a native of Franklin
county. New York. They are the parents of two children : Ina L. and
Orrie W. In the fall of 1865 he moved to Whiteside county, •Illinois. In
June, of 1879, he came to Silver City, where he has since been engaged
in educational work. His position of principal was tendered him in Octo-
ber, 1880, and he fills it with complete satisfaction.
HUFFAKER, H. H., P. O. Silver City; was born in Bureau county,
Illinois^ January 24, 1844. His youth was passed as other youths usually
employ their time, in farming and in gaining an education, which latter
was begun in the common school and finished in Dover Academy. He
came to Mills county in the spring of 1870, and located at his present
place of residence. His farm originally consisted of 380 acres, to which
he has added until it now corriprises one thousand acres of land. In 1879
he laid the foundation of Silver City, by securing from the Wabash, St.
Louis & Pacific R. R., a depot or station, and from this beginning an
embryo town has grown to its present size. During his residence in the
county his merit has been recognized by his fellows citizens in frequent
elections to places of trust, he having been successively school director,
treasurer and secretary of the school board. He has been a member of
the various agricultural societies of the county, and contributed largely to
the county's interests in that direction. Schools and churches have both
received h^ attention and a share of his ample means. He was married
December 11, 1872, in Marion county, Iowa, to Miss Mary J. Post, a
native of Pennsylvania. The interests of Mr. HufFaker are largely agri-
cultural and those of an allied nature, he being engaged in stock' raising
on an extensive scale. Silver City owes its existence to him, and its thrift
to his enterprise and aid.
HOWARD, SAMSON, section 24, P. O. Malvern; a worthy citizen
of Mills county; who was born in Lincolnshire, England, January 1, 1835.
His youth was spent on a farm and attaining an education in the common
schools. In 1863 he came to America locating in Ohio. After residing in
Loraine, Ontario and Woods counties he moved to St. Joe county, Mich-
igan. In May, 1871, he came to Mills county. July 20, 1861, he was
married to Miss Lettj'^ Hallam of Michigan, who was born in England,
January Fourth, 1842. By this union they have nine children: Marietta,
Elmer E., EUa J., Francis E., Letty E., George H., Charles W., Herbert
P. and Walter O. Mr. Howard owns a good farm of 80 acres.
HIATT, O. T., section 29, P. O. Silver City; one of Ingraham's suc-
cessful farmers, and was born in Holt county, Missouri, September 16,
1849. At the age of two years he came with his parents to Mills county,
locating in Silver Creek township, where he remained until 1873, when he
moved to his present location. In October of the same year he was mar-
696 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
ried to Miss M. E. Rowmer, a native of Mills county; the fruits of this
union are four children : Nellie M., Bertha L., Eva and Addie. Mr Hiatt
owns a beatiful farm of two hundred and eighty acres, and is largely en-
gaged in stock-raising. He commands the respect and esteem of his
neighbors.
JACKSON, ANDREW, section 17, P. O. Silver City; was born Feb-
ruary 1, 1842, in Montgomery county, Indiana. At about the age of
eleven he moved with his parents to Louisa county, Iowa. After about
four years they moved to Clark county, where they remained nine years.
His youth was passed in receiving an education in the common schools,
and farming. He settled permanently in this county in 1867, having been
here once before. Responding to the call, of his country, he enlisted in
the Thirty-ninth Iowa infantry, August 13, 1862, in company D. At the
battle of Snake Creek Gap; he was captured and held for ten months,
when he was exchanged. He participated in the battles of Savannah,
Columbia, Altoona Pass, and the last of Sherman's battles at Sherah,
North Carolina. He was discharged June 5, 1865. He was married
December 25, 1865, to Deliah Tipton, of Mills county. She was born
May 28, 1844. They have been blessed with five girls: Nora, Eva, Lulu,
Nellie, and Lizzie. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson are members of the Protestant
Methpdist church. They live on a good farm of 120 acres, and have a
fine orchard and grove.
LANDON, E. F., farmer, section 36, P. O. Silver City; born in 1833,
in Ohio, and there grew to manhood. When eighteen years old he com-
menced to learn the trade of a carpenter, which trade he followed over
twenty years. He arrived in Glenwood May 18, 1857, in which city he
worked at his trade until 1865, when he located on the farm where he
now lives, which consists of 225 acres. His farm is beautifully situated,
and has superior facilities for raising stock, in which business Mr. Lan-
don has a marked degree of success. He was married in 1859, to Miss
M. J. Looker, a native of Virginia. They are the parents of four chil-
dren: Clotilde, Steven A., Felton, and Roy. He is one of the pioneers
of Mills county, and has pecuniarily triumphed at about the same ratio
with the county. He is a charter member of Silver City lodge, No. 403
I. O. O. F., and is well respected by all with whom he comes in contact.
MOORE, W. G., druggist and chemist, Silver City, was born in Har-
rison county, Ohio, January 1, 1851. In 1872 he began the study of
medicine with a view to practice general medicine, and prosecuted his
studies for some two years. He was married in his native county, in
1872, to Miss Leah M. Billingsley, a native of Ohio. They are the
parents of three children: Charles A., Laura May and Reno. Mr.
Moore came to Silver City in the spring of 1879. The place then con-
tained but a single store. He at once entered upon his business and
HISTORY OK MILLS COUNTY. 697
erected the second store in the city. Active and enterprising he has
entered heartily into every enterprise calculated to upbuild the place ; has
served on the school-board, and been otherwise identified with the growth
of the town. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and A. F. & A. M.
MORSE, EDWIN, grain dealer, Silver City; was born in Summerset
county, Maine, April 20, 1852. . He followed the business of lumber mer-
chant in Summerset and other counties of his native state until the spring
of 1876. He then visited the Black Hills and engaged in mining, a ven-
ture proving very remunerative to him. After a residence in the Black
Hills of some six months, he returned again to Maine, but after a brief
stay went to California. Here he remained until 1879, engaged in the
mercantile business. In January, 1879, he went to Shenandoah, Iowa,
and entered the grain business. In September, of 1880, he came to Sil-
ver City, and has since built up a large business in grain.
MAINS, WEBSTER, farmer, section 25, P. O. Silver City; born
in 1845 in Cass county, Illinois, where he was brought up on a farm and
educated in the common schools. He came to Mills county, in 1868, loca-
ting the farm where he now resides, consisting of 122 acres, well adapted
to stock raising, in which business he is extensively engaged. He was
married in 1868, to Miss Martha C. Shaw, a native of New York. Mr.
Mains has been closely identified with the township afi'airs since his res-
idence here, having served two- terms as township assessor, five terms as
township clerk ; is now serving as school director, and is also a prominent
member of the I. O. O. F.
McCOY, C. O., farmer, section 19, P. O. Silver City; born in'l829,
in Pennsylvania. When thirteen years of age he came to Iowa, locating
in Scott county, where he remained about three years and then went to
Cedar county. In the fall of 1821 he came to Mills county, and has
resided here since that time. He owns a beautifully situated farm of 545
^cres, well under cultivation and adorned with all the modern improve-
ments. Mr. McCoy is one of Mills county's oldest settlers, and has
proved himself one of her most successful farmers.
PLUMB, ROBERT, section 20, P. O. Silver City; a prominent far-
mer and stock-raiser, who has held the offices of assessor and trustee of
his township with credit. He was born in England in April, 1834. His
youth was spent on a farm and in attending school. He immigrated to
America in 1853, and located in Wyandotte county, Ohio, remaining there
about twelve years, and then moving to Mills county. In 1860 he was
married to Miss Jane S. Kenett, of Ohio. They have four intelligent
girls: Sarah Alice, Iva Ann, Rose and Mary. Mr. and Mrs. Plumb are
members of the M. E. church. They live on a fine farm of 280 acres and
enjoy the luxuries of a beautiful home. Mr. Plumb is extensively engaged
in stock raising.
698 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
PATTERSON, LEE, section 29, P. O. Silver City; is a native of Hu-
ron county, Ohio, born September 4, 1835, where he remained nineteen
years, attending school at Norwalk, and a portion of the time engaged as
a clerk in a store and a hotel. In 1854, he went to Michigan, engaging
in the wood and lumber trade. After residing in McLean county, Illinois,
about three years, he came to Mills county and engaged in farming and
milling a few years and then moved to Holt county, Missouri, and after a
time returned to Mills county and again engaged in milling. In 1874, he
located on the farm now owned by him, consisting of one hundred and
sixty acres. In December, 1860, he married Miss Sarah A. Queen. By
this union they have five living children: Delfina, Mary E., Rutha, John
R., Lula M. — four deceased. Mr. Patterson has, by integrity and indus-
try, through many vicissitudes, acquired a competence.
PARKER, JOHN, section 20, P. O. Silver City; a native of Lincoln-
shire, England, and was born in December, 1837, and lived at the place of
his nativity for twenty years. Although he attended school but a short
time he has, by application and observation, obtained a good practical
education, and has a good, improved farm, of one hundred and twenty-
five acres. In 1857, he immigrated to America, locating in Morrison
county, Ohio, -where he remained ten years, when he came to Mills
county. In September, 1861, he was married to Mary L.Johnston, of
Ohio, who was born in December, 1841. By this union they have nine
children, Libby W., Alice J., Cora, Emma L., Ida J., Harry G., Rosa M.,
Howard R. and Sanford J. Mr. and Mr. Parker are members of the M.
E. church. Mr. Parker is a kind father and an agreeable neighbor.
SIDENER, M. F., proprietor city livery stable; was born in Decatur
county, Indiana, March 12, 1842. His youth was there passed, and
his education received. He enlisted in the autumn of 1861 in company
E, Thirty-seventh Indiana infantry. Soon after muster in he was dis-
charged for disability, having been seized with a severe sickness. In 1864
he was married in Decatur county, Indiana, to Miss Eliza Cline, a native
of that county. In the spring of 1868 he came to Mills county, Iowa, and
settled in Oak tovynship. In the fall of 1869 he came to this township, and
purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. His especial atten-
tion is given to the breeding of fine horses, in which business he is achiev-
ing a deserved reputation for fine stock.
SIDENER, E. L., farmer and stock raiser, section 22, P. O. Silver
City; was born in Decatur county, Indiana, in 1840. His youth was
there passed and his education obtained. He was married in 1860 to Miss
Mary H. Dunbar, also a native of Indiana. In 1868 h^ came to this
county and located on the farm he now owns, containing some one hun-
dred and sixty acres, well improved and with comfortable buildings. His
attention is now chiefly directed to stock raising.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 699
SCHANCK, D. G., section 18, P. O. Silver City; a native of Mon-
mouth, New Jersey, born near the battle ground bearing that name,
April 15, 1821. He received his education in the common schools, and in
May, 1860, left his native place and settled in Cedar county, Iowa, remain-
ing there until he came to Mills county in 1874. December 29, 1847, he
married Miss Julia A. Vanderbilt, a native of New Jersey, who was
born September 18, 1825. They have one child, Alice, born October,
] 850. Mr. Schanck owns a good farm of eighty acres.
SLAUGHTER, FRANKLIN, farmer, P. O. Glenwood; is a native
of Surrey county, Ohio; born in 1840. In 1858 he left the state of his
birth for Iowa, and located fcr some years following in Lee county. In
the spring of 1866 he came to Mills county, and has since resided here.
He served in the Fourth Iowa battery nearly three years. In September
of 1859 he married Miss Mary E. Lutis, a native of Ohio, who died in
September 1878. They became the parents of five children: Lucinda,
Philip, Junietta, Myrtie and John. In October, 1880, he married Miss
Mary Meral, of this county. He has a good farm of eighty acres, and
commands both respect and esteem for his qualities of character.
TIPTON, SAUL, section 8, P. O. Silver City. Among the early
settlers of Mills county we find the name of the subject of this brief
sketch, who was born in Holmes county, Ohio, March 8, 1832. During
early youth he moved with his parents to Putnam county, and about
twelve years later to Lucas county, where he attained his majority,
receiving his education in the common schools. In 1853 he moved to
Atchison county, Missouri, and three years later came to Mills county.
September 18, 1854, he was married to Miss Rachael Woolsey, who died
in April, 1860. By this union they had three children : Mary E., Charles
W. and Anna. He was again married October 6, 1861, to Maria C.
Woodman, a native of. Ohio. They have six children living: Rachael
E., John W., William S., Olive E., Myrtle A. and Rosamand G.; one
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Tipton are members of the M. E. church, and
their home is a good farm of 160 acres, well improved.
DEER CREEK TOWNSHIP.
CLITES, SOLOMON, farmer, P. O. Imogene, Fremont county; is a
native of Bedford county, Pennsylvania, where he was born June 18,
1846. When eight years of age he moved with his father's family to
Blair county, same state, remaining some twelve years. He then enlisted
in company F, 77th Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, and served for ten
months, or to the close of the war. His farm of ninety acres is in section
700 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
56. He was married October 7, 1869, to Miss C. Berger, a native of
Pennsylvania; born June 22, 1848. They have five children living:
Sarah E., Isaac L., Anna B., Cora M. and Florence O.
MARTIN, CINTHA E., P. O. Hastings; was bom February 14,
1833, in Upper Canada. At the age of thirteen years she came with her
parents to the U. S. and located in Mills county, a few miles north of
Glenwood. Some time thereafter they moved to Fremont county, and
located near Sidney. Two years later they moved to Council Bluffs,
where she married Moses Martin, January 6, 1857. Mr, Martin was a
native of Vermont. He died February 28, 1878. They were the parents
of nine children : William N., George E„ Martha E., Lydia M., Anna M.,
Lewis L., Charles F., Albert E. and Russell C.
SHERWIN, JAMES, farmer and stock raiser, P. O. Emerson; was
born March 14, 1818, in Jefferson county, New York. His youth was
passed in farming, and this occupation he continued until 1852. He then
went to California, and after a mining experience of two years, he returned
to New York. The following year he went to Kendall county, Illinois,
and again engaged in farming. He came to Mills county in 1872. Hon.
John C. Sherwin, a member of congress, from Aurora, Illinois, is a son of
Mr. Sherwin. He was married July 4, 1837, to Miss S. M. Crocker, a
native of Madison county. New York. They have six children living:
John C, Mary E., Nettie L., James P., Charles E. and V. His chil-
dren all occupy positions of influence and trust. John C. is a member
of congress; Mary E. is principal of first ward school. Blooming-
ton, Illinois; Nettie L. is wife to J. M. Short; James P. is a Chicago com-
mission merchant; and V. is now a clerk in C, B. & Q. R. R. local office
at Chicago.
SCHICK, WILLIAM, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Emerson ; was
born November 7, 1836, in Northampton county, Pennsylvania. When
three years of age he moved with his parents to Columbiana county, and
after a residence there of some fourteen years, went to Lee county, Illi-
nois. In 1872 he came to Mills county, and has gained a farm of some
one hundred and sixty acres on section 14. He was married July 2, 1857,
to Miss S. Fender, a native of lUinois. They have four children living:
Sarah E., Emma I., Fannie and Henry.
WORTMAN, JOSEPH W. farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Hastings;,
was born March 18, 1839,'in Brown county, Ohio. When'he was four years
of age he went to Putnam county, Indiana. When fifteen years of age
to the State of Illinois; and in 1856 to Mills county, Iowa. At the death
of both his parents he purchased the interests of the remainder of the heirs
of the paternal homestead, and became the owner of the farm of some 400
acres. In the fall of 1861 he enlisted in company B, First Nebraska cav-
alry, which afterward became the Fitth cavalry. He was in the battles
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 701
of Paris, Donelson, Clarksville, Sugar Creek and others. Engaging in
the Arkansas raid he was made a prisoner of war, and remained a captive
some seven months. His health being injured, he was, when exchanged,,
sent to the hospital, from which he was discharged July 19, 1865. He
was married December, 1866, to Miss Amanda J. Dalph, a native of Illi-
nois, born March 14, 1842. They have two children : William S., and.
Bertha M.
ANDERSON TOWNSHIP.
BAUMGARTNER, A., merchant, P. O. Henderson; born Septem-
ber 16, 1836, in Richland county, Ohio. When fourteen years of age
he was apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade. In 1854 he emigrated,
to Washington county, Iowa, and at once engaged at his trade. In 185T
he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, thence to Chillicothe, same state, where
he continued to work at his trade. In 1860 he returned to Iowa, and
January 14, of the following year, 1861, married Louisa Gimbel, a native
of Ohio. In 1862 he worked on a farm; in 1863 formed a partnership in
manufacturing wagons; in 1864 made a trip through New Mexico, Ari-
zona, California and Idaho; returned in 1868, and in 1869 moved to
Omaha ; in the same year to Council BlufTs, and in 1874 engaged in busi-
ness. In 1880 he moved to where he now resides. He has five children
living: Mary N., Threasa, Catherine, Bearda and Hellena.
BROEMMIER, T. F., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Emerson ; was born
February 24, 1824, in Prussia ; raised on a farm, and educated in the com-
mon schools from seven to fourteen years of age, thus conforming to the
law of the land. In 1S42 he immigrated to America, and located near
Dayton, Ohio, and engaged in work on a farm. In 1844 he came to Cedar
county, Iowa, and was there married March 10, 1846, to Miss D. Shiner,,
a native of Prussia. She died March 7, 1847. He was again married
November 15, 1848, to Nancy Kiser, a native of Virginia, born June 5,,
1834. In 1870 Mr. Broemmier moved to his present place of residence,,
purchasing 160 acres of land, to which he has subsequently added some
320 more. His farm is a model one, complete in all its parts, with an ex-
cellent orchard, a full herd of stock, and fine buildings. He is the father
of thirteen children by his second wife, eleven of whom are now living:
Jacob H., John W., Caroline W., Martin G., Reuben P., Susan, Eliza S.,,
Lydia A., Charles F., Lewis F., and Harvey E.
BONE, JAMES, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Henderson; was born
November 28, 1834, in Jefferson county, Ohio . In 1838 he went to Wash-
ington county, and in 1840 to Perry county, same state. He came to
702 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Mills county in 1865,and%ntered 120 acres of land, to which he added 320
acres the following spring. He returned to Ohio, after paying for his
land, and attending school made up largely for the disadvantages to which
he had been subjected. He began to read medicine, which he followed
for some twenty months. In 1861 he enlisted in the Thirty-first Ohio
volunteer infantry, and was in the battles of Stone River, Corinth, and
Perryville, among others. He was mustered out at Atlanta in 1864. Re-
turning to Ohio, he was married in the fall of that year to Miss Amelia
A. Norris. He came to Mills county in 186-5. On September 20th of
that year his wife died. January 28, 1867, he married Miss A. E. Allison,
a native of Missouri, born November 17, 1844. They are the parents of
eight children, seven living: Samantha A., Mary E., Avis R., Joicy O.,
John E. Charles V. and Joseph G. His farm now contains 800 acres.
COPPOCK, JACOB, hotel keeper and coal merchant, P. O. Hender-
son ; born January 13, 1843, in Miami county, Ohio, where he remained,
working on a farm and attending common school, until 1862, when he en-
listed in the 8th Ohio cavalry. He served under Generals Hunter and
Sheridan, and was in the battles of Harper's Ferry, Winchester, Cedar
Creek and Lynchburg. He is a cousin to the Coppocks that were with
the notorious John Brown at Harper's Ferry. He was married Decem-
ber 29, 1864, to Margaret Tucker, a native of Ohio. In 1867, he moved
to Vermillion county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming. In 1869, he
came to this state and county, locating on the farm he now owns. In
1880, he came to Henderson, and entered upon his present business.
He is the father of six children, all living: Francis S., Rollingo, Clara,
Anna May, Ida and Albert Alden.
DEVORE, J. W., farmer and stockraiser, P. O. Henderson; born Feb-
ruary 17, 1848, in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, with his parents in 1850 he
moved to Wabash county, Indiana, and in 1856, came to Mills county. He
was educated on a farm, and like most farmer boys worked the farm in
summer and attended school in winter. He was married November 27,
1872, to Florence, daughter of William and Harriet Van Vliet, That year
he located in Indian Creek township, but in 1877 came to his present resi-
dence, having purchased the homestead of his father. He has four child-
ren, three living: William E., Royal V. and Ata Maude.
HOLMES, MRS. REBECCA J., farmer, P. O. Henderson; was born
January 19, 1840, in the state of Indiana. She was the daughter of Peter
and Isabella Byerson. While quite young she moved to the state of Mis-
souri, near St. Joseph. In 1846 she came to Iowa — her father dying on
the journey— and located in Lee county. In 1853 she came to this county
and four years later moved to Nodaway county, Missouri. October 28,
1858, she was married to William R. Holmes, who was a native of Brown
county, Ohio, born July 8, 1837. In 1860 they came to Mills county, to
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 703
remove to Missouri again in 1864, and in 1867, returned to this state
and county where their home has since been. Mr. Holmes died Novem-
9, 1878, leaving nine children, all living: Simeon A., Sarah S., Albert H.,
Adaline E., John J., Orra P., Walker C. and Tennie A.
KAYTON, R. S., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Henderson; was
born April 10, 1834, in Ripley county, Indiana, where he was raised as a
farmer and educated in the common schools. He came to Mills county
in 1856. He married Miss Rebecca McFatridge, September 14, 1857.
She was born in Indiana, February 20, 1840; died April 29, 1874. In the
same year he located on his present farm. He was married August 6,
1877, to Margaret J. Hellyer, a native of Iowa. By his first wife he had
seven children, five now living: Henry C, David M., Lydia A., Frances
M. and Lieu Ellen ; and One by his second wife : Stella May.
KELLEY, B. E. F., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Benton; was
born March 7, 1838, in Johnson county, Illinois. In 1852 he moved with
his parents to Williamson county, same state, and in 1854 came to Mills
county. He was matured on a farm, and his educational advantages limi-
ted to such as are obtainable in the common schools. He was married
January 1, 1863, to Elizabeth J. Doroty, a native of Ohio, born December
26, 1840. Until 1868 he rented a farm, but in that year he purchased one
of eighty acres, to which he has added until now he owns a fine farm of
two hundred and sixty acres. The family of Mr. Kelly numbers five
children: James L., Perry R., John W., Grade A. and Frank.
NEWMAN, G. W., farmer and brick-mason, P. O. Henderson; was
born May 27, 1830, in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he served an apprentice-
ship in the brick-laying and plastering trades. His education was
received in the common schools. In 1854 he moved to Ripley county,
Indiana, where he married Miss Rebecca J. Kayton, September 4, 1856.
She was born in Indiana, November 21, 1835. He located where he now
resides in 1870 and has his farm under splendid cultivation. In 1862 he
enlisted in the Twenty-ninth Iowa, and was discharged for disability
March 8, 1863. He is the father of eight children, seven now living as
follows: Mary E., Anna P., George H., John B., Ada M., Pearley P. and
Atta J.
NELLEN, GERHARD, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Hastings;
born in Germany, September 23, 1842. He was educated in the common
schools of his native land. In 1856 he came to America with his parents,
and located in Minnesota. The years 1862 and 1863 were spent on a
steamboat on the Mississippi river. He was a member of the force that
put down the Indian out-break in Minnesota in 1861. He was a farmer
in Illinois from 1863 until 1869, when he made a journey through the west.
He finally located where he now lives. He was married August 6, 1873,
704 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
to Miss Rebecca Grouse, a native of North Carolina. They are the
parents of three children: Nancy Anna, John H. and Matta A.
OWENS, JAMES R., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Henderson, sec-
tion 11; was born December 16, 1840, in Henderson county, Illinois, where
he remained working on a farm until May 24, 1861, when he enlisted in
the Sixteenth Illinois infantry, veteranized December 23, 1863, and was
discharged July 8, 1865, was in all the engagements in which his regiment
participated, and with Sherman on his march to the sea. He entered the
army as a private, and came out as first lieutenant. His education was
limited to the common school. He was married November 7, 1867, to
Nancy J. Kemp, who was born in Henderson county, Illinois, December
9, 1843. In 1875 he moved to where he now resides. He is the father
of six children, four living : Alvin J., Charles E., Mary E. and Fred. E.
PARKER, GEORGE, farnier and stock-raiser, P. O. Henderson;
was born in England September 28, 1835. Came to America in 1854,
locating in Wyandotte county, Ohio, where he hired out as a farm laborer.
Was married February 14, 1861, to Lydia A., daughter of Hosmer and
Sarah Richmond of Ohio. In March, 1867, he came to Mills county and
worked a rented farm until 1871, when he bought the one now occupied
by him, which contains 200 acres of good land, all under cultivation, with
good dwelling and out buildings. During the past six years he has held
various township offices and taken an active part in school matters. They
have been the parents of eleven children, eight of whom are living,
named, respectively: Sarah I., Ella E., Joseph H., George H., John F.,
Amos M., Adda L., Efia M. Those deceased are James E., Nora and
an infant. Mr. Parker is self-educated, having had no opportunity to
attend school since seven years of age.
PRUDEN, S., farmer and brick-mason, P. O. Henderson; was born
August 30, 1830, in the state of Ohio. He moved with his parents to
Kentucky at a very early age. He labored at his trade with his father,
and also at marble cutting. From Kentucky he went to Rock Island
county, Illinois, following his trade until 1862, when he went to St. Louis
and entered upon the service of the government as a teamster, in which
service he continued one year. He came to this county in 1865. Was
married to Phebe, daugher of Peter and Annie M. Eckley, January 17,
1869. In 1874 he built a grist mill near Macedonia. In 1878 moved to
his present farm of 160 acres, having disposed of his mill. He has one
child, A. S.
PLUMB, VALENTINE, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Hastings;
born February 14, 1820, in Lincolnshire, England. He was raised on a
farm, and received only a twelve months' schooling. He came to America
in 1843, and located in Richland county, Ohio. In 1845 he moved to
Wyandotte county, in the same state. Five years later in 1850, he went
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 706
to California, engaging in the mining and merchandise business. He re-
turned to Ohio in 1855. He married Miss Frances L,. Bland, April 14,
1856, and in the same month came to Iowa to purchase land. He bought
200 acres, being the farm on which he now resides, and returned home by-
way of Cincinnati, to find his wife in declining health; she died Decem-
ber 25, 1856. He came to Iowa in 1857, and established a permanent
residence. He married Lucinda A. Gonser, March 14, 1861. Since the
purchase of the original farm of 200 acres, he has added to it a total of
],000 acres of land. In 1876 he suffered a heavy loss by fire, in which a
valuable barn and eleven horses, with a large amount of farm produce
and implements were burned, to the amount of some $6,000. He has
been a member of the board of supervisors for four years, and chairman
of that body for two terms. He is a man of great energy, full of public
spirit and enterprise, generous to a fault, and influential. In church mat-
ters he has aided with customary generosity all worthy enterprises. By
his second marriage he is the father of nine children, all living but one —
Georgiana. They are: Hettie Ann, 'Fanny Jane, Francis Joel, Valentine
W., Emma C, Ezra P., Edward J. and William A.
WILSON, W. B., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Hastings; born
August 5, 1819, in Lincolnshire, England,- where he was raised on a
farm, and engaged in brick-making. His education was of necessity
limited to the district school. He came to America in 1844, and located
in Richland county, Ohio. In 1845 he moved to Wyandotte county, in
the same state, where he was employed as a laborer until 1850. In that
year Ke went to California and in 1855 returned to the east, to the city
of New York. He went to England on a visit, returning to the United
States in 1856 and to Ohio. He shortly after came to Iowa and located
120 acres of land where he now resides. He Was married October 21,
1856, to Anna E. Watson, born in Ohio February 17, 1838. The winter
following Mrs. Wilson taught the district school near their new home in
Iowa, to which they had come immediately after marriage. Mr. Wilson
was postmaster for twelve years at the Benton P. O. Since his original
purchase of land he has added 840 acres to his farm. He is a model
farmer, as all acquainted with the condition of his lands well know. As
a result of his marriage he is the father of ten children, eight of whom are
now living: Frances Mary, Perry R., William E., John W., George C,
Harry A., Etta A. and Bertha; two, Lucy A. and Anna Belle, are dead.
WOODS, JOEL, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Henderson; born
March 10, 1832, in Pennsylvania. His young days were spent in going to
common school, working on a farm, burning charcoal and working in the
oil regions. In 1861 he enlisted in the Seventy-eighth Pennsylvania in-
fantry serving in the western department. He was in the battles of
Murfreesboro and Chickamauga. Returning home he re-entered the oil
25
706 HISTORY OF MCLLS COUNTY.
regions. He was married August 29, 1867, to Sarah Burford, a native
of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Words was born April 20, 1840. In 1868 he
moved to Illinois and located on a farm; and in 1875 moved to where he
now resides. His farm originally numbered 255 acres, 32 of which have
since been laid out in the town of Henderson. He is the father of six
children, five now living: Jessie, Mabel, Walter, Alberta and Annie;
Harry is deceased.
QUIMBY, H. H., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Benton; was born
March 26, 1847, in Cass county, Michigan. He was educated in the
common school, and passed a number of the years of his life in labor on
a farm, and as a railroad laborer. He was married June 7, 1868, to Miss
Louisa Krupp. In 1870 he carne to Mills county, and has since been
occupied in farming. His family consists of four children living: Blanche,
Lee P., Harriet and Lottie. He owns a farm of one hundred and sixty
acres.
INDIAN CREEK TOWNSHIP.
APPLEGATE, WILLIAM E., grocer and post-master, P. O. Emer-
son; was born in Bloomsberry, New Jersey, May 14, 1842. When one.
year old his parents moved with him to Mechanicsville, Hunderton county,
where he was raised and educated. His father was a blacksmith, and
from him he learned that trade. In 1863 he went to Piano, Kendall
county, Illinois, and followed his trade in that place four years. He then
entered upon the grocer's business in which he remained two years, when
he came to Ames, Iowa. In June, 1870, he came to Mills county, and
located on a farm near Emerson . In November of the same year he ren-
ted his farm and moved to Emerson, and opening a shop, followed his
trade of blacksmith until 1876. He then began the grocery business, and
in August of the same year, received the appointment of post-master,
which he has since retained. He was married August 15, 1865, to Miss
Melissa Tomlin, by whom he had four children, two now living: Eva M.
and Minnie. This wife died December 11, 1875. He married Miss Addie
Parrish, of St. Joe, Michigan, January 10, 1877. They have two children:
Lena B. and James Vincent. Mr. A. is a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, and one of its officers, being the treasurer of the society.
He has held several township offices' and is now city treasurer of Emer-
son. He owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres.
AYRES, H. G., editor and publisher of the Hastings Plaindealer, P.
O. Hastings; born April 27, 1836, in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was edu-
cated in the common schools and in the Turmburg Institute. When
HISTORY OF MILLS-COUNTY. 707
twenty-four years of age he began to read law with Wolcott Upson, of
Akron, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar May 21, 1862. In June, 1862,
he enhsted in company H, Eighty-fourth Ohio infantry, serving until
October, 1862, when he was discharged for disability. At the organiza-
tion of the company he was elected and commissioned a first lieutenant,
but resigned. When his health permitted he again began the practice of
law, at Akron, Ohio, where he continued until 1868. In that year he
came to Iowa, and opened a law office at Osceola, m partnership with a
Mr.'McIntyre, which continued until 1875. In 1875 he estabhshed the
Osceola Beacon, which he pubhshed until 1879, when he came to Hast-
ings and established the Plaindealer. In 1872 he was elected county
superintendent of schools in Clarke county. In the fall of 1880 he was
the greenback candidate for congress in the eighth district. He was
married December 27, 1864, to Miss Emma T. Fessenden, a native of
Ohio. They have three children: Thomas H., Fannie A. and Bessie E.
The reader is referred to the history of the press of the county for further
information.
ABEL, MRS. SARAH, farmer, section 21, P. O.Emerson; a daugh-
ter of William Ross, born February 3, 1809, in Glengari, Canada. In 1831
she moved to North Crosby, where she married Mr. H. Abel, May 12,
1831. Mr. Abel was born in Canada, July 12, 1805, and grew to man-
hood as a farmer, receiving in his youth a common school education. In
1838 they moved to the state of New York, and the following year, 1839,
to Michigan. In 1842 Mr. Abel became a resident of Hancock county,
Illinois. In 1845 he, came to Iowa, and in 1847 located on Silver creek,
on what is now known as the Betts farm. He moved to the farm now
owned by Mrs. Abel in 1849, and brought two hundred acres of fine land
to a high state of cultivation. He died November 1, 1876. Mrs. Abel
was educated in the common school. She is a woman of rare social and
neighborly qualities, loved and revered by all who know her. She is the
mother of six children, five now living: William R., Thomas G., John L.,
Charles and Don Carlos.
ABEL, CHARLES, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Emerson; born
May 16, 1842, in Hancock county, Illinois. He came to Iowa with his
parents in 1845, and in 1847 located on the present Betts farm. In 1849
he moved to where he now resides, on section twenty-one. He was edu-
cated in the common school and matured on a farm. He was married
October 9, 1878, to Miss L., daughter of A. L. Armstrong, one of the
first settlers of the city of Emerson. She was born June 4, 1857, in Michi-
gan, Mr. Abel is a man much endeared to the home circle, upright, hon-
orable, and influential. He is the father of three children, two living;
Millie B. and Otto A.
708 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
BOSBYSHELL, E. P., banker and merchant, P. O. Hastings; was
born February 22, 1850. In 1856 his parents came to Iowa and located
at Glenwood, then a small but growing village. He was educated in the
common schools of Glenwood, and at Tabor College. At the age of six-
teen he entered the store of his father at Glenwood, remaining four years,
and where was received his business education. He then came to Hast-
ings and engaged in business, his being the first stock of goods opened
in the place. In 1878 he built the present large business house in which
he is now stationed. His business increasing, he again, in 1880, enlarged
his store. In June, 1878, he opened a bank in connection with his store,
under the name of the Exchange Bank of E. P. Bosbyshell & Co. He
was married June 23, 1873, to Miss Mary E. Hastings, a native of New
York. They have three children: Elsie May, Bertha C, and Anna L.
The wonderful success of Mr. Bosbyshell in business is to be attributed
solely to his untiring energy and great business talent. He is an illustra-
tion of that class of men who touch and behold; it is turned to gold!
BARKER, DR. W. W., physician and druggist, P. O.Hastings; born
July 23, 1825, in Monroe county. New York. Moved with his parents to
Gennesee county. New York, in 1834, and from thence to Kalamazoo
county, Michigan, in 1838- He lived on a farm until sixteen years of age,
and then learned the trade of a hatter. In 1843 he returned to Monroe
county. New York, and commenced the study of medicine. He was for
a number of years extensively engaged in the nursery business in New
York, and at New Albany, Indiana. In 1864 he entered the government
service at Nashville, Tennessee, and remained until the close of the war.
He then located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and engaged in the practice of
medicine. In 1872 he came to Mills coiinty, locating at Emerson, where
he resumed his profession. Was married February 2, 1873, to Miss
Marian E. Dibble, of Cincinnati, Ohio. They are the parents of three
children: William H., Ralph W., and Eugene E.
CARY, ABEL, farmer, section 29, P. O. Hastings; born November
23^ 1821, in Shelby county, Ohio. Moved with his parents to Delaware
county, Indiana, where he remained eleven j^ears. In 1852 he came to
Mills county, Iowa, and located in the township where he now resides.
Was married March 31, 1844, to Elizabeth Stansberry, by whom he was
the father of eight children, five of whom are now living: Melissa, Ezra,
Emma, Viola and EfEe. Mrs. Cary died April 25, 1873. Mr. C. was
married a second time December 31, 1873, to Mrs. Irena Hoyt, from
whom he was divorced in September, 1874. Was married a third time
November 23, 1874, to Mrs. Susanna Wheeler, by whom he is the father
of one child, Frank. Mr. Cary received his education in the common
schools. He has held the office of county supervisor, and is discharging
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 709
the duties of some of the township ofRcers the greater part of the time.
He has been an influential man in his neighborhood for many years.
CHENEY, GILBERT, farmer and stockraiser, section 36, P. O. Em-
erson; born March 8, 1854, in Mills county, Iowa. In 1862 he went with
his parents to Utah Territory, and located near Salt Lake .City. He
returned to Mills county, in 1863, and located near Glenwood, where he
grew to manhood. His youth was passed in working on the farm dur-
ing the summer season, and attending the common schools during the
winter months. He came to Indian Creek township in 1871. Was mar-
ried in May, 1878, to Sarah E. Snodgrass, a native of Pennsylvania, born
May 26, 1853. They have one child: Ira Nelson. He owns a good farm
of 200 acres, well improved.
CHENEY, ELIHU, farmer and stock raiser, section 35, P. O. Emer-
son; born March 20, 1852, in Stevenson county, Illinois, and in the same
year moved with his parents to Iowa, first locating in Pottawattamie
county. His parents then located near Glenwood, Mills county. In 1862 he
went with his parents to Utah Territory, locating near Salt Lake City.
In 1863 he returned to Mills county, and his father again purchased the
farm he had sold when he emigrated to Utah. He remained with his parents
working on the farm in summer, attending school in the winter, until
1871. Was married September 17, 1874, to Miss E. M. Giddings, a
native of Illinois. They are the parents of two children: Jessie, living,
and Chas, deceased. In 1875 Mr. C. located on the farm where he now
lives. His farm consists of 160 acres, well improved.
CHENEY, HORACE B., farmer and stock-raiser, section 35, P. O.
Emerson; born April 24, 1850, in Stevenson county, Illinois. In 1852 he
moved with his parents to Iowa, locating in Pottawattamie county, and
one year later they came to this county and located near Glenwood. In
1862 he went to Utah locating near Salt Lake City. In 1863 returned
to Mills county, his father purchasing the farm he sold previous to going
to Utah. In 1865 he moved to section 22 in Glenwood township, remain-
ing there until 1871, working on the farm in the summer season and at-
tending the common schools during the winter months. Was married
January 8, , to Julia A. Giddings, a native of Illinois. On January 10,
of the same year, he located on the farm where he now resides, which
then, consisted of eighty acres. He has since added three hundred and
twenty acres, which is well improved with a fine orchard and a beautiful
grove of cultivated timber.
CROSS, GEORGE, farmer and stock-raiser, section 21, P. Emerson;
born December 13, 1842, in Canada West, where he remained until 1868.
Tie received his education in the common schools of his native country.
After leaving Canada he came to Mills county, Iowa, and located on the
farm where he now resides. Was married in 1873 to Martha Deubin, a
710
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
native of Ohio. They are the parents of three children: Tennie E., Mary-
Lulu and Willie (deceased). He owns a good farm of 415 acres which is
well improved.
DOUGLAS, W. S., farm and stock-raiser, section 29, P.O. Hastings;
born September 4, 1845, in Pennsylvania, where he remained until he
reached the age of maturity, attending school and learning the trade of a
carpenter. In 1868 he went to Illinois, and two years later came to this
county, locating in Emerson. Was married January 1, 1874, to Emer-
illa Cheney, who died August 23, 1876, leaving one child. Mr. Doug-
las wa§ married a second time December 20, 1877, to Mrs. Elizabeth
Wienbar, widow of Edward Wienbar. He then located on the farm
where he now resides. His farm contains two hundred and fifty-five
acres, and is admirably cultivated with a good house and barn. He is the
father of one child by his second wife, Nora. Has three step-children:
James A., Francis T., and Mary S.
DONNER, C. A., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Hastings; born De-.
cember 25, 1834, in Prussia. He came to America and located in Chi-
cago in 1852, and' engaged in a brickyard, remaining for some four years.
He was married April 6, 1858, to Miss Henrietta Porter, born in Prussia,
February 2, 1837. He located where he now resides in 1874. He is the
father of twelve children, eight now living: Alice Y., Caroline H., Alve-
na H., Mary J., Agnes H., Walter C, Alberta M. and B. C.
FOSTER, GEORGE W., proprietor of Foster House, P. O. Has-
tings; was born April 17, 1832, in Oneida county. New York. His'
parents soon moved to Green county, same state, and there Mr. Foster
was educated in the common and high schools of Lexington. When
fifteen years of age he began the chair-maker's trade, at Bushnellville,
New York, where he remained three and a half years. He then moved
to Delaware county. New York, where he learned the carriage and
wagon-maker's trade, but soon abandoned that business to learn the car-
penter's and millright's trades. He came to Iowa in 1859, and settled at
Glenwood, opening a meat market. In 1862 he enlisted in company B,
29th Iowa, but was soon after transferred to company K. He served
until the close of the war, and was honorably discharged at Davenport in
September, 1865. From the spring of 1866 to January, 1867, he was in
the mountains, but the last named year he came to Iowa and located at
Council Bluffs, working at the carpenter's trade. In the summer of 1869,
he again went to the mountains, but returned in 1871, and located on his
farm in Anderson township, Mills county. This he exchanged for his hotel
property in 1877. He was married December 25, 1866, to Miss Sarah A.
Smith, a native of Ohio, by whom he has two children, Omer G. and
Oral C.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 711
FANSHER, DAVID, farmer and stock raiser, section 14, P. O. Em-
erson; born May 4, 1845, in Canada, where he remained until twenty-
two years of age, working on the farm in the summer time and attending
the common schools during the winter months. He then went to Powe-
shiek county, Iowa, remaining there one year and then moved to Henry
county, Illinois. From there he returned to Canada, and was married
September 21, 1871, to Elizabeth McCabe, a native of Canada. They
have three children : Ethelena Maud, William David and Maggie Myrta.
Came tc Mills county in 1879, and located on the farm where he now
resides. His farm consists of 160 acres, all under good cultivation.
GENUNG, L. T., attorney at law, Hastings, P. O. ; born September
24, 1842, in Rock Island, Illinois. He there grew to manhood, and was
educated in the common schools and by his own exertions. He enlisted
in June 1861, in the three months service, and served in the 13th Illinois
infantry. He again enlisted December 16, 1861, in Co. H., 61st Illinois
infantry, serving until January 1, 1864. He then veteranized in the same
regiment and served to June 13, 1865, when he was honorably discharged
at Davenport, Iowa. He was promoted to sergeant and second lieuten-
ant. He was wounded October 30, 1864, at Franklin, Tennessee, and at
the same time and place taken prisoner of war, and was sent to Meridian,
Mississippi. He was discharged as a parolled prisoner in 1865. From
the time of his return home until 1869, he was engaged as a contractor
on the Union Pacific and Colorado Central railroads. In 1869, he located
in Hastings, and engaged in farming, following this occupation until 1876,
when he opened a law office in Hastings, having been admitted to the
bar by Judge T. R. Stockton, in November, 1875. He had obtained his
legal education at home amid the toil of a farmer's life, thus testifying to
his indomitable will and energy. He is now serving his second term as
mayor of Hastings, which thus proves the esteem in which he is held. He
was married March 3, 1872, to Miss Julia Anderson, a native of Canton,
Illinois. They have four children: Charles C, Bertie L., Louis C. and
Clyde T.
GOODELL, WILLIAM S., merchant, Emerson P. O.; was born
May 7, 1837, in Madison county. New York. At an early age he moved
with his parents to Wyoming county, New York, where he remained un-
til January 1862. The foundation of his education was laid in the com-
mon schools of the Empire State, and finished at Lima, New York. In
1863, he went to Astabula county, Ohio, and remained until 1865, being
engaged in farming. He then moved to Whiteside county, Illinois, re-
maining until 1872, when he came to Emerson. He engaged in the stock
and, grain trade and in general merchandising until 1874, when the firm
with which he had been connected as a member divided, and Mr. Good-
ell assumed the merchandising portion. He was married to Miss Mary
T12 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
E., daughter of Gilbert Cole, January 1, 1862, and to them have been
born two sons, Frank E. and Fred R. Mr. Goodell and lady are both
members of the Baptist church, of which Mr. G. is also a prominent offi-
cial member. He is a large property holder, owning the Commercial
hotel, and three residences, besides his fine residence and business block,
and a farm of some 120 acres. The Goodell & Schaul elevator was built
while the firm of that name was in existence. It is not necessary to say
more of Mr. G., his business record is a history and a prophecy in itself.
GRAY, H. B., member of the firm of H. B. Gray & Co., merchants;
was born October 7, 1853, in Clayville, New York. He was educated in
the common school, and at Whitestown Seminary, near Utica, New York.
He came to Iowa in April, 1873, and entered the service of J. G. Cilley,
lumber dealer, with whom he remained until January, 1878. In March of
that year he opened a general store in Hastings, under the firm name of
H. B. Gray & Co. He was married February 27, 1877, to Miss A. Jen-
nette Chapin, a native of New York. They have one child: Grace D.
By strict attention to business and honesty in his dealing, he has won an
enviable reputation as a man of business, and is deservedly successful.
GODDARD, T. S., land agent, P. O. Hastings; was born September
1, 1831, in Livingston county. New York; he grew to manhood in this
county, receiving his education in the common .schools, and at Madison
University, at Hamilton, New York. Until 1858 he followed the occu-
pation of a farmer, but in that year went into business at Rochester,
New York, remaining some two years. The next two years were spent
in the lumbering business in Pennsylvania. He then went to Monroe
county. New York, engaging in the mercantile business at Mumford, in
which he was occupied some two years when he went into the milling
business at West Bloomfield. In 1869 he came to Iowa and located at
Hastings, entering the drug business for the first two years. He then
went into the real estate and implement business, but he soon after devoted
all his time to real estate transactions. He is agent for the C. B. &. Q. R.
R. company's lands in western Iowa, and has charge of their town lots
in Basting's and Emerson. He was married to ^Miss A. L. Harmon, a
native of New York, September 26, 1860. They have three children:
Walter W., Paul R. and Horace M. He is a thorough business man, and
as such enjoys the confidence and esteem of the general public.
HUTCHINGS, WILLIAM, farmer, section 28, P. O. Emerson; born
January 18, 1823. Moved with his parents in 1825 to Fayette county,
Indiana, where he remained until 1835, when they went to Delevan
county, same state, and there grew to manhood, obtaining his education
in the common schools. Came to Mills county in 1855, then went to
Page county. In 1864 he returned to Mills county, and in 1875 located
on the farm where he now resides. He is a member of the United
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTV. 713
Brethren Church in Christ. He has been been a class leader for twenty-
five years, and a licensed exhorter for the past ten years. He is also a
member of the Masonic fraternity. He is the father of eight children,
seven of whom are now living: Phoebe Jane, Samuel B., Esther, Lois,
Barbara E., Nancy R. and John J. He has held the office of the justice
of the peace three terms, ane has the confidence and esteem of all who
know him.
HONEYMAN, JOHN, farmer and stock raiser, section 22, P. O.
Emerson; born in 1842 in Scotland. He was educated in the High
schools of his native countrj'', and entered the service of the Commercial
Bank of Scotland in 1857, and remained with that institution until 1872, in
which year he sailed for America. He landed in New York and from
there went to Detroit; and from thence to Chicago, making a short stay
in each city. In June, 1873, he came to Mills county, and located on the
farm where he now lives. Was married in June, 1873, to Eliza Gregg
Myles, a native of Scotland, who died June 8, 1874. He then returned
to Scotland, where he remained a short time, and came again to this
county. In September, 1874. he took charge of bank, implement house
and grain elevator, in Emerson, where he remained for one year. He
then went to Ashkunn, Illinois, and took charge of a hardware house for
one year, and then returned to Mills county. In 1876 he occupied an ele-
vator in Emerson, and at one time, in the period of eight days, received
26,916 bushels of shelled corn, and at the same time there were two
•other firms in Emerson engaged in buying corn. Was married a second
time in March, 1876, to Ella Viola, daughter of Milton Cheney, of this
county. They are the parents of two children: John and Milton. After
leaving Emerson he came to the farm where he now lives, which consists
of 213 acres, well improved.
HYDE, RICHARD W., farmer and stock raiser, P. O. Hastings; was
born November 22, 1847, in Hannibal, Missouri. He is a son of Jordan
W. and Melinda Hyde. At the age of four years his mother died and he
was taken by an aunt to Genessee and kept there until about twelve years
of age, when he returned to Missouri. He received his education in
common and high schools, leaving the latter in 1862, at which time he
went to Virginia City, and in company with his father engaged in mining
operations and cattle raising, after quitting this business they drove cattle
to Iowa for about six years. His father was one of those persons who are
spoken of elsewhere as having been killed by the falling of a bridge at
St. Charles. After the death of his father he located in Mills county
February 10, 1880, he married Colonio J. Wearin, who was born January
31 1855, in Porter county, Indiana. He has a farm containing 640 acres
of land. His principal occupation being the raising, feeding, and ship-
ping of cattle. He is the parent of one child, Olive M.
714 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
HOl^T, HIRAM, farmer and stock raiser, section 20, P. O. Hastings j
born June 8, 1812, in New York, where he grew to manhood, working^
at farm labor and attending the common schools. In 1 837 he moved to
Caldwell county, Missouri, associated himself with the Latter Day Saints,,
and was ordained an elder in that denomination. In 1839, he with the
society, were driven from Missouri, and located at 'Nauvoo, Illinois. Was
married in 1843, to Sarah Rude. Was married in Indiana. In 1845 he
he returned to Nauvoo, but was compelled to emigrate from there in the
following year. In 1852 he came to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, and
soon after located in this county, on the farm where he now resides. On
coming here he purchased a squatters' claim to which he has since
added 280 acres . His farm is well improved. Mrs. Hoyt died March 8,.
1879.
HOYT, HOMER C, farmer, section 20, P. O. Hastings; born July
31, 1820, in New York, where he grew to manhood, receiving his educa-
tion in the common schools. In 1840 he moved to Knox county, Illinois.^
Was married May 23, 1841, to Sarah E. Fuller. In 1842 he went to
Nauvoo, at which place his wife died February 7, 1843. He was mar-
ried again, June 2, 1845, to Julia A. Burr. In 1844, while on a preaching
tour in the state of New York, he was ordained to the office of the 70.
He returned to Nauvoo in 1846. Mr. Hoyt is by his second wife the
father of seven children, four of whom are living: Homer E., Cynthia
M., Rachael R. and George H. Mr. H. has resided in many parts of
Illinois,, Missouri and Iowa, and while in southern Missouri was mobbed
by Kansas jay-haw^kers. He located on the place where he now lives in
1880.
IVES, O. T., proprietor Ives House, P. O. Hastings; was born May
23, 1833, in the State of Vermont. In 1838 he went with his parents ta
Ohio, where he was educated, and where he matured to manhood. When
seventeen years of age he went to learn the carpenter's trade, and served,
with a Mr. J. G. Chamberlain for three years. He had learned the weav-
er's trade while young, as his father owned a woolen mill. In 1853 he
came to Iowa and located at Cedar Rapids, working at his trade in a*
woolen factory. In 1854 he moved to a milling property near Tipton,,
Cedar county, remaining until July, 1855, when he went to Minnesota. In
the fall of 1856 his father died and he returned to Cedar county,. In 1874
he came to Hastings and built the Ives House. He was married April
11, 1860, to Miss J. M. Cornell, a native of Ohio. They are the parents
of five children: Sadie, Mary, Victor, Frank and Ida. He is a good land-
lord and genial host, popular and successful.
LLOYD, HENRY, farmer and stock-raiser, section 30, P. O. Hast-
ings; born October 16, 1827, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Moved,
with his parents to Adams county, Ohio, when quite young, and there.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 715
grew to manhood. In 1849 he went to Peoria county, Illinois, and in
1852, returned to Ohio. In 1854 he came to Iowa, first locating in Louisa
county, and later in Warren county, where he was married, March 5,
1856, to Elizabeth Silcott a native of Ohio. In 1858 he came to Mills
county, and located on the farm where he now resides. His farm con-
sists of one hundred and eighty acres, on which is a good dwelling-house
and other substantial improvements. Mr. Lloyd served three years as a
member of the board of supervisors. He takes an active interest in the
schools, and anything that has for its object the development of the town-
ship.
LANG, JOHN, farmer and stock-raiser, section 26, P. O. Emerson;
born September 26, 1828, in France. Moved with his parents to the
northeast part of France in 1833, where he remained until twenty-two
years of age. He was then apprenticed to learn the trade of a weaver,
at which trade he worked in Paris and Orleans. Immigrated to America
in 1853, and landed in New York with but two dollars, and could not
speak a word of English. He went into the country and obtained work
by the month until he had earned $150, with which, in 1865, he came
west and stopped near Burlington, Iowa. He gave his $150 in money
and two years' labor for eighty acres of land in Mills county, to a man
named H. Avery, who resided near Burlington. He then came to this
county to see the land he had purchased. He then went to work on the
Missouri bottom, taking his pay in cottonwood lumber. After working
two or three months he traded his lumber for a skiff and two guns, and
started down the Missouri on a voyage of discovery, but discovered no
country he liked so well as Mills county, and soon returned. He was
married in April, 1861, to Catharine Kesterson. They are the parents
of eight children : Barbara, Charles, Mary, Frank, Alice, Walter, John ^
Jr., and Edward. To his original farm of eighty acres he has since
added three hundred acres, making one of the best farms in the township.
He is a man of great energy, and takes an active interest in the schools
and all necessary public improvements.
MOORE, JOHN B., druggist, P. O. Emerson; born in Cadiz, Harri-
son county, Ohio, October 23, 1842, where he spent his youth on a farm
and received a common school education. From an early date until 1862
he was engaged in the occupation of a butcher. In the year last named
he volunteered in company H, 126th Ohio infantry, and was soon pro-
moted to orderly sergeant. He served three years and was in some
fortv-two battles and minor skirmishes, and among others was at Harper's
Ferry, Antietam, Wilderness and Petersburg. Of the 103 men in his
company who enlisted in the service in 1862, only seven were mustered
out at the end of the war. At the clsse of his term of service he came
to Bloomington, Illinois, and engaged in farming and stock-raising, and
716
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
up to 1874 had accumulated some $25,000; but then came reverses and
his entire fortune was swept away. From 1874 to 1877 he was engaged
in the real estate business in Bloomington. Then fire came to destroy
his fortunes, when he purchased a grist-mill, moved the same to Kansas,
and began anew to make his way in the world. His venture proved a
financial success. He sold it in 1878, and came to Emerson in August of
that year, and entered the drug business. He was married June 19, 1866,
to Miss Violet Niccolls, of Bloomington, Illinois; she died September 24,
1874, leaving three' children: Albert B., Maria and Chauncey. . He again
married November 3, 1876, to Mrs. Maggie James, who had one child by
her former husband: May. He has one child by his second wife: Jessie
E. Mr. Moore is a member of the I. O. O. F. He is a respected mem-
ber of the commuhity and ^ man of exceptional business capacity.
McCLAIN, ARTHUR, farmer and stock-raiser, section 15, P. O.
Emerson; born April 16, 1837, in Knox county, Ohio. Moved with his
parents in 1852, to Adams county, Indiana. In 1858 he returned to Ohio
and remained one year, and then returned to Indiana, locating in Rush
county. Enlisted September 18, 1861, in the Thirty-seventh Indiana
infantry, and remained in the service three years; was taken prisoner
May 1, 1862, by General Morgan's cavalry. He participated in the bat-
tles of Buzzard's Roost, seige of Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, New Hope
Church, Pine Mountain, Kenesaw, Chattahoochee River, Peach Tree
Creek, and the siege of Atlanta. After being mustered out he returned
to Indiana; came to Mills county in 1875, and located on the farm where
he now resides, which consists of two hundred and sixty-six acres of the
best land in the township. Was married in May, 1866, to Caroline C.
Murray, a native ot New York. They are the parents of four children:
Albert M., John H., Carl A. and Marion F.
MUSSELMAN, DAVID T., wheelwright, P. O. Hastings; was born
June 11, 1829, in Perry county, Ojiio, where he learned his trade of his
father, who was a master mechanic. In 1849 he moved to Genoa, Ohio,
and engaged in business for himself. July 2, 1852, he married Miss
Emily Beckett, a native ot Albemarle county, Virginia, born June 2, 1880.
In 1861 he came to Iowa, locating in Clark county, at Osceola, and four
years later to this county, and engaged in farming, which occupation he
still follows. His wife died July 11, 1878, leaving seven children living:
William, Elizabeth, Charles, Addie, Bert, Myrtle M. and Rob Roy.
He had married for his second wife Mrs. Emma A. Stafibrd, daughter of
James A. and Elizabeth Davis, born in Herefordshire, England, June 21,
1846. The date of this marriage was January 27, 1881.
PURCELL, ANDREW, farmer, P. O. Hastings; was born May 24,
1818, in Nelson county, Kentucky, where he was educated, and passed
his youth on a farm. When sixteen years of age he engaged in fiat boat-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 717
ing on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, which occupation he followed four
years. He then followed the business of a pilot the ensuing two yours.
In 1842 he moved to Henderson county, Illinois, and engaged in farming,
which profession he has since followed. In the spring of 1857 he came
to Iowa, and located in Indian Creek township, Mills county, on the farm
he now owns. In 1864 he was elected a justice of the peace, which office
he has retained all the years since. Thus is evidenced the high esteem in
which he is held by his neighbors and citizen friends. He is a man of
great business ability, of strict honesty and sterling integrity. He was
married June 28, 1838, to Miss Ellen Brown, a native of the state of Ken-
tucky. They are the parents of fourteen children: Theresa, now Mrs.
Samuel Scott; Samuel, Charles, Elizabeth, new Mrs. David Henderson;.
Ellen, now Mrs. George Boles; Dennis W., and eight deceased. Mr.
Purcell entered a farm of 170 acres from the government when first he
came to the county, and now has the same under excellent cultivation.
PARRISH, A. G., son of Gould and Mary Parrish, editor and pub-
lisher of the Emerson Chronicle; was born near St. Joseph, in Berrian
county, Michigan, October 23, 1845. He lived in Michigan as a farmer's
boy until his nineteenth year, when he sought a better education by at-
tending school two years at South Bend, Indiana, and subsequently for
four years at Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago, completing a thorough aca-
demic course of study at the latter place. Leaving school at this time,
he engaged in the work of the ministry in the M. E. Church, continuing
in that work for six years, and until failing health made it necessary for
him to cease regular public speeking, and engaged in other pursuits. In
December of 1878, he purchased a half interest in the Mills County Re-
fublican, published at Malvern, Iowa, and began editorial work. Dis-
posing of this interest to his brother, E. B. Parish, he purchased the
Emerson Chronicle and began his present labors on that paper March 1,
1880. He is instinctively and by education a Republican, and cast his
first Presidential vote for honest Abraham Lincoln at his second election.
Was united in marriage April 22, 1877, to Miss Belle B., daughter of Al-
exander and Rachel Blacklock, of Frankfort, Michigan. To this union
was born Grace E., December 13, 1878.
POWELL, F. M., physician and surgeon, P. O. Hastings; born No-
vember 12, 49, in Morgan county, Ohio. In 1857 his parents moved
to Wisconsin. There young Powell grew to man's estate, and received
his preliminary education, which he finished at the Ohio Wesleyan Uni-
versity. Following his graduation he taught school a number of years,
during which time he began and successfully prosecuted the study of
medicine. He then read with Dr. Priest, of Oakfield, Ohio, and
attended the Starling Medical College, of Columbus, Ohio, from which
institution he graduated in February, 1875. He came to Iowa in March
718 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
of the same year, and located in Hastings. He has built up an extensive
practice, which sufRciehtly attests his ability and a medical adviser. He
was married September 15, 1872, to Miss Louisa Newton, a member of
Ohio. They have three children: Ida M., Velura and Orrin W.
PATRICK, ROBERT, farmer and stock-raiser, section 14, P. O.
Emerson; born October 12, 1823, in Glasgow, Scotland; emigrated with
his parents to America in 1828, and first located in New York City.
After remaining in the city a short time he went to Rutland county, Ver-
mont, residing there about three years. He then went to Washington
county, New York. When about nine years of age he entered a woolen
factory, and continued in that business until twenty-five years old. Was
married August 14, 1845, to Mary McDonald, who was born September
4, 1825, in Warren county. New York. They are the parents of
twelve children, eleven of whom are now living: Ann, Charles, Alexan-
der, Josephine, Arthur E., Mary A., Jessie May, Robert E., Frank M.,
Oscar R. and Willis, Came to Mills county in 1 874, and located on the
farm where he now resides. His farm consists of 240 acres, a good
dwelling house, orchard and other substantial improvements. Mr.
Patrick is a live, energetic man, and takes a great interest in the develop-
ment of the schools, and in the improvement of stock.
PURCELL, SAMUEL, furniture dealer, P. O. Hastings; was born
August 20, 1846, in Henderson county, Illinois. At the age of ten years
he came with his parents to Mills county, and has since resided here.
December 25, 1863, he enlisted in the 29th Iowa infantry, and followed
the fortunes of that regiment as narrated elsewhere in this volume. He
was mustered out August 10, 1865, at New Orleans, Louisiana. He was
married August 28, 1870, to Miss Sarah A. Cary, born August 5, 1850, in
Delaware county, Maryland. They are the parents of three children:
Marion E., Flora and Everett. Mr. P. is a member of the I. O. O. F.
PERRY, H. E., shipper and dealer in live stock, P. O. Hastings;
born December 14, 1836, in Wyoming county, New York, where he grew
to manhood and was raised on a farm. His education was received in the
common school, in part, and finished in the Middleburg academy. He
was married September 6, 1859, to Cornelia A. De Wolf, a native of
Wyoming countj'^. New York, born February 27, 1840. He followed the
farming occupation until 1867, when he came to Mills county and located
on a farm in Anderson township. In 1874 he moved to Hastings and
kept the hotel at that place for one year. He then built a beautiful resi-
dence on the skirts of that town. He is the father of two children, both
deceased, Augustus L. and Fannie Iowa.
ROGERS, JACOB, farmer, section 23, P. O. Emerson; was born in
the state of New York, in the year 1828. He was there educated, grew
to manhood, and passed his youth in agricultural pursuits. In this busi-
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 719
ness Mr. Rogers has passed his life. He owned several fine farms at one
time or another in his native state ; and like the most of men has expe-
rienced reverses as well as the favoring smiles of fortune. He became a
resident of this county in 1878, and purchased his present farm of 190
acres. The land is valuable in itself but is becoming more so under his
judicious management. He was married in the year 1850 to Miss Levina
Bellinger, a native of New York. They are the parents of three chil-
dren: Gulice A., wife of H. P. Ladd; Mary E., wife of William Craw-
ford ; and Myron E., now at home. Mr. Rogers is representative of sev-
eral insurance. companies of this state.
SHINN, FRANK, attorney at law and real estate agent, Emerson P.
O.; son of a Methodist Episcopal clergyman, was born in Adams
county, Ohio, October 28, 184:3. When nine years of age he moved to
Kentucky with his father's family, where he rerhained four years. In
1856, he came to Iowa, and to Marshalltown, where he resided one and a
• half years. He then moved to Pottawattamie county, and remained un-
til 1862, when he came to Mills county, and has since resided here con-
tinuously. His education was received in the common schools, and all be-
fore the age of thirteen years. His subsequent success as a student and
lawyer has been due to his untiring application during leisure hours. He
began his practice before the justices' courts, and in 1877, was admitted
to practice in aU the courts of the state. As a lawyer he is a success,
and is building for himself a lucrative practice and enviable reputation.
He was married January 26, 1867, to Miss Almira Schenck. They have
four children : Linnie A., James A., Kate and lola. In his younger days
an accident deprived him of the full use of his limbs, and he has been a
cripple since 1857. His legal library is both fine and valuable. He owns
a farm of 135 acres, a house and lot; and deserves the success he has at-
tained.
SHEFFER, RILAN K., grocer, carpenter and cabinet-maker, Emer-
son P. O.; was born in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, July 7, 1850, and is
the son of a carpenter. He was educated solely in the common schools.
He was early put to work at the trade followed by his father and con-
tinued in the same until 1 869. In that year he came to Iowa, locating at
Osceola, Clarke county, and followed the same occupation. In 1870, he
moved to Garden Grove, followed his trade two years, and then entered
the furniture business which he continued until 1875. He then came to
Emerson where he has since resided. He was married May 5, 1873, to
Miss Clara J., daughter of Thomas Chamberlain, of Garden Grove.
They have two children, Thomas and Ila. Mr. Sheffer is the architect of
his own fortunes, owns a fine residence and business building. He is a
master mason,- and stands very high in the esteem of his fellow towns-
men.
720 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
SHELDON, ANCIL L., proprietor of Emerson House, P. O. Emer-
son; was born in Lafayette county, New York, January 21, 1826, where
he resided until 1832 when he moved to Huron county, Ohio. In ISii he
went to Ripley county, Indiana, remaining until 1869. He then became
a resident of this state and county, locating in White Cloud township. His
father was a clerg}''man in the M. E. Church. Hn learned the printer's
trade in 1843 and 1844, and from 1844 to 1847 worked as a Knight of St.
Crispin. From 1847 to 1869 he had cleared and worked three farms,
realizing some $7,000 profit in the meantime. With this entered the bus-
iness of a general merchant in Emerson, but soon sold out and built the
Emerson House. He was married in October, 1849, to Miss Mary J.
Richardson, who died in 1862. By this wife he had three children, one
living: Alia C. He was again married in April, 1864' to Miss Mary R.
Sutton, who died in October, 1875, leaving one child, Maud O., living,
and one deceased. He was married again April 6, 1877, to Miss Georgie
A. Edwards. He has been a member of the M. E. Church since 1844,
and much of the time a member of some one or other of the official boards.
He owns a farm of some eighty-eight acres, near Emerson, besides his
hotel business.
STURGEON, JAMES, farmer and stock-raiser, section 23, P. G.
Emerson; born July 29, 1847, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1849 he
moved with his parents to Canada, where he grew to manhood, working
on the farm in the summer season and attending the common schools dur-
ing the winter. He came to Mills county, Iowa, in 1870. Was married
August 1, 1877, to Marcia Lincoln, a native of Ohio. They are the par-
ents of one child, Frederick James. Soon after his marriage he located on
the farm where he now resides. His farm consists of one hundred and
twenty acres on which is a good dwelling-house and a fine orchard. He
has always taken an active interest in the schools and all township improve-
ments, and now holds the office of township clerk.
STURGEON, JOHN F., farmer and stock-raiser, section 22, P. O.
Etnerson; born in 1845. In 1849 he went with his parents to Canada,
and in 1865 returned to Philadelphia, and from thence went to the oil
regions, where he remained until April, ,1865, when he enlisted in the
Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania infantry. He was at Richmond a few days
after the surrender, and was with Gen. Sheridan on his march to Dan-
ville. Was mustered out July 11, 1865, returning to Oil City, and from
there went to Canada. In 1866 he came to Iowa and stopped in Des
Moines county. He then traveled through Missouri, Kansas and Ne-
braska, and returned to Iowa and located in Mills county in 1868. Was
married in June, 1872, to Elizabeth Forest, a native of Iowa, born in 1854.
They are the parents of three children, two of whom are now living:
Maggie, May and Clarence. He owns a well improved farm of 320
acres, well adapted to stock-raising, in which he is largely engaged.
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY. 721
TUBES, JUDGE L. W., farmer, stock dealer and real estate dealer,
P. O. Emerson. This gentleman is a son of Nathaniel Tubbs, an ex-mem-
ber of congress from Albany district in the state of New York, and was
born in Binghamton, New York, January 4, 1826. He was but eleven
years of age when his father left the Empire State to find a residence in
the Western Reserve, Ohio. The greater portion of his youth was spent
on a farm, during which time those features of his character which in
alter years enabled him to surmount obstacles and win success, found a
birth and were carefully nutured. His education was received in the
<;ity schools of Sandusky, Ohio. At the early age of thirteen years he
was apprenticed to learn the Miller's trade, and six years later went to
Michigan where he followed his trade until 1849, In that year, it will be
remembered that not only the United States, but the world was excited
over ths discovery of gold in California. Thither went many thousands
of men, and among them went Judge Tubbs, as the captain of a com-
pany of miners. Arrived in California the native energy of the man
promptly placed him , among the front ranks of prominent men. He
entered political life, and in 1850 was elected as a member of the first
state legislature. In the summer of 1850 he was employed by the gov-
ernor of the state to locate a road from the head waters of the Sacramento
to the Willamette valley in Oregon, which kept him occupied until the
■spring of 1861. The winter of 1851 and 1852 was spent in the Sandwich
Islands. On his return to the United States he went to Michigan and
engaged in the milling business. In the spring of 1856 he came to Iowa
and located at Malvern, or rather the place where that enterprising city
tiow stands. In 1858 he was elected Judge of Probate for Mills county,
and held this office until it was abolished. He enjoys the distinction of
having been one of the first two men ever elected on the republican ticket
in this county. In May, of 1861, he organized the first cavalry company
-ever organized in the state, and of which he was duly elected captain.
The company was organized for state protection, and its members were
known as the " Mills County Minute Men." One feature of this company
deserves mention, it has never been mustered out to this day. In 1869 Judge
Tubbs sold his Malvern farm and located at Emerson. He was married
October 1, 1853, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Sybil J., daughter of Wil-
liam Wheeler, born October 13, 1836. He is the father of eight children,
six of whom are now living: William L., Mary D., Hattie M., Volna V.,
Bertha E. and Ray B. He is a member of the Blue Lodge, A. F. & A.
M., and its first master. He became a member of the lodge in Michigan,
in 1853. Judge Tubbs is a very large land holder, owning 3,200 acres in
Mills county, besides considerable town property, and 1,280 acres in Texas.
He has been in the county for many years, and been closely identified
with its material advancement. To him as much' as any other one man is
26
722 HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
it indebted for prosperity. He is honorable and upright in his business
enterprises, generous in his benefactions, kind in manner, and admired and
respected by all.
TUBES, WILLIAM L., farmer and stock-raiser, section 25, P. O.
Emerson ; born April 17, 1855, in Flowerfield, Michigan, Came with his
parents to Mills county, in 1856, arriving April 14. He has resided in
this county cpntinuously since that time. He received his early education
in the common schools, and finished at Tabor College. After returning
from college he was employed in the mercantile house of Messrs. Paddock,
at Malvern, about two years. Was married September 20, 1876, to Allie
N. Tomblin, of Illinois. They are the parents of two children: Harry S.
and Mabel, deceased. After his marriage he was engaged in mercantile
pursuits at Emerson, for two years. He then settled on the farm where
he now resides. His farm consists of one hundred and eighty-five acres,
all under cultivation, upon which is one of the finest dwelling houses in
the township. Is an honored member and officer in the masonic lodge of
Emerson. Mr. T. is the son of Hon. L. W. Tubbs, who is one of the
earliest, and has always been one of the most prominent citizens of Mills
county.
WEARIN, A. J., farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Hastings; was born
November 7, 1850, in the state of Indiana. In 1855 he came to Mills
county with his parents, josiah and Olive Wearin, the first of whom was
born in Virginia, May 2, 1824, and the second in New York, March 21,
1828. His parents were married September 7, 1848. The education of
Mr. Wearin was obtained in the common schools and at Tabor College.
He lives on the farm with his mother, and conducts the same in a most
able manner.
WEARIN, ANDREW, P. O. Hastings, farmer and stock-raiser;
was born December 6, 1831, in Harrison county, Virginia. In 1832 he
went to Athens county, Ohio, with his parents, and in 1838 to Hocking
county. In 1852 he moved to Indiana and in 1855 came to this county,
and entered 480 acres of land. April 19, 1857, he was married to Miss
E. Cook, born March 21, 1857, in the state of New York. In 1860 he
began to live on the land he had entered, but 1864 returned to Indiana,
but came back in the same year. He is the father of six children, five of
whom are living: Martha J., Edward O., Cora A., Bertha E. and
James H.
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Footnote ; for Teste, read Tesle.
First line; for Lay, read Say.
Line seventeen; for Folles, read ToUes.
Line fourteen; for 1821, read 1851.
Line three; for bv, read by.
Line thirteen ; for The instruments, read This instrument.
Line thirteen ; for Hendric-Jones, read Hendrie-Jones.
Bottom line ; for appeared, read appears.
Line thirty-three ; for in, read of.
Line ten ; for detault, read default.
Line thirty-seven; for company, read county.
Line eight; for in its, read as its.
Line forty; for 1866, read 1856.
Line twenty-seven; for Hall, read Hale.
Line thirty-three; for nor, read now.
Line thirty-three ; for Lentucky, read Kentucky.
Line four; for tent, read test.
Line four; for office, read officer.
Line six; for Sumner, read Summers.
Line sixteen ; for rich, read sick.
Line eleven ; for extended, read exerted.
Line three; for 1866, read 1876.
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