NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
3 3433 08044170 6
HISTORY
<=f
POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY, IOWA
FROM THE EARLIEST HISTORIC TIMES TO 1 907
BY
HOMER H. FIELD and HON. JOSEPH R. REED
ALSO BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF
SOME PROMINENT CITIZENS
OF THE COUNTY
ILLUSTRATED
VOL. I.
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO.
1907
>
h
f^i^~Sn ( r^
HISTORY OF
POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY, IOWA
THE FOUNDING OF COUNCIL BLUFFS.
Although Pottawattamie county was not organized until as Late as Sep-
tember, 1848, its real history begins at a much earlier date. During the
administration of President Jefferson, in 1804, an expedition was fitted out
under Captains Lewis and Clark to explore the country just purchased from
France, or that part lying along the Missouri river to its source. On referring
to the journal kept by Patrick Gas on this expedition we read: "Tuesday,
August 2, L804, two of our men had none out from camp to bunt for horse-
that had strayed, returned with them, and also two large bucks and a fawn.
Others brought in an elk they had killed.
"The Indian.- we had expected came in at dark: Captain- Lewis and
Clark held a council with them, who seemed well pleased with the change
of government and •what had Keen done fur them. Six of them were made
chiefs, three Otoes and three Missouri.-. This place we called Council Bluffs,
and on taking observation found it to he in latitude 41 degrees. 17 minute- "
Although the exact spot i- not positively known, this brings us to the
Mynster spring, just at the north limit of the city, where the great bluff
comes down to within a few rods of the river, and must have been a favorite
meeting place for the tribes, as shown by a burying ground back on one of
the bluffs, where are buried hundreds of all age- and both sexes, but covered
so lightly that the boy- used to dig them up. This i- the first we hear of
Council Bluffs and brine,- us on to the soil of Pottawattamie county, and,
although no permanent settlement was made for many years, it was a recog-
nized point and designated on the early maps of the country and visited
by trappers and traders that exploited this region with St. Louis as their
base of operation.
1 am aware that other points claim the distinction of being the original
Council Bluffs, notably Fort Calhoun, about fifteen miles above Omaha, and
another at Traders Point, six or seven miles south of the city of Council
Bluffs, but as there are no bluffs at either of these places, the name would
not be appropriate. Again, their journal describes the broad bottoms, and
jungles abounding with wild grapes and alive with wild turkeys and other
game, exactly as they were fifty years later, and further, if we accept the
Fort Calhoun theory, in place of 41° and 17" it would be 41" and 30", while
Traders Point would fix it at 41° and 7". We also find them on the east
5
6 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
side of the river when Sergeant Floyd died and was buried on the top of
a high bluff a few miles below Sioux City, which still bears his name, as
well as the little river close by.
At all events our first settlers found the name lying around loose and
when granted our city charter we appropriated it. like it. and intend to
hold it until some one with a bigger stick than our- takes it from us.
The conditions above described continued until 1838, when, during
President Van Buren's administration, the Pottawattamie Indians were as-
signed to a reservation here, and Davis Hardin was appointed to instruct
them in fanning. He with his family and a company of soldiers arrived
here on the steamer Antelope from Fort Leavenworth in the spring of that
year. This was an event. As before stated, many trappers and traders
had frequented this region, intermarrying with the Datives, but here was a
family of refined Americans conic to stay, backed and protected by the gov-
ernment. Arriving here they found the country a solitude. They located
by a big spring on what is now East Broadway and the soldiers immediately
commenced building a house for the Hardin-, and then a fort on a promontory
that was a continuation of the hill between Franklin and Lincoln avenues,
and which at that time jutted into what is now Broadway, where the dwelling
of the late John Clausen now stand-. The Pottawattamie-, escorted by a
company of cavalry, arrived a few day- later, having come across the country.
They found il indeed a goodly land, and it is doubtful if the landscape re-
vealed to Moses from the top of Pisgah, extending from the cedars of Leb-
anon to the palm live- of Z >ar, equaled in beauty that of Pottawattamie
county as viewed from the summit of these bluffs. Though not possessing
the awful grandeur of mountain scenery, tor natural beauty it is doubtful
if it can be excelled on this little world of our-. To the north the bluffs
almost assume the dignity of mountains, visible for forty miles. To the
south they roll away until they appear blue in the distance of fifty miles.
At your feet lie- the broad bottom lands, compared with which, for fertility,
the valley of the Nile is a desert. A vast natural meadow sprinkled with
flowers, while the great Missouri -weep- by in great graceful curves until
lo-t in the distance, while to the east and west the view extend- until lost
in the curvature of the earth's surface.
During their stay here the Indian- continued to advance in the ways
of civilization. A Catholic mission wa- established and many of them em-
braced Christianity. A cemetery was established on the hill some distance
above the fort, which remained until grading Franklin avenue, some thirty
year- ago, the Tierce street school ground, and Yoorhis street, necessitated
their removal, which was done, and the remains interred in Fairview
cemetery. The government, during their stay here, built a gristmill on the
Mosquito creek, three miles northeast from the city, which was run by L.
E. Wicks, who was married lo a half-breed, by whom he reared quite a
family, and when the Indian.- left for Kansas the Wicks family remained,
and he continued to make an excellent quality of Hour as late as 1857 or
1858.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 7
The French traders had established posts all along the Missouri river at
a very early day. They intermarried with the Indians and some of them
became wealthy. Among them one being at Traders Point nearly opposite
the mouth of the Platte river by Peter A. Sarpy, in honor of whom Sarpy
county, Nebraska, was named.
Contemporaneous with him was Francis Guittar, of Council Bluffs, who
married an American woman and reared a family and continued in business
until 1857. His son Theodore is a prominent man. has rilled several posi-
tions of honor and trust, among which was sheriff of the county, and at
this writing his father's widow i- living in the Bluffs.
Another of this class, a Mr. Busha, is still with us and. although one
hundred and twelve years of aye. blind and quite deaf, his mind seems clear,
bis appetite good, as well as hi- general health. Lewi- and Clark encoun-
tered one of these, whose squaw wife. Sacajawea (the Bird woman), rendered
great assistance in piloting the expedition from the head waters of the
Missouri across the Rockies. She has been called the Pocahontas of the
west and has been immortalized by a statue erected by the women of the
United States and unveiled at the Portland exposition; this was modeled by
a woman. Mis- Alice Cooper, now of Chicago, but a native of Iowa, and for
which she received seven thousand dollar.-.
During the year 1846 the Pottawattamies sold their lands to the govern-
ment and by treaty were assigned a reservation in what is now Kansas.
THE MORMONS.
Hardly had the Indians left when the Mormon wave rolled in, having
been expelled from Nauvoo. This people seems to have been victims of a
most relentless persecution, commencing back in the 'oils at Kirtland, Ohio,
where they had organized and built their temple.
From there they gathered in Jackson county, Miss turi, where they were
again subjected to all manner of abuse, their property confiscated, many men
killed and women subjected to indignities. This has been denied by the
Missourians, but from subsequent acts perpetrated by the people of this sec-
tion during the border ruffian times, we naturally believe the Mormon com-
plaints to be true. From here they turned back to Illinois, built a city and
erected their temple, but were not allowed to possess them long, for the pre-
judice against them was so strong that the state tr > >p* could not. or would
not, protect them when assailed by a mob. Their president and his brother
were assassinated while prisoners, and after a parley they .agreed to remove
from the state within a specified time, with which they substantially com'
plied. Hence, their arrival here, after enduring untold hardships in cross-
ing the state in their wagons, the men mostly on foot, leaving the wagons
for their goods, women, children and invalids.
It is hard for one now traveling over the same route with his family in
.i parlor car to realize the hardships endured by a whole community in
which were the aged, the invalids and infants, camping with scant store of
provisions or medicines, crossing unbridged streams, etc., but this was accom-
plished by a people sixty years ago, many of whom are living to-day.
8 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Nothing but religious fanaticism could have enabled them to endure]
the terrible ordeal.
It will be remembered that their destination had already been fixed at
Salt Lake, which at that time belonged to Mexico, believing they could find
asylum there, which seemed to be denied them here. Crossing the river they
halted at what later became Florence in order to raise and accumulate sup-
plier with which to continue on their course. They went into winter quar-
ters there and built cabins, while many of the men went back to the settle- j
incuts and worked at any labor they could find, and here again they were
confronted with trouble. The Indian title had not been extinguished there, '
and complaint was made to Washington, and they were ordered to recross
the liver, which proved a great blessing to them, a.- they found hundreds of
cabins and farms that had been vacated by the Pottawattamie-, of which they
were quick to avail themselves.
No more industrious, frugal and temperate community was ever known.
Among them were mechanics of almost every kind, and they proceeded to
build a city here, which they called Kanesville, in honor of a brother of the
Arctic explorer, who bad been a staunch friend during their persecution. Not
only did they build the city, but the rich valley- became hive- of industry;
good crops were raised, which enabled them to assist their fellow pilgrims
who wen- passing through, some with horses, some with ox teams and -oine
with handcarts. In fact, without this halting place to rest, make repairs
and lay in supplies, it is hard to conceive how they could ever have made
the thousand mile trip aero- the plains ami mountains.
At this time everything was controlled by the church. Idleness and
dissipation were not tolerated. There was no jail nor need for on,.. A news-
paper wa- published by Orson Hyde called the frontier Guardian, and al-
though tlie buildings were mostly of logs, good stocks of goods were kept
by as honorable merchants as you will find anywhere. All the trade was
with St. Louis, with this a- the head of steamboat navigation, except an oc-
casional boat with supplies for the fort- above. Although polygamy was per-
mitted and. in fact, encouraged, it is not probable that ten per rem of die
men here had plural wive-, and the strangest feature of it was that the
women were the strongest defenders of the practice.
The wife ,,f one of the elder- wa- visiting with tlie wife of the writer a
few day- previous to their starting for Salt Lake, and during their conversa-
tion my wife -aid. "I should think you would he afraid your husband would
take another wife when you get out there." She replied, "Why, T should
expect him to." ami her expectation was fully realized. It i- hard to under-
stand why so much prejudice exists against this people. We know of none
of their teaching except polygamy that is more fanatical than that of other
churches, and that i- practically abandoned. That need not lie a matter of
anxiety to civilized people. Nature ha- spoken too plainly on that- subject
by creating the sexes iii equal numbers, and the boys are not going to long
permit the old roosters to have a monopoly of the pullet-.
As before stated, the Great Salt Lake valley was at that time in Mexican
territory, and on breaking out <if the war with that country, they, while
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 9
here, raised a battalion and tendered its services to the government, which
was accepted, and as a curious instance of the irony of fate, after the treaty,
those that had already settled there found themselves hack within the juris-
diction of the United States.
After, by industry and economy, they had become a prosperous com-
munity, it is doubtful if a happier one could be found anywhere than here.
Work was the order of the day until the crops were raised, harvested and
gathered, tithing paid and the poor provided For, after which the winter
evenings were devoted to amusement, of which dancing was the favorite, and
was encouraged by the clergy and conducted with the utmost decorum, balls
being usually opened with prayer and closed with the benediction.
Up to this time and later the country had not been sun-eyed and con-
sequently the occupants had only a squatter's title, hut this was good as long-
as they occupied it. and a quit claim was a valuable asset to a purchaser pro-
vided he continued to occupy it in g 1 faith.
This applied to tin- fanning community a- well as that of the city, and
"jumping" one's claim was a dangerous proceeding.
At this time the whole of Pottawattamie county, which was much larger
than at present, as well as considerable adjoining territory, was under ex-
clusive control of the Mormons. They made public sentiment, controlled
election of all public officers, and representatives of their faith .-at in two
sessions of the state legislature. In 1849 the great wave of California im-
migration set in. and hundreds of trains and thousands of men assembled
liere and camped while laying in supplies, and Kanesville hecame a great
utfitting point, and the merchants reaped a rich harvest. The farms fur-
nished abundance of grain, while steamboats arrived almost daily with large
cks of goods for the merchants, and the rush was so great that at times
emigrants had to wait for days for their turn to lie ferried across the river.
Not only that, hut the Mormons saw money in it and proceeded to establish
ranches along the trail, and ferries across the rivers. Among these were two
[old timers. Uncle Bill Martin and Old Bill Powers, that had a ferry across
the Elk Horn. Every week or two they would bring their money down in
la sack and put it in Stutsman & Donnel's safe. At the end of the season
they would take out the sacks, empty them down on the floor and sit down,
one on each side of the pile: then one would take off a gold piece, then the
other would take one of the same denomination, and so on down to the
smallest coin until the pile was exhausted. This method of settling partner-
ship busine-s they had learned from the Indians and claimed it as the only
fair way.
This great movement of the California immigration in connection with
he gradual exodus of the Mormons soon wrought a great change in affairs,
ome of the emigrants, on seeing the wonderful fertility of the soil, with
ts fine groves of timber along the streams, changed their minds, traded part
of their outfits to the Mormons for their claims and settled here permanently.
Also there were many that, considered Brigham Young an usurper, and
young Joseph the true prophet. These rejected the doctrine of polygamy
10 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
and those that remained organized churches, which they still maintain, and
are as good an element as we have in the present community.
This, with the , natural influx of Gentiles, so changed matters that its
character as a Mormon community was lost forever. In fact, their whole doc-
trine", religiously and politically, being contrary to all our traditions and
teaching, could only be temporary.
Whether this change was morally beneficial is debatable. Under the
old dispensation the saloon, gambling and bawdy house were not tolerated,
but now blossomed out in full vigor, and as there were no state laws or city
ordinances in force (at least not more than at present), in fact, the city
was what would now be called a wide-open town.
EARLY RESIDENTS.
With the end of Mormon supremacy the people began to look about to
see where they were. The county, which was much larger than now, was
reduced to its present size, an election held, and A. II. Perkins, David D.
Yearsly and George Coulson were elected the first commissioners. The first
clerk was James Sloan, and its first county judge was T. Burdick, elected
in 1851. The first term of the district court was held May 5, 1851, James
Sloan presiding as district judge, with Evan M. Green as clerk and Alex
McRae, sheriff. Orson Hyde was one of the practicing attorneys in this court.
After presiding one year Judge Sloan resigned and the governor ap-
pointed Judge Bradford, who presided until the people elected S. H. Riddle.
In 1848 Evan M. Green was appointed postmaster, but it was some time
before a. regular mail route was established connecting this with the nearest
postoflice in Missouri, and several years before regular mails from the east
came across Iowa. In L848 Orson Hyde started the Frontier Guardian, with
Mr. Hyde and A. ('. Ford as editors. This paper was politically Whig, re-
ligiously Mormon, and Lasted four years.
Among the early prominent merchants of this early day was J. B.
Stutsman, of the firm of Stutsman A: Donnel, the latter being at St. Joseph.
In addition to merchandising he built a Souring mill where the town of
Macedonia now is. laid out Stutsman's addition to the city, built a good
comfortable dwelling, which at that time was the most palatial residence in
the city, and which is still in good repair, while he himself at nirvety is
-till rustling at the city of Harlan. Shelby county.
Another of the prominent merchants of that time was ■lames A. Jack-
son, of the firm of Tootle & Jackson. Milt Tootle, as everybody called him,
lived at St. Joseph, Missouri, and as the county settled up he established
stores all along the river as fast a- a town was started and placed his most
trusted clerks in charge, making them partners. It was Tootle & Jackson
here, and later, in Omaha and Sioux City. Mr. Jackson was what you
might call an up and up man. A< an index to his style, a little incident
that occurred when new cities wen being started all along the Nebraska side
of the river will illustrate it. He sent a clerk on a collecting tour. He was
all right with one exception. He had a weakness for liquor.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 13
After making some collections he fell in with three most agreeable young
men who soon discovered that weak point and proceeded to profit by it.
After getting him in proper condition, the inevitable game was proposed
wherein three proposed to relieve one of his money, which was soon accom-
plished.
On coming to himself he returned, made a full confession, expecting
no mercy. Did Jim Jackson kick him out doors or send him to jail? Not
much! He gave him fifty dollars more, and said: "Now, go back and
insist on another show for your money and I will be around." The scheme
worked; they had just got started in a quiet room by themselves when Jack-
son dropped in and, presenting a six-shooter, said: "Give that man his
money you robbed him of or I will kill every son of you in a
minute." They complied.
After conducting the business here for several years, he went to St. Louis
and engaged in the wholesale grocery business On finding his health fail-
ing, he went to the mountains and engaged in mining and later in stock-
raising on the plains, but failed to regain it, and finally died December 24,
1893, and now rests under a beautiful granite shaft in Fairview cemetery,
while his venerable widow is at this writing living at Sioux City with her
son.
Among tho<e that were bound for California but were attracted and
stopped off here was S. S. Bayliss. He was a Virginian of the old school,
courteous and dignified, but not accustomed to roughing it. lie traded his
outfit for claims that included much of the most desirable property of the
city. Of this he caused to be platted and recorded as Bayliss' addition, one
square of which he gave to the public for a park, and for many years he was
considered very wealthy. But in later years money in divers ways slipped
from him, his family became scattered and he died in 1874 in comparative
poverty. For years there was a band stand in the center of the park where
during summer evenings free concerts were given, but later this was sup-
planted by a beautiful fountain, and as we enjoy the shade of this beautiful
spot, it seems sad that there is not even a statue placed to perpetuate the
memory of the giver. There are numerous similar cases, but not all are so
pathetic as this.
Addison Cochran was another fine old southern gentleman, who had been
a colonel in the Mexican war. He bought more property than he could
handle or pay for and when crowded, begged his creditors to take all and re-
lease him. This they refused to do and he fled to the mountains, went into
mining, made a raise, as well as had his land, during his absence. He sold
some, redeemed the balance and became rich at last. He was elected mayor
of the city. He also donated a square for a park which has been nicely im-
proved. He died May 20. 1896, and has a beautiful monument in Fairview.
But we are going too fast. We must go back to the early times.
The California emigration, added to the Mormon occupation, had brought
us to the place where we must assume the duties and responsibilities of estab-
lished communities.
14 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
The county having been organized, it became necessary to have the other
accessories. A huge log house was bought of the Mormons for a court house
and a small building for a jail. The.se were built on South Fir.~t street (then
called Hyde) opposite the font of Plainer street. The jail was about eighteen
feet square, constructed of three-inch plank, doubled so as to break joints,
ami filled so full of spikes that it would be impossible for a prisoner to saw
out, and although occasionally one would escape, it is altogether probable they
were let out by some friend having access to the key.
This was called the Cottonwood, and Judge Frank Street had the credit
of being the architect. After doing duty for the county a number of years
the city moved it down on the northwest corner of Second and Vine street, 5
where Quinn's lumber office imw is, ami used it for a calal se. It came to
a -ad ending in »>7 by an unfortunate man being burned to death in it.
At thai time there were no police, only the marshal. A laboring man
was put in for drunkenness. The furniture consisted of a bunk, wood stove.
table and two chairs. It i- supposed thai he had added wood to the tire
ami left the stove door open and the tire rolled out and caught. His cries
were heard by a near neighbor, but they thought nothing of it. a- drunken
men frequently kept up a noise, but when the lighl attracted attention and
help arrived it was too late, lie was a harmless man with a family and his
only fault was this weakness. It was a shock to the entire community.
A- soon a- a good room could be rented the old court house was aban-
doned and for year- the district court wa- held in room- rented for the
occasion.
Another man that was attracted here by the California, emigration was
('. 0. Mynster. lie wa.- a native ol Denmark, had been living for some
time in Washington City, stopped in St. Louis, bought a stock of goods, and
came here in 1850, but to i late for the spring rush, and opened a mire in
the building that later became notorious as the Ocean Wave saloon, where
he traded off his stock to the Mormons, who were pulling out for Salt Lake.
Among these claim- was one that included tin famous Mynster spring before
alluded to. He thus acquired a large amount of valuable land, some being
in the bluff.-, heavily timbered, as well as bottom land. lie died in 1852
of cholera. His widow. Mrs. Maria Mynster, managed the estate for many
years, living at the corner of Fir.-t street and what is now Pierce, later built
a tine residence on Scott street and Washington avenue, but finally moved to
a home with her -on. by the bin spring, where -be died in May, 1892.
For these facts we are indebted to W. A. Mynster, the son above referred
to. who at this writina is president of the- bar association of the county. He
fully believe< that -pot by the spring to be the original Council Bluffs, as he
occasionally finds evidence of former presence of white men and Indians, of
pottery and stone implements that must have belonged to inhabitants of pre-
historic times.
Dustin Amy wa.- another refugee from Nauvoo. He placed his family
and outfit with David DeVol and family for the pilgrimage across the state
while lie came around by St. Louis, where be laid in a stock of stoves and
tinware and opened up and carried on the business for a while, but finally
THE COURTHOUSE. COUNCIL BLUFFS.
PUBLIC Llbi
r OR, LtU:
;
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 15
went on to Utah. His wife declined going farther and the family remained
here, she opening a boarding house, and their son Royal succeeded him in
the business which, though only eighteen year- old, he conducted successfully
for more than a half century, while his mother, by industry and good in-
vestment, became quite wealthy, and later, when her husband became feeble;
she went and brought him back and cared fur him until his death in 1868.
David DeVol, before mentioned, who came at the same time, clerked in
stores, held several public otlices and reared a line family. 1 1 i~ son. Paul
Colman, built up a large business in the hardware, -love and tin business,
which he conducted until his death, when it became incorporated a- the P.
('. DeVol Company, with his son as manager, thus perpetuating the name.
The pioneer. Mrs. DeVol, died October 28. 1894. .Mr. DeVol died July 6,
1901, aged ninety-six year-. Two daughters at this time survive them. Miss
Mary, who has lived at the homestead on First street for sixty year-, and Mr.-.
W. R. Vaughan, of St. Louis.
These great movements of men wore a groove that was soon to be fol-
lowed by the pony express, the stage coach, the telegraph, and finally the
Union Pacific Railroad. The same cause that has always impelled mankind
to follow the sun was more active than ever before, and no such body of
men — men consisting of those of all occupations, trade.- ami professions —
ever moved with .such irresistible force to capture such a prize as the host
that launched itself upon the frontier for the conquest of California.
All young or middle aged men, very few women and no children. In
their rough clothing you could not distinguish a senator from the backwoods-
man, but all had a keen sense of honor, and thieving and petty crimes were
almost unknown, and a woman was safer in that rough crowd than in New
York city to-day with its thousands of police.
Following these grand movements, however, came the jackalls to prey
upon the mass until it becomes necessary to crush them without tine process
of law.
COUNCIL BLUFFS INCORPORATED.
Before the supremacy of the Mormons was ended, the Gentiles (as all
others were called) were pouring in. In November, 1851, Rev. G. G. Rice
started a little church of eight member-, also a Sunday School in a log house
on Broadway, a little west of the intersection of Glenn avenue. This was Con-
gregational and has grown to be a large and influential society Mr. Rice
at eighty-six is still with us although not engaged in the ministry. Rev.
Moses Shinn, of the Methodist persuasion, used to preach and some claimed
that lie was as learned in full deck poker as in theology, but this was prob-
ably a joke.
At this time Kanesville contained over seven thousand population, in-
cluding its suburb of Carterville, which was east of the Mosquito creek and
extended from that stream to the top of the hill in a southerly direction.
In '52 matters had reached a point where it seemed desirable to have a
city organization, and early in 1853 a charter was granted for the city of
Council Bluffs, and Kanesville disappeared. In April of that year the first ,
16 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
charter election was held, which resulted in the election of Cornelius Voorhis
for mayor; W. H. Robinson, recorder; M. W. Robinson, marshal; S. S. Bay-
liss, G." G. Rice, S. T. Carey, L. 0. Littlefield, L. M. Klein, J. E. Johnson,
J. K. Cook and J. B. Stutsman, for aldermen; R. L. Douglas, attorney; Sam-
uel Jacob, engineer, and David DeVol, assessor, and the frontier camp be-
came a city.
Up to this time the city was mostly along Indian Creek valley. What
is Broadway was an irregular trail and the principal business within two
squares of the corners of Broadway and Hyde (now Fir?t ) street.
In the summer of '54 the original town of Council Bluffs was surveyed,
platted and recorded by Mr. Thomas Tostevin, who later filled the important
offices of county surveyor, city engineer, county treasurer and mayor of the
city, and died August, 1905, at the age of seventy -six years. In 1853 the
name of the postoffice was changed to conform with that of the city. And
in the same year the United States land office was opened and -peculators
(lucked in armed with sacks of gold and silver, land warrants and revolvers.
H D. Street was the first register and Dr. S. M. Ballard the first receiver.
Both were Whigs and received their appointment from President Fillmore.
Eighty-three thousand land warrants had been issued by the general govern-
ment t<> the soldiers of the Mexican war and thousands of these found their
way t<> this office and were located on the rich Lands of western Iowa. Some
by the soldier-, hut by far the largest part by speculators, into whose hands
they had fallen. Dr. Ballard, who had been living in Iowa City, now moved
to this city and made his home here, although most of his time after his term
of office had expired was spent on his farm, one of the largest ami finest in
Audubon county. With t lie dissolution of the Whig party he promptly
joined the republicans and became one of its pillars. He was a man of com-
manding personality, being -i.\ feet -ix. with a long beard white a- snow, and
would command attention in any assemblage, as was later illustrated at the
republican state cor~3ntion of 1875. When the announcements of candi-
date- were being made, several names had been talked over, but that of Gov.
Kirkwood had not been mentioned. At the proper time he -tipped into the
forum and announced his name. A number of the delegates arose and de-
manded by what authority he made the announcement, and whether he
would accept. Without taking hi- -eat he responded: "In the name of the
great republican party T make tin.- nomination, and in its name and for it
I promise the great war governor will accept." This took the convention by
storm, and he was elected as triumphantly as nominated.
We have seen the county brought to it- present limits; the district court
organized: the United States land office opened; postoffice established; and
the frontier camp of Kanesville transformed into the city of Council Bluff.-.
Many new-comers were constantly arriving and in addition to the merchants
previously named came Cornelius Voorhis, R. P. Snow. Thomas Hinshall,
B. R. Pegram and Patrick Murphy and. a little later. J. L. Forman. But
now tlie out-go of emigrants exceeded the influx, so that the population of
Council Bluff- was less for a few years than was that of Kanesville.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 17
Anion" the arrivals of 1850 were G. A. and William Robinson, who
accepted clerkships in stores, but were destined to be prominent a little later
by the first opening of the Robinson house, which was the leading hotel for
some years, and the other becoming a member of the firm of Babbitt & Rob-
inson. Notwithstanding the resident population was now decreasing in the
city, the country was settling rapidly after opening of the land office, and
the California and Salt Lake travel was coming as well as going, and the
business continued to increase.
On the 8th of October, 1853, a destructive fire occurred that destroyed
half of the business part of the city, and but a small part of the goods were
saved. These buildings were log and were rapidly replaced with frames,
only to be consumed again a year later. This time, however, part of them
were rebuilt with brick, a brickyard having been in operation for some two
years, owned by Benjamin Winchester.
SCHOOLS.
As in most new communities the large majority of the inhabitants were
young or middle aged, and comparatively few had children of school age,
still there were enough to call for the school marm. There is some uncer-
tainty as to who taught the first, but, at all events, a man by the name of
Brown taught in 1853 in the old log court house, which was for some years
afterward used for the same purpose. James B. Rue and his wife, both ex-
cellent teachers, opened a private school on Washington avenue, and a lhtle
later two sisters, the Misses Rockwell, opened a select school.
THE FIRST MURDER,
During the spring of 1854, while the city was full of emigrants, a man
named Samuels was camped in the glen on the ground that is now Glen
avenue. A young man named Muer had made arrangements to go with
him, and while Samuels was sleeping, Muer killed and robbed him. The
emigrants swarmed out like bee.<. captured the murderer, gave him a fair
trial, including the benefit of attorney, jury and clergy, and when he saw his
case was hopeless, he confessed to Elder Shinn, and directed him to where
he had hidden the money. He was then taken back to the spot where he
had committed the murder, a man climbed an elm tree, adjusted a rope
around a limb with the other end around Muer's neck. He was made to
stand on the back of a mule which was led from under, and he died
from slow strangulation. The civil authorities did not interfere and it would
probably have been useless if they had. as the campers were more numerous
than the citizens. Some twenty-five years later, in working the road about
the eastern limit of the city, a plow tore through an old rotten stump and a.
lot of gold coin rolled out and was scrambled for by the laborers. They
would not tell the amount, but this was undoubtedly the money for which
the murder was committed.
For years after this ravine was called by the name of Hang Hollow. .
18 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
The second murder was that of Fred Lord by Tom Golden, on account
of difficulty over a load of stone. There were two attachments against the
stone and Lord was hauling it away by virtue of one. when Golden shot him
from ambu-h. This was July 10. 1854. Although arrested he was cleared
in some manner. This was at Trader'- Point, close to the south line of the
county. The murdered man left a young wife and infant daughter who
are both living at this writing.
PROMINENT EARLY SETTLERS.
Judge W. ('. .lames, who was to become prominent later on. came here
in December, 1852, flat broke, having tramped across the western part of the
state and earned his firsl dollar here, cutting up a load of cordwood into
stove wood fur Or. P. .1. McMahon. Like nm^l great men. lie had the good
fortune to be born in Ohio, at Elyria, Lorain county, January 1. 1830, on
a farm where lie worked during boyhood, then worked his way through
Oberlin College, studied law with Wilson and Wade in Cleveland. He bad
also some knowledge of I, rick laying and plastering, which he turned to ac-
count by building a hou-e tor Enos Lowe, which, witli two others, lav claim
to being die first brick building in the city. He entered into polities with
tlie same zeal that characterized all his movements, lie was elected county
judge in the tall of L856; he also was a member of the city council at different
times and finally in 1874 was elected mayor of the city. Politically he was
intenselj democratic. A- a lawyer he did very little al the bar, but was a
shrewd office manager, lie was married in 1857 to Miss Annie Van Amain,
who wa- a gifted singer. By this union they had three children — two daugh-
ters and a son. The -on died in hi- boyhood. The elde.-t daughter inherited
her mother'- musical talent and became proficienl in opera and sang with
success in New York. London and Paris. In 1867 he and Milton Rogers
built the three-story block at the southeast corner of Main and Broadway, long
known as the .lame- block. lie also owned a large farm near what is now
the town of Oakland. lie died on Easter Sunday. 1 SOS. Hi- widow at
tin- time i- living in Chicago.
Contemporaneous with .Indue .lame-, was Frank street. He was of
Quaker .-lock, born -Inly 12. 1819. His parent- moved from Salem. N. J.,
to Salem, Ohio, from there he settled in Knoxville, Tenn.. where the subject
of this sketch was born. From there be came to Springfield, 111., and from
there to Salem, Henry county, in this state. Here he remained until he
came to Council Bluffs, in the meantime having studied law in Mt. Pleasant.
Arriving here, he entered "actively into politics and became county
judge.
On the 6th of April. L854, congress passed an act to enable the citizens
of Council Bluffs to acquire title to their lots. It authorized Judge Frank
Street, under rules prescribed by the legislature of Iowa to execute deeds
to bona fide claimants, provided these claim- were made within one year
from tin' passage of the act. On the LOth day of May following the approval
of the president of the act. Judge Street made an entry of two forty-acre
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 19
tracts in Section 30, that is known as the Old Town Plat, and also two forties
in Section 31 in Township 75, Range 43 west. He also entered for the
same use at the same time 240 acres in Section 25, and the same number of
acres in Section 36 in Township 75, Range 44. This substantially included
the territory embraced in the Bayliss claim in the Old Town plat, and in
that east of Madison street, so as to include the George Keeline property.
There were many disputes to settle before titles could in all cases be
perfected, and Judge Street employed Thomas Tostevin, a surveyor, to make
an accurate survey of the lands held in trust by him for the claimants as
just described, and plat the respective lines. This was done and Thomas
Tosievin's map has been taken as accurate where a reference is made to that
date. Thomas Tostevin and his brother David were both masters of their
profession and their work ha.s not Keen confined to western Iowa, but has
extended into Nebraska and Dakota, and their work has been considered
authority for a. half century. They held alternately the offices of city
engineer and county surveyor for many years. Thomas also held the office
of mayor of this city during L868-9, and from L866 to 1868 that of county
treasurer. They were natives of the Isle of Guernsey in the English Chan-
nel, came with their parents to Brooklyn, X. Y., and a.- they grew to
manhood drifted west. Both married and reared families. David died in
1898 and Thomas in August. 1905, but was active in his profession until
within a few weeks of his death. But to return to Judge Frank Street, alter
filling the office of county judge he practiced law for several year-, built
up an abstract of titles, was an active republican at the birth of the party
and to the end of his life. Was mayor of city. 1857-8.
At the city election of 1854-5 J. K. Cook was elected mayor, and J. E.
Johnson, S. T. Cary, W. Hepner, C. Voorhis, L. O. Littlefield, J. B. Stuts-
man and S. S Bayliss, aldermen, and W. D. Brown, city marshal.
In the fall of 1853, following the opening of the U. S. land office,
the first bank was started by Messrs. Green and Ware.
With the inauguration of the Pierce administration, Messrs. Ballard and
Street were retired from the land office and L. W. Babbitt and Dr. Enos
Lowe, democrats, were appointed register and receiver, respectively.
With the first opening of the office, the first entry made was by Joseph
D. Lane, the second by Jacob Bush, and the third by Maria Mynster, which
included Mynster's addition to Council Bluffs.
During these times the receiver was required to make his deposits at
Dubuque and there being no public conveyance, it was quite an under-
taking to remove the treasure across the state.
In conversation with Mr. Lowe many years after, lie related his experi-
ence of one of these trips to the writer. He took a light two-horse rig. hired
two men that he had every confidence in and, all being well armed, started
with their treasure on their three-hundred-mile trip. There were some
twenty-mile reaches without a house, and in making one or two of these
the thought would occur, "Supposing these two should prove treacherous,
what could I do?"' and the thought oppressed me until I pretended to be
sleepy, spread down blankets and laid down with my head on the treasure
20 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
chest and feigned sleep, while watching them with my hand on my revolver,
determined to get the first .shot if the emergency should arise. On nearing
a settlement this feeling would vanish, and I would feel ashamed for having
doubted their fidelity. Later, arrangements were made to deposit at St.
Louis, with which we were connected by steamboat. This was more con-
venient for transporting thirty or forty thousand dollar- in gold.
At the regular judicial election in 1853, Samuel H. Riddle was elected
judge of the district court, but he, not being a lawyer, the canvassing board
refused him a certificate of election. Hi> opponent for some reason was also
refused, which created a vacancy. It appearing that Riddle had received
a majority of all the vote- cast, Governor Hemstead appointed him to fill the
vacancy. In 18.34 he was elected for the full term, and served with credit,
his decisions being approved by the people and sustained by the supreme
court.
lb- was a oative if Kentucky, plain ami companionable, was not an
office seeker, bul later, at the request of many citizen-, without regard to
party. In- consented to run for presidenl of the board of education, was
elected by a large majority ami served acceptably.
Anion- the mo-t noted arrival- during the early part of 1854 was that
of Mar-hall Turley. He came from Galesburg, Illinois, became interested in
a tract of land in connection with William Gale and ('lark I-".. Carr, which
they laid out ami platted a- the Galesburg addition to Council Bluffs. He
was an original character, of strong conviction- and one of tin- mo-t pro-
gressive of men. although from hi- deep ami patriarchal appearance lie would
be taken for the reverse. lie was quite an inventor, as well as philosopher,
and a- a public speaker hail few equals, always having a fund of anecdotes
to emphasize In- remarks.
He seemed to care hut little for money and was open and above board
in all hi- transactions, used no secrecy in hi- experiment- and as a conse-
quence ua- cheated out of some valuable patents. He was undoubtedly the
real inventor of the sulky plow, which has worked wonders in farming.
He wa- intensely anti-slavery in his political view-, ami a- a natural result
became a -launch republican a- thai party crystallized. He was also a
stroM- prohibitionist. He was generous to a fault. In 1863, when the Cedar
Rapids ami Missouri River Railroad wa- approaching but -till holding in
uneertaintj 'heir point of striking the river, at last, in July an agent
appeared ami proposed to make this their terminus, and have their car- run-
ning in here by the lir.-t of January. 1S.">7. providing the people would donate
$30,000 cash, the right-of-way from north line of county and depot grounds
in the city. Il had been years since many of US had heard a locomotive
whistle, and although we all knew it wa- coming anyway, enthusiasm was
aroused, a ma— meeting called at Burhop's Hall, the band gol out. and the
hall filled. When the proposal wa- announced. Mr. Turley arose and -aid:
"I will give you eighty acre- for your depot purposes." "Which way do the
two forties lay." the agent asked, "east and west, or north and south'.''" "Take
your choice." -aid Turley. The effect was magical — the res! of the donation
was soon subscribed, and the car- arrived a- promised.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 23
In 1853 the greal increase in travel seemed to demand better hotel ac-
commodation- than already existed, and S. S. Bayliss proceeded to build
the Pacific House on the spot now occupied by the John Beno Company's
store. It was a plain three-story brick, with long dining room running back,
and at that time far superior to any of the others here. Its opening on
Christmas with a grand ball at night was quite an event. Additions were
made later, and for a number of years it was the leading bote! west of Des
Moinea and north of St. Joseph.
Besides a number of names already mentioned that arrived in the
spring of 1854, who were destined to become prominent, were those of R. L.
Douglas and A. V. Larimer, both lawyers of ability. Mr. Douglas was a
native of Hagerstown, Maryland, and removed to northern Indiana in his
youth, where he studied law, and after practicing there for a number of
years came here to resume it. became active in public affairs, was a member
of the city council for two term-;, then city attorney two terms and later
judge of the circuit court, took an active part in the organization of the K.
C, St. Jo. & C. B. Railroad, and later in that of the Wabash. Soon after the
close of the war. he went to Florida on account of his health, started an
orange grove, died there in LS77, and his widow moved to Cleveland, Ohio,
where his relatives were . living. Judge Larimer was born in Center
county, Pennsylvania, March 21, 1829. His early education was in the
"little log schoolhouse" during the winter months. Being ambitious, he
secured a scholarship at Alleghany College at Meadville, Pennsylvania. After
studying a year, his means giving out, he returned to the farm and worked
for a time, then went west, and, like Lincoln, engaged in fiatboating for a
time and returned to college, studied law and attended law lectures at the
law school of Judge McCartney at Easton, Pennsylvania, came to Council
Bluffs and became active in public affairs. In the fall of 1854 he became
candidate for prosecuting attorney on the democratic ticket against L. M.
Kline, whig, and was elected. There being a vacancy in the office of county
judge, he was appointed to fill it, holding that position until 1858. In the
latter year he was elected to house of representatives against B. R. Pegram.
He built up a good practice, made good investments and became wealthy.
He was a bachelor, but built a fine residence and for a time occupied it with
his sister. Later on he went to Sioux City and remained there several years,
then to Omaha, where he died in 1905.
The same year J. M. Palmer came from Chester county, Pennsylvania,
engaged in the real estate business, was elected mayor four terms, built a
three-story block of store buildings and a public hall and engaged for a time
in banking, but failed in the crash of 1857. He married Miss Helen M. Day.
of Portage county. Ohio, a niece of H. H. Field. He had one son, Captain
Charles D. Palmer, a graduate of "West Point, who served during the Philip-
pine war and afterward engaged in banking. One daughter, Mrs. Charles
Stilling, died in 1898, one in infancy and one, Mrs. Harriet Fell, is now
living in Omaha. He died in 1892.
During 1854. owing to the increasing travel across the Missouri and the
prospect of the opening up of Nebraska for settlement, it seemed necessary
24 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
to improve the means of crossing the river, consequently a company was
formed and a charter obtained for the Council Bluffs and Nebraska Ferry
Company.
The incorporators were Dr. Enos Lowe, S. S. Bayliss, Jas. A. Jackson,
General Samuel R. Curtis, Dr. S. M. Ballard, W. \V. Brown, Jesse Williams
and J. II. D. Street. Steam ferry boats were put mi. which continued to run
until the expiration of it- charter, when bridging of the river made it-
renewal unnecessary and it became a thine of the past. On the west
side of the river, on a beautiful plateau, a town was laid out and platted
during the summer of 1854 ami named Omaha, from the Omaha tribe of
Indians that occupied that vicinity hut had sold their lands to the govern-
ment ami settled on a reservation some seventy miles north. This embraced
-nine of the !ine-t land- iii the territory. The projectors of thi- town were
mainly the incorporators of the ferry company, whose name- were given
ibove, ami with our or two exceptions residents of Pottawattamie county.
Even at thi- early day railroad men were casting about for ultimately reach-
ing California by rail, ami already a line had been surveyed from Rock
I-land lo Council Bluffs, and the Platte valley seemed to be the mo-t natural
route. Tie- line surveyed was known a- the Mississippi and Missouri, and
was tl ne mainly adopted in the final construction of thai road across the
-late.
During the summer of 1854 Sylvanus Dodge with hi- family moved out
from Massachusetts and located on a beautiful trad of land on the Elkhorn
river in Nebraska, lie had two sons, Granville M. and Nathan I'.. who were
destined to play conspicuous pari.-. The former not only in Pottawattamie
county, hut in the affairs of tin- state and nation. The Indian- becoming
troublesome, they settled in Council Bluffs where the sons engaged in bank-
ing, the former becoming a member of the firm of Baldwin & Dodge,
while in addition to thi- he continued hi- surveying and engineering as
occasion required; while Nathan 1'. managed their banking and real estate
business. Both of these men are so well known by the entire communitj
to make anything -aid by the writer at thi- time superfluous. Both are
living and active though having passed their three score ami ten year-.
The winter of 1854-5 was a remarkably mild one. much of the time like '
Indian Sun iiner. so much so that on Christmas a party of young people were
starting ou1 from the Robinson House for a horseback ride, when it came to
a sad end by one of the young ladies being thrown from her horse, which
resulted in her death in a few hour-. Year- afterward, old timer-, in speak-
ing of the mild winters, would refer to thi- a- the Ann Floyd winter, that .
being the name of the lady.
During the preceding year a number of substantia] people arrived
and bought out claims and became permaneni residents, among which were
1*. 1>. Clark, A. J. Bump and J. J. Johnson, who went into farming ex-
tensively from two to four miles east of the city, while another number
settled a lew mill- northeast, convenient to the Wick- mill.
Some of these were Mormons, hut remained after the exodus. Among
FIRST COURTHOUSE— PURCHASED OF THE MORMONS. WHO
USED IT AS AN ASSEMBLY ROOM.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
these were William ami Henry Garner, George Scorbld, Simeon Graybill,
Alex Follett and Alexander Mar-hall.
These all secured good farms and became wealthy. A mail route was
now established between Des Moines and the Bluffs, the mail being carried
in a small two-horse hack that made the round trip once a week. The first
station east being at Silver Creek, the second at Wheeler's Grove, the latter
being kept by Noah 1). Wheeler, and the third just east of the county line
at a little settlement called Indian Town.
Up to this time there were but three voting precincts in the county,
those being Council Bluffs, Wheeler's Grove and one in what is now Rock-
ford township.
The first marriage of gentiles in Kanesville was that of M. D. Hardin
and Miss Harriet Joiner, January 26, 1852, by Rev. E. E. Rice. This was
appropriate. Mr. Hardin, son of Davis Hardin, being the first white boy
to locate permanently here. Mrs. Hardin is still with us, Mr. Hardin hav-
ing died in 1893.
The marriage of James A. Jackson and Miss Henrietta Cook soon fol-
lowed, also that of William II. Robinson and Miss Mary Ann Lafferty.
Nebraska, was rapidly settling up and although tin- history relates to
Pottawattamie county, it i- so closely interwoven with that of those ad-
joining, both in Iowa and Nebraska, that we are compelled to step over the
line occasionally. Claims were being made constantly by persons from this
side, frequently resulting in violence and bloodshed. A case of this kind
occurred at the old site of Fort Calhoun. A party consisting of Hadley D.
Johnson, Addison Cochran, A. J. Poppleton, Jas. C. Milchel. J. P. Casady,
II. C. Purple, A. V. Larimer, and a number of others of Council Bluffs, all
prominent men, had made a claim for a town site. Sherman (loss, of Rock-
ford township, was also associated with them. Word came that their claim
had been jumped. It has never been legally determined which claimant
was in the right, but it was true, another party was in actual possession
of the cabin, and was making improvements, and it was resolved to dislodge
him. peaceably if possible, forcibly if necessary, and, organizing themselves
into a little army, well armed, with Mr. Goss for their captain, they took up
the march. Arriving; they found they had been correctly informed. The
fortress was occupied, but the strength of the garrison was not known, but
chinking had been removed from between the logs, forming good embrazures.
Halting within a few rods of the cabin, a command to surrender was made,
to which, after a parley, the commandant refused, whereon an order to
charge was made, and as the storming party got within a few feet the gar-
rison opened fire and Captain Goss fell dead, with two shot- in the brea
and Mr. Purple lost an arm; and a spectator declared the retreat was th£
most masterly previous to that of Bull Run. A little later Council Bluffs
parties had a conflict over a claim over on the Elkhom in Nebraska. The
claimants were R. P. Snow on the one side and Jesse Winn on the other.
They met in the cabin and a quarrel ensued, in which Mr. Snow was severely
cut and Winn killed. The Snow side of the story is, that Winn cut him
with a knife and his father-in-law, Mr. Tabor, shot Winn in defense of his.
26 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
son-in-law. Winn being dead, hi- .-lory could not be heard, and their cause
has long ago gone to a higher court than any here, as all the parties have
passed over.
A. J. Poppleton. mentioned in connection with the Fort Calhoun affair,
came to the Bluffs in 1854 from the state of New York. He opened a law
office here and boarded at the Pacific House, where he formed the acquaint-
ance of -Mi— Sears, a relative of the proprietor, which resulted in their mar-
riage in 1856, after which he moved to Omaha, where he rose to the head
of hi- profession ami when the Union Pacific ro.nl was built he became its
general solicitor.
THE KANSAS-NEBEASKA BILL.
We have now passed the occupation by the Pottawattamies, and also that
of the Mormons, lor. although many -till remained, thev were in the minor-
ity. The great California emigration had subsided, when another great move-
ment was I line, up in which Pottawattamie county would be largely
interested, viz organizing the Territory of Nebraska.
In the winter of 1853 General A. C. Dodge, one of the Iowa senators,
was traveling through Fremont county on horseback on a tour of investiga-
tion of the condition of western Iowa, it- settlement, and the character of
the country west of tin- Missouri. lie became impressed with the importance
of organizing all the country now included in Kansas and Nebraska as
Nebraska Territory, and on his return to Washington he introduced such a
hill. When it came back from the committee on territories, of which Sena-
tor Douglas was chairman, it was so amended as to provide for the organizing
of two territories, one to be called Kansas and the other Nebraska. The
passage of this bill was the mo-t momentous evenl in it^ consequences since
the purchase of Louisiana, if nni since the Declaration of Independence.
It was conceded from the first, that whatever the result, in Kansas,
Nebraska would become a ire.' state and only a few -lave- as house servants
were ever brought into the territory. During the perilous time- of the con-
ie-i in Kansas, a person on coming up the river througb Missouri would feel
a sense of relict when they began to breathe the glorious free air of Iowa and
Nebraska; and although Pottawattamie county wa- at that time strongly
democratic and believed in the doctrine of squatter sovereignty, these demo-
crat would have been quick to exercise it in excluding slavery from among
themselves. In fact, there were a few men that went to the other extreme to
the extent <>t aiding -lave- to escape. Of this class wa- one Calvin Bradway,
in the eastern end of the county, that for a long time kept an underground
station and constructed a large cave cellar in hi- corn field, and when enough
were received for a load he would take them to the next station, which was
at or near Lewi-, in ('a.— county; and although hi.- neighbors did not approve
of ii. he seemed to like to show his hatred of the institution by sometimes
taking them through boldly by daylight. He wa- violent and fanatical in
Other ways, and killed a man named Fair-lcin over business trouble, lied the
country and. after some three or four years, returned and gave himself ir
to Sheriff Field in open court. Judge Fay presiding, and after being in
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 27
custody two or three days, and no probability of finding any witnesses, his
case was dismissed on motion of the prosecuting attorney. He finally met
his death while sitting in the house of a neighbor in the evening by a shot
through the window. His slayer was never known.
With the organizing of the Territory o*f Nebraska, it became a matter of
importance to the people of Council Bluffs that the capital should be located
at Omaha and after a pretty brisk contest it was accomplished, although a
majority of the population was south of the Platte river and made an effort
to take it there, but influence was too strong for them, and for a short time
the government of Nebraska though nominally in Omaha was actually in
Council Bluffs.
Omaha continued to hold it for year-, notwithstanding the majority of
the population as well as representatives in the Legislature were south of that
river, and it was currently rep nidi thai -nllieien! South Platte representa-
tives had to be fixed at each session to h ild it. Be this as it may, Council
Bluffs had men well versed in making locations, as appeared a little later
when two of her leading citizens were largely instrumental in locating the
Iowa capita] at East DesMoines, in which, even at that early day. graft was
suspected of playing a conspicuous part.
OTHER SETTLERS.
Among the men that came t:> Council Bluffs during 1854 and 1855 wen
John Hammer and J. 1'. William-, both large contractors and builders. The
buildings constructed by them during a long series of years would make a
pretty respectable town of itself. They also took an active part in public
affairs, were members of the city council more term- than any. except J. B.
Lewi.-, >ince the organization of the city. The former, in connection with
|F. T. C. Johnson, built the brick courthouse in IS is, the Ogden House in
1869, of which he (Hammer) was one-third part owner. Burhop's Hall,
esides other public and private buildings too numerous to mention; while
Mr. William- has done an immense amount of building, has filled the office
if sheriff, which he resigned during the war and raised and commanded
Company A of the Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry, and, the best of it is, that
at this writing they are both with us. well and hearty in their eighty-third
■ year.
Another one worthy of notice who came here in 1855 was Dr. Seth H.
iCraig. He, like all great men, was born in Ohio, in 1825, worked his way
iwest, was in the Mexican war one year, studied medicine, came to Van Buren
'county in an early day, volunteered in time of boundary dispute with Mis-
souri, was elected sheriff of Pottawattamie county on the democratic ticket in
1859 over H. H. Field, republican, and George Doughty, independent, re-
ceiving more votes than both of them. He was holding this office when the
war broke out and resigned, raised Company B in the Fourth Iowa, served
in that capacity until detailed on staff duty, when his first lieutenant, Kins-
nan, became captain and afterward colonel of the Twenty-third, and finally
fell at the Battle of Black River, Mississippi. After the war he became
28 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
warden of the penitentiary at Fort Madison, later postmaster at Wymore,
Nebraska ; moved back to Council Bluffs and died August 1, 1905.
About this time a great temperance wave that was -weeping over the
country struck Council Bluffs and resulted in organizing a lodge known as
the Sons of Temperance, with Thomas Tostevin as its chief officer, and it
had among its membership Judge Frank Street and Thomas P. Treynor.
The latter now commenced forging to the front. He held the office of city
recorder for six years, was appointed postmaster and served during the Grant
administration, became associated with the Nonpareil, was county commit-
teeman and as such became a power in western [owa. His sons appear to be
following closely in his footsteps, one having succeeded him as postmaster
throu,e]i two administrations, another was connected with the Nonpareil in
different capacity 3 for more than a quarter of a century, while a third studied
medicine, built up a large practice and ha- been coroner for two or three
term-.
The first lodge of Ancienl Free and Accepted Masons was constituted
July 21. 1855, under the name of Bluff City Lodge. No. 71. It.- first master
was L. L. Brown, the other officers were Dr. J'. .1. McMahon, Judge Samuel H.
Riddle, Samuel Ruepper, A. \V. Hollister, J. C. Fargo and Dr. S. W. Wil-
liams. Among the earliest members were Joseph Weirich, W. W. Maynard,
Judge A. V. Larimer. John Keller. Indue \V. <\ .lame-, Guy Benton and
Leonard Sears.
Among the buildings erected this year was the Phoenix Block, a three-
story brick on Upper Broadway, in which a large stock of goods were kept by
Babbitl & Robinson, the former being the owner. The United State- land
office was in the second story, with I.. W. Babbitt as register and L. S. Hills
his deputy.
Another old citizen that must not 1 verlooked was .Judge A. S. Bryan .
He came here during the Mormon occupation and, although nol a Mormo
himself, was very popular with them, as well as with everyone thai knei
him, as was also Ids wife, Aunt Puss, as all her friends called her. This
venerable couple lived for several year- after their golden wedding. 'I
had no children. As early as L852 be was elected to the legislature bj tl
Mormon vote, though, as before stated, he was oo< one himself. His im
ments proved profitable. He became quite wealthy, built two hotel- at dif-
ferent times, became interested in stores, laid oul and platted Bryant and
Clark's addition to Council Bluffs, and was also interested in a .-tone quarn
in Sarpy county, Nebraska. Although from Missouri, he was strongly anti-
slavery, and when the republican party was bun he cast his lot with it and
continued to act with it to the end of his days.
The winter of L855-6 was much colder than the one preceding it, and a
Mr. Barret, of Crescent township, being overtaken by a storm on the i
prairie, was frozen to death.
In the spring of 1856, at the city election. 1>. W. Price, dem
was elected mayor; J. E. Johnson, J. B. Lewis. .Tame- Orton, J. T. Baldwin
W. C. James, J. I). Test. Patrick Murphy and G. A. Robinson were i
aldermen; city recorder, F. E. Welch: marshal, II. D. Harl; treasurer B
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 29
Stutsman: engineer, Samuel Jacobs; assessor, David DeVol; city attorney.
R. L. Douglas.
This was a boom year. The great rush for California and Salt Lake
was over, but quite a large number were moving in for permanent settle-
ment. The counties adjoining us were settling up, as well as those across
the river. Boats arrived and departed almost daily, while the Great Western
Stage Company ran a tri-weekly line of four-horse coaches to and from
Des Moines, and there was a like line to and from St. Joseph, and a two-
horse hack line to Sioux City, while II. D. Harl ran a line of four-horse
buses to and from Omaha, going west in the forenoon and back in the
afternoon. Fare, fifty cents each way. These ran in connection with the
steam ferry boat Lizz Bayliss. Buyers came in from within a radius of sixty
or peventy miles, and trade' was good. The building up of Omaha had
necessitated an upper landing, giving us two, as the lower, where Manawa
now is, was still used. What would strike a stranger on arriving was the
inferior class of building-. Lumber was scarce and dear, and people were
compelled to make those vacated by the Mormons do, although a few brick
buildings were beginning to be in evidence. The city was moving west. A
brick three-story block was just completed. This consisted of four store-
rooms, which were being filled with large stocks of goods. This was called
the Empire Block and occupied the ground on the south side of Broadway,
between Main and -Pearl streets. Two of these firms had been in business
up town for years. Officer & Pusey had built a one-story frame on the corner
of Main and Broadway and had opened their bank. Thus a nucleus of
business was formed near the Pacific House and a great rivalry was the
result between up town and down town, which became so fierce as to affect
the people socially and resulted in up town and down town parties, balls, etc.
Horace Everett had opened his real estate office on the southwest corner of
Broadway and Pearl and the banking house of Green. Ware & Benton
was located about a hundred feet west in a brick two-story building. Dr. Enos
Lowe. United States receiver, having his office in the second story. Finley
Gusman had opened a drug store west of Officer & Pusey's bank and Dillin
& Doughty opened one during the summer next to the Pacific House, and
Henn, Williams & HoUten had started a bank next west of it. Also a dry
goods store was started on the corner of Scott street by B. B. Brown.
Casady & Test had opened their office at the angle where Hamilton Shoe
Store now stands. The business was divided nearly enough equally to make
the rivalry quite interesting, while between the two there were about two
squares of neutral ground without stores and but few dwellings. The
Phoenix block on Broadway, near First street, had been built and was occu-
pied by Babbit & Robinson with a large stock of goods. The postoffice, court-
house and land office were up town. Council Bluffs at this time contained
perhaps about three thousand people, but was doing the business of towns of
eight or ten thousand. There were five banks, and a tenderfoot on seeing
a little frame or log shanty with BANK in large letters would feel like
laughing, but if he went in he would see a big safe open and displaying
more gold and silver than he could carry. Similarly in passing an old log
30 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
house a feeling of compassion would steal over him for the poor inhabitants
of the wretched abode, but what would be his surprise on seeing elegantly
dressed ladies leaving, and as the door opened disclosing elegant furniture
and carpets, and perhaps hearing the notes of the piano, of which there
were now three or four in the city.
But, owing to lack of building material, it was the best they could do,
and most of them seemed to really enjoy it. The house first occupied by
General Dodge, and where his first child was born, was one of thLs kind.
A six-foot man could not enter the front door without stooping, the floor was
of puncheons, the roof of .-bakes, and for inside finish it was lined with
cheap muslin, and it is quite probable they enjoyed it as much as any they
have since occupied.
We will -tart from the postoffice, a story-and-half log house, with the
Bugle office on the upper floor and Dan Carpenter working the old hand
press. This was on North First street, where Ex-mayor Vi< Jennings now
lives, and going south the next house i- the Yankee Notion, a kind of res-
taurant, then two or three dwellings, the grocery store of Mr. Clough and
some warehouses and the bookstore of Sanford A: Craig, where the Zaller
store now is, brings us to Broadway. Crossing, we come to the Ocean Wave
Saloon, and. although the glory of California emigration time- has
departed, it is still a pretty hard proposition, and the waves ran pretty high
al time-. Next to the Wave i< the jewelry store of Charles Luemler, the
drug store of X. T. Spoor, the general store of K. 1'. Snow, the stove and
tinware store of R. D. Amy. a ball alley and the large log boarding house of
Mrs. Amy brine.- u- n, Pierce street, and from here south are only dwellings.
Go another square south and cross over to the west side and we come to the
old log courthouse and cottonwood jail, then the Union Hotel, a huge log
partly weatherhoarded. and kept by YV. L. Biggs. A dozen or so of dwellings
bring us back to corner of Broadway, where we find the store of Thomas
Henshal. Going west on the south side we come to Sam Perrin's real estate
office, the Phoenix Saloon, -inre of Huntington & Pyper, stove 3tore of Milton
Roger-, county judge'- office, real, estate office of Louden Mullen, jewelry
store of Mr. Harris, and we come to the Robinson House, another huge log
partly weatherboarded and kept by <!. A. Robinson, a clothing -tore, drug
-tore of Emanuel Honn, Daguerrean gallery of .lob Damon, Broad Gauge
Saloon. This brings us to the Chronotype office. A few -mall dwellings
brings us to the City Hotel, another log, with long porch in which is a huge
triangle for calling guests to meal-. This i- where the Ogden House now
stands. Crossing, we come to the residence of A. ('. Ford. We now strike
the neutral belt, in which we find the law office of Judge A. V. Larimer, some
.-mall buildings, one of which had been used for Rev. Bice'- mission, and
find Thomas Tostevin's office on the angle formed by Broadway and Fourth,
or. a- it was called. Bancroft. Crossing over, we are supposed to be down
town. Here, where the ten-cent and two or thn ther .-ions were, was
the lumber yard of Keller & Bennett, and one or two shops bring us to
Guittar's Indian store, where the Pierce -hoe store now i<. Crossing Alain,
we come t,i the Flephatit store of Tootle & Jackson in the Empire block
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 33
the store of George Doughty, hardware store of C. J. Fox and general store of
McBride & Bowen brings us to Pearl. Crossing, we find Horace Everett in a
one-story frame where the oigar store now i-. the offices of Addison Cochran,
R. L. Douglas and J. M. Palmer, bank of Green, Ware & Benton, residences
of Joseph Bayliss and W. II. Robinson, Washington Hotel and some small
houses bring us to Sixth. Crossing, on 'the corner is the residence of Samuel
Jacobs, next the little brick of Enos Lowe. This is one of the claimants
for the distinction of being the first brick building. Both of these were
torn down to make room for the postoffice. Keeping west, we find the resi-
dence of R. L. Douglas, a story-and-half house, and on southwest corner of
Eighth street a little brick built by Moses Shinn brings us to the end on
that side. We will now return to the northwest corner of Broadway and
First, and take in the north side. On the corner is (lie brick store of Stuts-
man & Donnel, still standing and having a good trade; next Babbitt & Rob-
inson, with United States land office in second story, store of C. Voorhis,
a long frame sometimes called the Rope Walk, meat market of Debolt &
Ponder, bank of Baldwin & Dodge, barber shop of Robert Russcl. bank of
Pegram & Riddle, a dry goods store, drug store of J. Hann, grocery store of
Patrick Murphy, a saloon, H. D. Harl's bus office, harness shop of J. B. Lewis,
grocery store of John Poolman; Woodbine saloon and one or two small shops
bring us to Second street. Crossing, we conic to the Nebraska Hall saloon,
Beebee's hall and dwelling. Meridith's novelty works. Hepner and Graves liv-
ery stable, Noak's liquor store, S. N. Porteiiield's furniture store. Stein's res-
taurant, Oliver's tailor shop. We now come to the neutral belt with the
dwelling of Mrs. Brown and her daughter, Mrs. Perry, who is one of the
claimants for the distinction of bringing the first piano. A dwelling, and car-
penter shop of James Larue, bring us to the down town boundaries. Here
we strike the law and real estate office of Casady & Test, a saloon of .lames
Orton. another hard proposition, on the corner where the State Savings Bank
now is, and we come to Main street. Crossing, we take in the bank of Officer
and Pusey, jewelry store of Lafferty and Back, drug store of Dillin and
Doughty, a shoe store of Samuel Knepper, drug store of Finley Gusman, and
we reach the Pacific House, John Jones, manager, Western stage office, bank
of Henn, Williams and Hooten, dry goods store of B. B. Brown, which ends
the business.
Continuing on are several dwellings, among which are those of Thomas
Officer. S. N. Porterfield, Mr. Kellogg, and Broadway degenerates into a
crooked trail through a sea of prairie grass and sun-flowers for three miles
to the ferry, and upper steamboat landing. The residence portion of the
city was bounded substantially by Washington avenue on the north, by Frank
street on the east, Bloomer street and Fifth avenue on the south and Ninth
street on the west. There were a few dwellings beyond, but not enough to
notice. Only a few warehouses, the Waverly House, an unsightly hotel, and
a half dozen small dwellings were the extent of the improvements on South
Main, with about as many on each of North Main and Pearl streets. The
church was not very aggressive at this time. The Congregationalists had
built a small brick church on Pearl street, about where Peregov & Moore's
34 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
wholesale store is situated: the Methodists a small frame on Pierce street, back
of where the Ogden now stands, while the Presbyterians worshipped in a
room in second story of one of the rooms in the Empire block.
During this year quite an amount of improvement was made. Broad-
way was only a crooked mud road with some of the houses .jutting from six
to ten feet into the street. These were ordered moved back and Broadway
brought to its present shape. The city mill at the corner of Bryant street
and Washington avenue was built by a man by the name of Jackson, but •
was sold by him to Baldwin and Dodge, and by them used in manufactur-
ing Hour, which was shipped by ox teams to the government forts and reser-
vations for some years, then -old by them to Officer and Pusey, and by them
to J. C Hoffmayr during the '70s.
Be caused it to be improved by taking out the antiquated machinery.
adding another story and storage room, besides installing the roller system.
It was conducted under this management until the Last few years, when Mr.
Hoffmayr retired, -nice which time it has remained idle. Lately the
machinery has been removed and the building condemned. And so a vener-
able land mark of half a century must give way to something modern. But
this applies to all of us as well as to inanimate things.
During this year J. M. Palmer built a three-story brick Mock of four
-tore rooms on the northwest corner of Broadway and Scott street thai for
many year- was the home of the Nonpareil. L. W. Babbitt also built a
three-story Mock adjoining the Phoenix on the west, and the Hagg brothers
a two-ion one a half square farther west. In the second story of this build-
ing one or two term- of the district court was held, after abandoning the
old log one on First street, and later, one term was held by Judge Lynch, of
which more will be related hereafter.
During this summer a finely uniformed military company was organ-
ized, called the Council Bluffs Guards, with 6. M. Dodo,, for captain, but
he being absent, so much of his time being taken up in surveying, the com-
mand devolved upon Lieutenants Craig and Dunn. A brass hand was also
formed and instructed by < '. C. Kuhn. It- construction was substantially
as follow-: E flat bugle. Whitaker; E flat saxhorns, X. T. Spoor and
D. W. Griffey; B flat, Conductor C. C. Kuhn and C. E. Haggerty; E flat
alto, G. F. Smith; B flat trombone. Sidney Smith: B flat bass, James Orton;
E flat tuba. John Huntington: snare drum, Dr. Alex Shoemaker: bass drum
and cymbals, Samuel Perrin. During the summer they made such progreai
that they could render plain music in a creditable manner.
Sioux City was now forging to the fronl and boats were frequently pi
Lag up, and during the latter part of summer, arrangements were made with
the captain of the steamer Emmigrant, that was bound up for that place, to
take on a large excursion party of Council Bluffs and Omaha people, and the
band by invitation went along, and played at Landing places as customary.
The boat landed at the Omaha agency and Laid up for the night.
The music of the band, as it played from the boiler deck, was 8
tion to the Indians.
o
c
c
o
t- 1
a
::
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 35
During the evening there was a dance in the cabin and many Indians
came down and looked on. One buck that appeared to admire one of the
beautiful ladies, on being asked how much he would give for the white
squaw. He answered quickly, "Four Horses." But as no one seemed
authorized to act, the trade was not consummated. We were royally welcomed
at Sioux City, this being the first appearance of a band this far up, unless
there were some at the forts above.
It would be interesting to know how many of that parly are living
to-day. So far as the band is concerned, it is known Captain N. T. Spoor.
of St. Louis, is the only one. He was with us at the last reunion of the
Army of the Tennessee, and although his hair is white a- snow, his face is
as kindly as ever.
It will be remembered that up to this time bank.- of issue were not per-
mitted in Iowa, but there were kindly disposed men on this side of the river
as well as on the Nebraska side that w : ere too generous to see us struggling
along without money, and accordingly they proceeded to establish hanks at
every steamboat landing on the west side. The reader will bear in mind
these place- were cities, there being no town- or villages at this date. These
bank- issued most beautifully engraved notes, and they went like hot cake-.
circulated freely, and like all new banks were on a strictly sound basis, so
we had plenty of money and as a result good times. The summer of 1856
was pretty dry and warm, but the crops were good, and we were a happy
people.
The winter set in in dead earnest December 1 with a fifty-hour blizzard
and when it subsided there was probably three feet of snow where it was
not drifted. Many of the fences were covered, and quite a while was re-
quired to get the roads opened, and then another would follow. On the
18th of January, 1857, the mercury reached thirty-six below zero. The
hardest job was to get wood, that being the only fuel.
Mr. G. A. Slocum, of what is now Belknap township, in describing the
severity of the storm and extent of the drifting, stated that he had a small
flock of sheep that were missing after the storm had subsided, and after
about a week, seeing some strain coming up from a huge drift, that had
entirely filled a deep ravine, he began investigating, and found his sheep.
They had huddled together and tramped the snow down, but the drifting
formed a complete cover, and they were eating each other's wool, but were
otherwise all right.
But for the known resemblance of the relator to George Washington, this
might be doubted. However, a person was justifiable in believing anything
of that winter. It gave us a farewell benefit April 18, 1857, with eight
inches of snow and two degrees below zero, and all severe winters since have
been by old settlers measured by that.
AVhen .spring came at last and boats began to arrive, business began to
look up. Immigration was coming in, though not as rapidly as in the pre-
ceding spring. Boats were arriving almost daily during the summer with
large stocks of goods. Building commenced in good earnest, railroads were
headed this way and all seemed lovely. In the meantime the surrounding.
36 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
country was being settled, but bad not got to raising produce sufficient for
home consumption, let alone to ship, consequently, the gold and silver was
gradually being drained away, and the pretty notes of the Nebraska banks
came in to fill the vacuum and for a time all went well. Among the im-
provements started during the summer were what is still known as the James
block, on the southeast corner of Main and Broadway, by Judge W. C. James
and Milton Rogers, a large public hall by J. M. Palmer, a large hotel near
the present pumping station called the River house, and a large brick hotel
where the Congregational church now stands. These last two were started
by companies with the view of bringing city lots adjacent to them into the
market.
The River house was completed and opened with a grand ball, but was
not a success, as persons going west would cross to Omaha, and those going
east would keep on up town. It was a frame and after -landing useless
for a year or two it was moved up town and used as a public schoolhouse,
and finally the River house was built in front, and it still forms the rear of
thai hostelry. While the big hotel, the walls of which had risen four stories,
was torn down and the material used in other buildings Later on. Work on
the James liloek and concert hall was suspended, and all owing to a money
panic in the east, that kepi on and struck us early in the fall. Our cherished
Nebraska lulls dropped out of sighl and we waked up one morning and
discovered we had no money, ami the people on tin.' other side of the river
were in no better condition. Thomas II. Benton, of banking house of Green,
Ware & Benton, had built a large dwelling in Glendale. It was not quite com-
pleted, hut he moved into it on Saturday, and on the following Monday the
hank failed to open, but he had availed himself of the benefit of the home-
stead law. We were all in the same boat and had to make the besl of it.
Merchants struggled to accommodate their customers, issued pasteboard chips
good for ten. twenty-five and fifty cents, took what the farmers had to sell,
while they went ragged and burnt ten-cent corn for fuel.
This condition could not last long, however. The ten-cent corn was
raising Lots of cattle and hogs, and the following spring, when Johnson's
army was preparing for the Utah campaign, buyers arrived and money began
to reappear, and bridged us over until a year later, when the Pikes Peak
excitement filled the valleys with camper-, buying supplies and waiting for
the grass to grow before starting. We bad no immense packing houses, but
the merchants had been buying the dressed hogs oi the farmer.-, and packed
and cured, and having their cellar- and warehouses full, were in pretty good
shape, and this was the beginning of the large packing business that
developed later on.
At the spring election for city officers, to serve for the year 1858-9, the
following persons were elected Mayor. J. Smith Hooten ; recorder. Frank
Street; treasurer, C. W. Boyer; city engineer, Samuel Perrin; attorney, C.
E. Stone: marshal, C. W. Bryant; aldermen. Henry Allen. Dudlej S. Nye,
T. 1'. Treynor, J. I'. Casady, Addison Cochran, .1. lb Lewis, 1>. W. Carpenter.
Benedict llagg. Milton Rogers and Ales Shoemaker.
.->
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 37
This was not strictly a party victory, although the head of the ticket
and half the aldermen were democratic. The balance were about equally
divided between democrats, whigs and republicans — for, although the whig
party had been dead since 1852, it .still struggled for recognition.
During Jhia summer a man appeared thai has, during his life, done
more for the cause (if music here than any one that preceded or has followed
him. This was Joseph Mueller. He had fled from Germany on account of
being connected with some revolutionary movement. He was without money
or friends, and with little knowledge of our language, but an indomitable
worker. He pitched into the first work he could find to do, which was that
of sawing wood. While engaged in this at the home of William Folsom,
the father of Amelia, afterwards Mrs. Brigham Young, he heard her and
some of her young lady friends playing the piano in the parlor, and his
quick ear detected an error in the playing. He stepped to the door and
said: "Skuse me, ladies, you make some ledle mistake. Shall I show you?"
Certainly, they said, anticipating some amusement, as he. in his rough
clothes, seated himself at the piano. After showing them the proper rendi-
tion of the passage, he could not resist the impulse to let himself out on
some heavy work, and their amusement was turned to astonishment, and his
career as a w 1 sawyer was closed.
He soon had all the pupils the few pianos in town could accommodate,
besides giving vocal instruction, organizing choruses and giving concerts.
During the spring of this year the Templeton troupe, a dramatic com-
pany, appeared and played a month to good houses. They were the first
to play Camille. East Lynne, The Stranger, etc.
Previous to thi- we had dramatic performances by home talent, but
this seemed tame after seeing the real thing once more.
During the year 1858 Charles H. Stephan -tailed a brewery a few doors
east of where the Ogden house now stand-. This seems to have been about
the first manufacturing after the City and Wicks mills. This was followed
the next year by one established at the angle of East Pierce street, where the
new residence of Oscar Keeline is being built, by Nicholas Hagg, one of
three brothel's of that name. They were bachelors, and two of them died,
leaving Benedict, the third brother, sole heir to the estate, which included a
large amount of property besides the brewery, and thereby hangs quite a
romance. It appears that a young German named Charles Bock and a
young woman named Louise Geise were engaged to be married, but for some
reason the engagement was broken off. Mr. Hagg wooed and married Miss
Geise, and Mr. Bock (Charlie, as they all called him) also married. In three
or four years Mr. Hagg died, as also did Mrs. Bock, and in due time the
old love revived and Charlie and Louise were married and lived happily.
with a plentiful share of this world's goods.
During the summer and fall of 1858 marvelous stories were circulating
of the discovery of gold in Colorado, which culminated in what was called
the Pikes Peak excitement, which, in the following spring, filled our valleys
with campers, and resembled the California emigration, ten years earlier.
During the summer, however, conflicting reports came back denying the
/
38 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
finding of gold, and for a time the return tide became so strong that the
column going west became discouraged, and turning about, joined the re-
treating host, some declaring the whole thing to be a scheme gotten up by
the Missouri river towns in order to sell supplies to the emigrants, and threats
were even made to burn this city and Omaha in revenge. There was prob-
ably no great danger of their doing this, still it was thought prudent to be
prepared, and accordingly the Council Bluffs Guards were ordered, and held
themselves in readiness to act if the emergency required. Fortunately, the
reports came more and more favorable until all doubt was removed, and the
great stream flowing west became permanent, as the reader will observe, with
the wonderful result of founding a great state, with populous and wealthy
cities, all within the life of one generation. Among those first in the push
were many from Pottawattamie county, and among these was Henry Allen,
ex-postmaster of Council Bluffs, who took his family along, and one of his
daughters and Mr. J. B. Atkins had the distinction of being the first couple
married in what is now the great city of Denver.
At this time it was only a mining camp, with no one authorized to issue
license, but a preacher was found and the ceremony performed, which bound
the couple until death separated them in 190.'. by removing Mr. Atkins, who
had been a prominent and honorable citizen, as well as a Mason of high
standing in that order. Mrs. Atkins i- still with us, beloved by a large circle
of friends.
The opening up of this vast mining region made a demand for provis-
ions of all kind-, as well a.- for the necessary implements for working the
mine.-, and as a result long ox teams were constantly moving as lone, .1-
the grass on the plains lasted, and the Platte valley was the great natural
route.
A company was formed in the Bluffs, consisting of John T. Baldwin,
G. M. Dodge, B. R. Pegram and John Warner, who engaged largely in the
business. Thev bought the City mill and kept it running to its full capacity
in furnishing Hour. Thus the Utah, California and Pikes Peak route paved
the way tor the greater enterprise to come later.
The opening up of the mines in Colorado was the cause of the establish-
ment of one of the lir-i "manufacturing industries here, as Charles Hendrie,
who was largely engaged in manufacturing mining machinery at Burling-
ton, came and built quite extensive work- on the comer of Main and Ninth
streets, where he and his son, and son-in-law. Mr. Cony, whom he had taken
into partnership, did an extensive business lor years, until finding it to their
interest to get nearer their customers, finally moved their plan! to Denver.
During all this time political feeling was becoming more and more in-
tense. The failure of the south to establish slavery in Kansas created a
bitter feeling in that section, in fact, the southern people felt that they had
been betrayed, while the great republican party was growing rapidly through
the north, and on looking back from this long distance, we can see that the
"Irrepressible Conflict" was already on. As for our locality, the democratic
party was largely in the majority, and Dougia.- was the idol, even as Bryan
became forty years later.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 39
The republican party in Pottawattamie county was small, but in deadly
earnest. It was during this time that Lincoln visited Council Bluffs.
From this long distance we can look back and see conditions as they
actually were, and it appears now that the great tragedy was unavoidable.
Previous to this, the policy bad been to admit slates so as to keep them
about equally divided on the slavery issue, but now the preponderance of
the free states, both in population and wealth, became so marked as to cause
the slaveholders to fear for the safety of their peculiar institution. In addi-
tion to this, about this time, two books appeared that produced a wonderful
effect on the minds of the southern people and probably hastened the great
struggle. The one being Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
and the "Impending Crisis," by Rowan Hinton Helper, and although some
of our ablest statesmen strove to effeel compromise measures, as in the days
of Clay, their efforts were in vain, and freedo ■ slavery became the "para-
mount issue," and as the history of this greatest of modern wars has been
written by much abler hands, we shall, at the proper time, endeavor to record
only the part enacted by those of our county.
In the meantime men of note were coming among us, and among them
was one we take special pleasure in remembering, viz.. Judge Caleb Baldwin.
He was a giant, both in intellect and body, and modest as a woman. Soon
after coming here hi' was made city attorney, and in 1859 was elected to
the bench of the supreme court of Iowa, and by due process of law became
chief justice of that court. In 1865 be was appointed United States attorney
for the district of Iowa, He was also mayor of the city during 1866-67,
and afterwards formed a law partnership with George F. Wright, which
lasted until bis death in the winter of 1876.
After the treaty of Washington was ratified and the Geneva conven-
tion had determined the award to be paid by Great Britain for spoliation
by their privateers. Judge Baldwin was appointed one of the commissioners
to distribute the award. Socially, be was one of the most companionable
of men and loved fun like a boy, ami. notwithstanding his great size, he
was active as most men of medium build. Being six feet and six inches tall
and weighing four hundred pounds, he wee always conspicuous.
To illustrate bis physical strength we will relate a little incident that
occurred when he was in his prime. Mr. Pusey and Dr. Honn, both men
of over two hundred pounds weight, were standing in front of Officer and
Pusey's bank, and one of them dropped a half dollar, and they were scuffling
to get it. Just then the judge came along and saying, "Boys, you must not
be quarreling on the street," picked up one under each arm and carried
them down the street, their feet sticking out behind like a pair of five-year-
old kids. His mantle seems to have fallen upon his son, John N., who was
born and reared in this city, and graduated at the old high school on the
hill, and has made for himself a national reputation as a. lawyer.
At the regular spring city election on the 14th of March. 1859, George
Doughty was elected mayor, Cornelius Voorhis. recorder, and J. C. Fargo,
marshal. J. B. Lewis. G. M. Dodge, J. AV. Damon, S. N. Porterfield, T.
40 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
P. Treynor, H. H. Oberholtzer, John Hammer and D. W. Carpenter were
elected aldermen, and Frank Street was made city attorney.
At this time John H. Sherman was county judge, and complaints became
general that graft had entered that office by the corrupt issuance of county
warrants. A committee was appointed to examine the affairs of his office,
with the result that he was indicted by the grand jury on the 18th of
February, and at the August term of the district court was convicted and
removed from office. So corrupt had affairs become that county warrants
were only worth thirty-five to forty cents on the dollar, and about all the
county had to show for it- outlay were .some bridges, constructed of poles
and slabs, across the little creek- by a favorite contractor at any price he
saw fit to name. J. P. Casady was appointed to fill the vacancy, but it took
a long time to get to a cash basis.
During this summer and fall Council Bluffs was visited by a number
of eminent men. chief among whom was Abraham Lincoln. He was ac-
companied by Judge Test, of Indiana, ami both addressed a large audience
at Concert Hall, and later in the same hall General A. C. Dodge and T. J.
Kirkwood, candidates for governor, held a joint debate. The democrats
also had a barbecue and ma-.- meeting, and were addressed by the eccentric
but eloquent Henry Clay Dean and Chester C. Cole. All parties were pre-
paring for the great event to transpire a year later.
Owing to the tardiness with which the railroad- were approaching from
the east, people began to look south with a view of connecting with the Han-
nibal & St. Joseph Railroad, which had already reached the latter city. On
the 9tb of November a vast concourse of our people turned out to witness
the breaking ground in the construction of the St. Joseph A' Council Bluffs
Railroad, anil in the evening a large meeting in Concert Hall was addressed
by Co] 1 Sam Black, territorial governor of Nebraska, and Colonel Pea-
body, chief engineer of the company. So thoroughly waked up were our
people iu the matter that a special election, held on the 8th of December,
tlie proposition to subscribe $25,000 of the city was carried by a large ma-
jority, and at a special county election, held on the 15th of February. 1860,
the measure was supplemented by the transfer of the proceed- of the -ale
of swamp lands to the same use to the amount of $40,000. The county held
this stock for several years and finally made an absolute donation of the
stock lo the men in control of the company.
At the regular fall election Judge S. II. Kiddle was elected representa-
tive, Dr. S. II. Craig, sheriff, and J. B. Rue, county superintendent of schools.
At the annual city election, held on March 12. 1880, P. W. Babbit! was
elected mayor. T. P. Treynor was elected city recorder for the second term.
Perry Smith, marshal, and the following named persons were elected alder-
men, to-wit : J. B. Lewis. John Jones. Milton Roger-. W. L. Bigg-. Addi-ou
Cochran and D. W. Carpenter.
During the summer of I860 the two great parties became very active,
and. as before stated, Dough'- was the idol of the grea! ma- of the Demo-
crats. This applied here in Pottawattamie county a- well a- elsewhere, and.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 41
although a few old time whigs remained and clung to the old lime prin-
ciples of that party, they were not numerous enough to effect results, and
in like manner, there was a small party to whom Douglas was not accep-
table. This condition seemed to be general throughout the north.
The nomination of Lincoln struck a popular chord. He was a man of
the comn people, was hailed as the rail-splitter, and his logic seemed to
have the effect of splitting the democratic party.
Although it was openly declared by the pro-slavery element that a dis-
solution of the Union would follow in tin- event of the republican party
coming into power, the great mass of the people were loath to believe it.
The political campaign of L860 resembled the hard cider and loo cabin
campaign of 1840. Both of the leading parties were provided with speakers
of great ability, and torch-light processions, stump-speaking and brass bands
were the order of the day. Pottawattamie county had local talent of a high
order in both parties. The republicans had their Wide-awake and Rail-
splitting organizations, and the democrats their Little Giant clubs, and as
for speaker-, there was no lack. D. C. Bloomer. C. E. Stone. W. II. Kins-
man and Frank Street were always available for a republican rally, while
Captain Price. Colonel Babbitt, W. G. Crawford and .1. C. Turk were equally
qualified to entertain the democrats, while the bra- band, whose number-
were about equally divided politically, caught them "comin' and goin'."
During the summer the city became infested with what the president
call- "undesirable citizens." One in particular named Phil McGuire, a pow-
erful man. whose headquarters were about the Ocean Wave saloon, had made
himself obnoxious in many ways, was finally located with some stolen mules
belonging to John Jones in a temporary camp in the timber on the river
bottom. He was found one morning hanging on a walnut tree on the
western slope of the hill below Fairview cemetery. The coroner was not in
the city, and he remained there all that day and the following night, and
probably a thousand persons went up to "view the remains." A card was
pinned to his coat collar on which was written, "Hung for all manner of
rascality."
The coroner not returning, Justice Bigg.-, acting ;1 s coroner, had a jury
summoned and held an inquest. Not being able to find any clue as to who
were responsible, the jury returned their verdict, as follows: We, the jury,
find that the deceased came to his death at the hands of persons unknown
to the jury.
The inquest being over, the coroner proceeded to administer on the
estate. On the person of the deceased was found a pocket knife, a pair of
thimbles for playing the thimble game, a brass medal with chain attached,
and a one dollar bill.
A bystander suggested that the coroner and three jurors play a four-
handed name of seven-up for the dollar, alleging that there was a precedent
for it in scripture. This was overruled by the coroner, and the order was
made giving the knife to one juror, the chain to one, the thimbles to a third,
and the medal to the constable, providing they would accept them in full
42 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
for their fees, and that the body be buried at the expense of the county. The
coroner retaining the dollar for his fee. The jury and constable agreeing,
the order was carried into effect, the burial being by the side of Muir, on
the ridge a short distance above the soldiers' cemetery. It is doubtful if
anything remains at this time to show their graves. "While this was being
done, about twenty others received warning to leave town within ten hours,
which they were quick to obey, and thugs were scarce for quite a while.
The fall election went democratic so far as local affairs were concernedy
but on learning the result, so far as the president was concerned, some of
the old wheel horses nearly went wild. A grand ratification meeting was
held, in which a grand torch-light procession, with bonfires, music and
speaking, was indulged in until after midnight. Notwithstanding the dire
threats that had been made, the greal mass of our people believed a way
would be found to avoid civil war. J. P. Casady was elected county judge,
he being the last to serve in that capacity, as the legislature had abolished
the office and inaugurated the system of control of county affairs by a board
of supervisors, consisting of one member from each township. The first
meeting of the board in this county was on the 7th day of January, 1881,
and consisted of the following named persons: Judge Douglass represented
Kane township; C. Vborhis, Macedonia; William Elswick, Grove: Josiah
True. Knox. J. II. Layton, Center: L. J. Childs, York: Robert Kent. Boomer;
Abram Jackson, Rockford; David Dunkle, Crescent; William Lyman.
James: and John Bratton, Silver Creek.
During the fall of I860 a new bank wa- established, of which .Tame- A.
Jackson was made president, John D. Lockwood, cashier, S. S. Bayliss, Sam-
uel Knepper and J. I'. Casady were directors. It did not. however, com-
mence operation until in January, lsCil. It wa- afterwards merged in the
First National Bank when the law creating such institutions went into effect.
The new board of supervisors found the affairs of the county in unsatisfactory
condition, especially that of treasurer, W. D. Turner, and after filing his
report, it required that hi- bond be raised, and instead of complying he
tendered hi- resignation, which was accepted, and Thomas Tostpvin was
appointed to till the vacancy, which he proceeded to do so satisfactorily that
hi' held the position by election for six year-. He. like G. M. Dodge, was a
surveyor, a line scholar, though nol a military man. being reared a Quaker,
but probably next to General Dodge he has had more to do with the conduct
of affairs than any man in the county, and although his field of operation
was small compared with that of the General, there were points of resem-
blance between them, being about the same age, both untiring worker- and
in politic- intensely republican. In addition to county treasurer he has held
at different times the office of mayor of the city, county surveyor, city en-
gineer, and was -cut by the city as one of a committee to negotiate with the
officers o\ the Union Pacific Railroad Company for the location of their
terminal requirements here, wherein the city pledged two hundred and five
thousand dollar.-, to which the company agreed but afterward- repudiated.
re?
Kill? *i$8R$S
mmmw^m - p
53
Uki
HISTORY OF POTTAAYATTAMIE COUNTY 45
CIVIL WAR.
During the winter of 1860-1 we, in common with all the north, felt
the unrest and uncertainty that hung like a nightmare over us. while state
after state was seceding, and a large element among us was in full sympa-
thy with the movement, when the president's proclamation for prayers
proved unavailing; when the president-elect had to proceed by stealth to the
capital we realized that the inevitable was close by and began to cast about
as to what could be done in our small way at this distance.
Nor was the spirit of secession confined to the political world. Up to
this time Brigharo Young had been the recognized head of the Mormon
Church, but a schism had crept in and had grown until the non-polygamists
came out openly, repudiating Brigham Young and the Utah hierarchy and
organized under the leadership of Joseph Smith, son of the prophet who
was murdered in the Carthage' jail in Illinois by the mob. The first meeting
under the new organization was held on the 4th of January. 1881, which
continued for several days, and many converts were baptized, and the con-
struction of a church building ordered; and although the local society has
not grown to large dimensions, it contains among it- adherents as good
citizens as we have 1 in the community, and one of it- peculiarities is that it
is self-sustaining. Its members are never seen soliciting funds or getting
up fairs or other schemes to get outside help. Although, as already stated,
the local society is not large, it has quite a large membership in many coun-
ties in Iowa as well as in other states.
With the advent of Mr. Lincoln's administration, his conservative, kindly
yet admonitory inaugural address, many still Imped that actual war might
be averted. Our local affairs were conducted as usual. Not until the firing
on Sumter did our entire people fully realize that the worst was upon us;
but the effect was magical. Old party lines were ignored and it became
Union or '"Copperhead," as those in sympathy with secession were termed.
G. M. Dodge, who had already organized a company, tendered its services to
Governor Kirkwood, but he, believing it imprudent to leave the frontier
unprotected, declined to accept its sendee at that time, as the regulars at the
frontier forts were being drawn in for the defense of Washington.
We at this distance got our first glimpse of actual preparation for war
one day as a battalion of regulars who had come by steamboat from Fort Ran-
dall. As warning had been sent by General Dodge of probable difficulty in
their passing through Missouri, they landed here and marched across the
state to Eddyville, the nearest point to strike a railroad. There were four
companies and they had a fine band, and as they marched up Broadway to
the tune of "Dixie," with the regular swing peculiar to disciplined troops,
they made a fine appearance; and three or four of our boys were so charmed
that they joined them.
Nebraska promptly raised a regiment of cavalry to protect the frontier
on the withdrawal of the regulars, and Captain Dodge was authorized to
raise a regiment, which he proceeded to do by opening a recruiting station
in the Bluffs and establishing Camp Kirkwood on a beautiful spot just south
46 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
of the city limits. Dr. S. H. Craig, who was sheriff of Pottawattamie county,
resigned his office. and proceeded to raise a company. Captain English was
the first to report with a full company from Mills county, which became
Company A, and Captain Craig, assisted by W. H. Kinsman, was next in
with Company B, recruited largely from the city and almost wholly from
within the county. It must be remembered that at that time the entire
population of the county did not exceed five thousand and that, as now, that
of the city constituted about one-half; so that raising a regiment was an
entirely different proposition from what it would be now with its -ixty thou-
sand, and the entire southwestern part of the state had to be drawn upon to
fill the different regiments and companies organized here, while at different
times we were drawn upon to fill quotas in other parts of the state; and while
we are justly proud of the achievements of our Pottawattamie county boys
we do not wish to withhold our praise from their fellow soldiers from other
parts of the state or country at large.
Nor is it the purpose of this little history to follow our citizen soldiers
through their long terms of service, their suffering in hospitals and rebel
prison-. This has already been done by abler writers. Suffice it to say that
we have no apologies to make. From General Dodge to the private soldier,
we simply wish to record our approval of their every act and joy that a
grateful country remembers them.
While the [owa Fourth was being filled, N. T. Sp r, who had been
postmaster during Buchanan's administration, received authority to raise an
artillery company. He also opened a rendezvous at Camp Kirkwood, and
this brings to us another person who was destined to become a prominent
figure Liter mi. Joseph R. Reed, a young lawyer of Dallas county, had
started to raise a company and had thirty-six men enlisted, lie came with
them and. combining these with those recruited by Spoor, and securing a few
more recruits, a full company was formed and organized ;i- the Second Iowa
Battery, with X. 'I'. Spoor as captain, Joseph R. Reed first lieutenant, Charles
V. Reed second lieutenant. Subsequently Daniel T. Walling was commis-
sioned junior first lieutenant and served one year. Captain Spoor >erved
three year- a- captain and. on being mustered out. Lieutenant ,T. R. Reed
became captain September 1. 1S64. At the same time John W. Coons, of
Dallas county, became first lieutenant, and John Burke second.
During the four years of service the total number of enlistments in
the battery was over one hundred and fifty, among which were a number
from Council Bluffs and various other parts of the state. It was mustered
out at Davenport, Iowa, August 7. 1865, after exactly four years' service.
The record of the Fourth Iowa is a glorious one. From here they went
to St. Louis, then to Rolla; from there they joined the army under command
of General Curtis, participating in the battle of Pea Ridge, then marched
across the states of Missouri and Arkansas to Helena: were in at the capture
of Arkansas post, the long seige and final capture of Vicksburg. From here
they moved to Corinth and from there to Chattanooga, where they, with the
brigade of which they formed a part, were assigned to General Hook
command, and carried the point of Lookout Mountain in the famous hi'
HISTOEY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 47
above the clouds. After the battle of Pea Ridge they were commanded by
their lieutenant-colonel, James A. Williamson, Dodge having been promoted
to brigadier-general and assigned to a higher and different command.
On January 1, 1864, the Fourth Iowa re-enlisted and on February 26
they started for home on veteran furlough and arrived in Des Moines on
March 9. The city gave them a royal reception, and the legislature then in
session adopted the following resolutions:
"Whereas, We have learned thai the veterans of the Fourth Iowa have
re-enlisted for three years or during the war, and that they are on their way
to this city on furlough to enjoy for a short time the blessings of the domestic
circle, and the citizens of Des Moines are preparing to give them a proper
reception, and deeming it our duty as their representatives to express our
appreciation of their gallantry and their services in the suppression of the
rebellion; therefore, be it
Resolved by the General Assembly of the state of Iowa, That we have
watched with pride and admiration the Fourth Iowa Infantry, as step by
step they have borne the ensign of the free on the memorable fields of Pea
Ridge. Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Jackson. Vicksburg siege and assault,
Cherokee. Caney Creek, Tuscumbia, Lookout .Mountain. Missionary Ridge
and Ringgold, and in their long and weary inarches, enduring all the hard-
ships and privations of a soldier's life, they have toiled on and fought for
home and kindred until the mute graves of their comrades in arms point
with sadness to remnants of brave men who have honored their state and
added to the glory of the nation.
Resolved. That in the re-enlistment of said regiment we have the strong-
est proof of their loyalty to the principles of civil liberty; and that their love
of country is paramount to all other consideration- and entitles them to the
lasting honor and gratitude of those whose firesides have been protected by
their arms.
Resolved. That as a token of our confidence and regard for the dis-
tinguished services of that regiment, we will adjourn and attend in a body the
reception of the veterans on their return to the city.
Resolved, That the Governor be recpiested to present them with a copy
of these resolutions, and on behalf of the members of this General Assembly
bid them welcome to the capital of the state whose honor they have kept so
sacredly untarnished."
On the expiration of their furlough they returned and rejoined their
brigade, taking part in the campaign which resulted in the taking of At-
lanta, the march to the sea and capture of Savannah and the march north-
ward through the Carolinas and Virginia, taking their place in the grand
review at Washington. The regiment was finally discharged at Louisville,
Kentucky, on the 24th of July, 1865.
It is proper in this connection to refer to one who took an active part
in raising Company B of this regiment. This was W. H. Kinsman. He was
a native of Nova Scotia, who had drifted into this county, taught school near
the old Wicks' mill, was a newspaper correspondent, became first lieutenant
in Company B, where he served until in organizing the Twenty-third In-
\
48 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
fantry he was commissioned lieutenant colonel in August. 1802, and colonel
in September of same year; was killed at the head of his regiment during
seige of Vicksburg and was buried on the field, where he rested forty years,
when his grave was identified and bis remains brought to Council Bluffs
and reinterred in the soldiers' ground in Fairview Cemetery and a suitable
monument erected to his memory.
During the years of 1861, 1882 and 1863 the raising of troops seemed
to lie the principal busine--.
After the Fourth Infantry and Second Battery had gone to the front,
there seemed to be no abatement in the zeal for carrying on the war. D. B.
Clark, a pioneer farmer, opened a recruiting office and with the assistance of
Steven W. King, of Pottawattamie, and John A. Donelson, of Harrison
county, raised a company for the Fifteenth Infantry. W. T. Burke later
raised seventeen men for the Seventeenth Infantry ami was made first lieu-
tenanl of Company II. and J. C. Linieger raised twenty-three men and took
them into the Twenty-third Regiment and was made captain of Com-
pany E.
On looking back, one is inclined to wonder where so many soldiers
could be recruited from in the then thinly settled portion of Iowa, but they
came just the same and more were destined to follow.
With the enlistment constantly going on. prosecution of the war became
more and more popular and any man opposed to it had little show of election
to any office.
The Ladies of Council Bluffs were not behindhand in aiding the coun-
try in it.- great struggle. At an early period of the war they organized a
Soldiers' Aid Society that did excellent work, and on March 22, L862, was
merged into a branch of the Army Sanitary Commission of Iowa that did a
great work in supplying hospitals and prisons with needful articles which
could not always he furnished by the War Department.
During the summer of L862 Thomas II. Benton, Jr., nephew of Senator
Benton, of Missouri, who had been a hanker previous to the crash of 1857,
received authority to raise a regiment of infantry and. although this terri-
tory had Keen pretty well drained of it- young men. a rendezvous was opened
a little south of Camp Kirkwood. on the same beautiful table land, and
named Cain]' Dodge in honor of the general who had already become re-
nowned. Sheriff J. I'. Williams, like his predecessor. S. II. Craig, re-igned
and started a recruiting station ami succeeded in raising Campany A. nearly
all of the members of which were from Pottawattamie county, and a large
pan from the city. In organizing the company -I. I'. Williams was made
captain; tir-t lieutenant. George A. Maine-: second lieutenant. P. R. Kirk-
patriok; orderly sergeant, C. V. Gardner. By December the regimenl was
organized and ready to take the field. Of the regimental officers the following
were from Pottawattamie county: Colonel, Thos. Benton, Jr.: quartermaster,
W. W. Wilson; surgeon, Dr. W. S. Grimes; adjutant. Joseph Lyman. Lyman
had enlisted at the forming of the Fourth Iowa and for meritorious service
was commissioned a lieutenant by Governor Kirkwood and assigned to tie 1
Twenty-ninth and served as adjutant and later became major. This regi-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 49
ment went through the whole of Dixey and were stationed for some months
on the Rio Grande, observing the movements of the French in Mexico after
the rebellion had collapsed. It was mustered out at New Orleans on the
10th of August, 1865, and on the arrival of Company A at the Bluffs they
were given a royal reception. Many arc still with us. and many more have
joined the great majority. Among the latter are all of the field and staff
officers.
As an illustration (if the spirit which prevailed at this lime Mr. Curtis
Burroughs, who had just built a neat cottage in Glendale on a lot purchased
on time remarked that be would ,lv> with this regiment if his lot was paid
for. .-<> lie could leave hi- family comfortably fixed. Old Captain Beal, his
creditor, says: ''If you want to enlist, don't stop on that account. Intcm-t
will stop while you are in the service and if you die or get killed, your widow
shall have a clear. title to the lot." He died at Helena, Arkansas, and old
Captain Beal kept his promise. Several of Council Bluffs' boys fell in this
campaign, among which were Geo. W. Fouman, N. II. Folsom and Law-
fence Smith, brother to Hon. Spencer Smith. Captain J. P. Williams, who
had to resign on account of failing health, recovered and at eighty-two
is living in comfortable retirement, as is also his first lieutenant. Geo. A.
Haines. Second Lieutenant R. R. Kirkpatrick died in California some years
ago. C. V. Gardner, who became the last to command the company, became
one of the founders of Avoca and later of Deadwood, Dakota. Among the
members that are still with us are Drum Major McFadden, Bugler Robt.
Bucroft and Oliver Payne.
About October 25, 1862, W. G. Crawford received a captain'- commis-
sion from Governor Kirkwood to raise a company for the Sixth Iowa Cav-
alry, being formed at Davenport. D. F. Eicher and J. C. DeHaven enlisted
and all three commenced recruiting through the western part of the state.
Notwithstanding the territory had been pretty well drained, they suc-
ceeded in raising a full company and in organizing. C. W. Lamb was elected
first lieutenant. D. F. Eicher second and J. C. DeHaven third. Later the
government dropped the third lieutenant from the rolls and DeHaven was
appointed orderly sergeant. The company was transported by stage to Daven-
port. Captain Crawford's health entirely failed, and he was compelled to re-
sign. Lieutenant Lamb also resigned, and Lieutenant Eicher became captain,
J. C. DeHaven first lieutenant and David Ellison second. Thus organized they
were incorporated in the Sixth Cavalry as Company E and went into Camp
Douglas for five months' drill and instruction and were assigned to the com-
mand of General Sully for service in the northwest, and marched across the
state via Council Bluffs and Sioux City, first camping between that city and
Yankton. The summer campaign was through the Dakota.*, reaching Fort
Pierre in June, and continued marching north to the Cannon Ball and Yellow-
stone rivers, encountering the Indians and defeating them in numerous bat-
tles and .skirmishes, in one of which seventy-five Indians and eight soldiers
were killed. After service until August. 1865, they were relieved by regulars
and ordered to Davenport and mustered out, all returning to their respective
homes to resume their former occupations. Among them belonging to the
&
50 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Bluffs were Captain Eicher, Lieutenant DeHaven, William Marble, Allen
Spicer, Kade Rogers, and several others. The company lost two men. Cap-
tain Crawford died before their return and Captain Eicher in 1902.
Early in the spring of 1864 the draft was being used in places, but Potta-
wattamie had done so well that department Marshal Field received word
from headquarters that if we would furnish twenty good men within thirty
days there would be no draft that spring.
Mayor Palmer called a meeting of the council and steps were taken to
get the board of supervisor- to i<sue $2,000, so as to make a cash bounty
of $100. It was carried through promptly and the men furnished. Pro-
vision was also made to assist the families of all soldiers that were in need,
this being accomplished Largely by the ladies. During this year W. F.
Sapp came from Omaha and formed a law partnership with Samuel Clinton.
He was a native of Knox county, Ohio, came to Omaha at an early day and
when the war drew the regulars in lie became lieutenant-colonel of the First
Nebraska Cavalry and was for a time stationed at Fort Kearney. On coming
here he entered into an active participation of affairs. As a lawyer he was
an able advocate, lie was a man of commanding presence, being over six
feet tall and weighing 200 pounds; was a powerful stump speaker and soon
made bim-elf prominent. He was a republican and was elected to the leg-
islature, where his influence was largely instrumental in securing the loca-
iton of tbe School for the Deaf at this place. Later lie became United States
district attorney and was twice elected to Congress. It was he and Judge
A. V. Larimer that originated and conducted the proceedings through the
courts to compel the Union Pacific Railroad Company to comply with the
terms of its charter in making its terminus at this point. He had pur-
chased a farm and contemplated retiring, but was stricken down and died
October 22. ]S00. and, by a strange coincide nee. in the same house and room
in which the Hon. Walter I. Smith was born many years before. Thus, one
member of Congress was bom and another died in the same room.
During this summer the first brick schoolhouse in the city was erected
on the northwest corner of Pierce and Stutsman streets. The contract was
let to G. P. Smith for $6,000, being only a two-room house. Later, when
the large Pierce streel schoolhouse was built, tin- was -old. and is now- owned
and used as a dwelling by Mr. Bell. After the visit of Mr. Lincoln to the
city, the great hill on which was the old Mormon burying ground was given
by common consent tbe name of Mt. Lincoln, ami this year a company was
formed and the ground bought and platted a- tbe Fairview Cemetery, and,
as its name implies, is one of the most charming sites in the country.
It was during this summer that a horse-thief was brought from Harri-
son county and Lodged in the old Cottonwood jail, only to be taken out and
bung on a tree in the eastern part of the city, where be was found the next
morning. No effort was made to learn who were the Lynchers.
Notwithstanding Pottawattamie county had sent most of her young men
to the front, the commands to which tiny were attached had been reduced to
the extent that some of the regiments could muster but four or five hundred
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 51
rank and file, and a draft was ordered, and the quota assigned for Potta-
wattamie county was sixty.
It is probable that if it could have been credited with all that went into
regiments in other states Iowa would have been exempt, but the determination
to end the war left no time for parleying, and the draft came. That for the
eastern part of the fifth district was held at Des Moines and that of eight
counties in the western part at Council Bluffs. It was conducted in the
room over what is now the Pierce shoe store, on the corner of Main and
Broadway. It was done by towns and townships. The names of all liable
for military duty were written on cards and placed in a revolving cylinder, and
after it had made several revolutions a ticket was drawn by a person blind-
folded, and the man whose name was on that ticket was duly drawn. This was
repeated till the required number was secured. If any citizen was present
belonging to the precinct being drawn upon he was invited to draw, and in
one instance a man drew his own son. Five days' notice then had to be
served on each drafted man, and if he failed to appear at the rendezvous
within that time he was considered a deserter and subject to arrest. Nearly
all came forward, but a few jumped the country. The same assistance was
extended to the families of these as to those of the enlisted men, and, although
it was a serious matter, they started for the front cheerfully, like true Ameri-
cans that they were.
The draft at Des Moines was conducted by Provost Marshal S. C.
Browned and at the Bluffs by H. H. Field, deputy.
The presidential election followed immediately on the heels of the draft
and although party feeling ran pretty high it passed off without any violence.
It commenced snowing in the morning and continued for forty-eight hours
and the weather was cold for three weeks, which made it pretty severe for
the drafted men, who were coming in rapidly; but a requisition had been
made for blankets, which arrived in time, and detachments were forwarded
daily, until by the 25th the last of our quota were on their way to Davenport,
that being the rendezvous for Iowa. At this time the railroad had only
reached Grinnell.
The draft took some curious freaks. For instance, it took ten men out
of the first ward, and two out of the block where it was conducted. It was no
respecter of persons. It caught A. J. Bell, our representative in the legis-
lature, and it took Charles, son of L. W. Babbitt, editor of the Bugle.
People supposed he would put in a substitute, but he declared he was
able to do his own fighting and went, and ever since has been fighting for
the government right in the city of Washington. In looking back to those
exciting times, it is pleasing to remember that through it all moderation
prevailed, and at no time was violence resorted to. In fact, some of the best
friends of the writer were what were at that time called Copperheads.
The most trying time was on receipt of the news of the assassination of
Lincoln. Even then, although there w T ere a few cases of rudeness, modera-
tion prevailed and nothing approached violence.
During the winter of 1864-5 fairs and festivals were held and quite large
sums of money were raised to assist the families of the soldiers.
52 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
EARLY AFFAIRS.
At the January. 1835, meeting of the board of supervisors E. McBride
was elected chairman; A. E. Clarendon was appointed county superintendent
to till the vacancy caused by the resignation of L. S. Axtel. At the city
election N. S. Bates was elected mayor, T. P. Treynor, recorder, H. P. Warren.
treasurer, and A. J. Bump, marshal; H. H. Field. Richard Rogers, C. P.
Johnson, J. M. Phillips, Thomas Jeffries and John Hammer, aldermen. At
the spring school election a four-room brick school building was author-
ized on the ground now occupied by the Bloomer school. At that time it
was thought to be ample but was soon outgrown, but did duty until 1880,
when it was supplanted by the present nine-room structure. This was mis-
named the Bloomer.
The old High School building should have been named for him, as it
became a religion with him to get it placed there, and it became a subject of
contention ever after and at tbis day it stand.- idle, representing $100,000,
"with none so poor to do it reverence."
On the b'lli hi April came the dispatch announcing the assassination of
Lincoln, and for a time we were almost dazed. Business was suspended,
meetings were called and resolutions passed condemning it, even by those
whose teachings for year.- had led up to it.
A few persons who bad openly been in sympathy with the rebellion
were notified to leave by self-constituted committees, but, as before stated,
there was no actual violence.
Many persons feared that disbanding so many soldiers at the close of
the war might result in lawlessness, but the million of trained soldiers re-
turned to civil pursuits with the same alacrity that they came to the front
when needed.
At the June meeting of the board of supervisors Sheriff Voorhis resigned
and II. II. Field was appointed to till the vacancy.
In August the Council Bluffs branch of the Slate Bank of Iowa was
transformed into the First National Bank of Council Bluffs, with Captain
A. L. Deming a- president and Moses II. Deming as cashier.
September 21 was set apart by the citizens a- a testimonial to tin- men
who had gone into the military service and returned at the close of the war
to resume their peaceful avocations, The testimonial was in the shape of a
banquet, and all the citizen? vied with each other in thus expressing their
gratitude to the men who had -o cheerfully done their duty.
At the fall election Colonel W. V. Sapp was elected to the state legisla-
ture. Thomas Tostevin, county treasurer, and II. II. Field, sheriff.
In the latter part of November ground was broken on the west side of
the river in commencing the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, and
many went over from Council Bluffs to participate in the exercises, which
consisted in throwing a few shovels of earth, when all adjourned to the Hern-
don Hotel to a banquet, after which speeches by eminent men were listened to
and all concluding with a dance in which the elite of both cities partici-
pated.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 53
After the burning of Concert Hall, there was no suitable room in the
city for any public assembly and in the fall of 1865 Henry Burhop made the
excavation preparatory to erecting a fine hall, but could get only brick for
the cellar wall- until the following spring when it was hurried to completion.
It was 42x80 feet, with two ante-rooms. It was well adapted for balls, lec-
tures and dramatic performances. Bayard Taylor was the first person of note
to occupy the platform. It immediately became in great demand. Terms
of the district court were held in the day time and balls at night, and church
services on Sunday, while the bar on the ground floor did duty all the
lime.
During the winter of lN('>(i-7 it was used constantly as a theatre, and as
good plays were presented there as have been at any time since.
In January. L866, the move to build a. courthouse look active shape. A
committee of the board of supervisors reported a plan and estimates, and the
site where the courthouse now stands was purchased at a cost of $3,500. A
committee consisting of Thos. Officer, J. M. Phillip- and William Ward was
appointed to let the contract and supervise the construction of the court-
house. On the 15th of January, 1866, the contract was let according to plans
and specifications prepared by William Ward, the architect, to John Hammer
and F. T. C. Johnson, contractors and builder-, the cost not to exceed $42,000,
bonds of the county having been authorized to meet the cost. The work
progressed so that il wa- enclosed and the jail, which was in the basement,
fitted up and offices on the first floor completed, but the court room was not
finished until the winter of 1868, when il was formally opened with a ban-
quet given by the contractors, and at last the Goddess of Justice had a temple
of her own.
During this time a two-room brick schoolhouse had been built on the
Washington avenue grounds, as had also been the Presbyterian Church on
the corner of Seventh street and Willow avenue.
The pastor. Rev. .lames H. Clark, had held revival meetings during the
winter and succeeded in getting a large addition to its membership, among
whom were a number of the most prominent men of the city, when his con-
gregation was shocked and humiliated to learn that he was guilty of gross
immorality, and he was promptly dismissed.
Railroad building that had been suspended during the war was now
resumed. The old contracts for construction of the St. Joseph and Council
Bluff- Railroad were surrendered and a new one entered into with Henry
W. Phelps, of Massachusetts, for the completion of the road by January 1,
1867, and all the stock in the company held by the city and county was
transferred to Willis Phelps, as one of the inducements to a resumption of
the work, and under this arrangement work was vigorously resumed. A loco-
motive (the Wahbonsy) was brought by steamer and landed at St. Marys,
twelve miles below the city, and put to construction work and was the first
to enter the city, but the connection was not made so as to form a through
line until the following spring, while the Cedar Rapids or Northwestern
entered as per agreement before the first of January. 1867, making the first
through line. Colonel H. C. Nutt now entered into the business of trans-
54 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
ferring the freight destined for the west. This was all-important, as the
Union Pacific was dependent upon it for the material for its own construc-
tion. A temporary bridge was constructed by piling through the ice over
which traffic was maintained until the ice bridge went out and a car ferry
was established, which was continued until completion of the bridge.
AVhile matters were being pushed in this locality, people were not idle
"up town." The rivalry before mentioned still existed between the two sec-
tions, and believing a good hotel would assist in holding trade it was deter-
mined to erect one, and after conferring as to location, that of the old City
Hotel was agreed upon and finally William Garner, Charles Baughn and John
Hammer agreed with a committee to build a hotel according to plans and
specifications submitted by the architect (Cook), providing the committee
would raise $10,000, which was done by subscription, and the Ogden House
was launched.
Alter the dismissal of Rev. James H. Clark, the Rev. Thomas H. Cleland
was called to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church and. after the
usual trial, was duly installed and remained as such pastor until May. 1882,
when he resigned to take the pulpit of Westminster Presbyterian Church,
of Keokuk, Iowa.
The old Ocean Wave saloon, having been on the decline since the palmy
days of the California and Pikes Peak emigration, was at last .-truck by
lightning and burned t<i the ground. Many of the good people thought it
a good opportunity to get even with the Devil by erecting a church on its
ruins. This was accomplished by Rev. Joseph Knotts, backed and assisted
by the active members of the Methodist Church, and a pretty fair church
was erected and. although detective architecturally speaking, ii did duty
until supplanted by the present larger and more elaborate structure.
In January. 1866, L. W. Babbitt sold the Bugle to W. T. Giles, of Free-
port, 111., who conducted the paper until October, 1867, when he resold it to
Colonel Babbitt and returned to Illinois.
A change also took place in the management of the Nonpareil by W. S.
Burke retiring December 26, L866, and YV. W. Maynard and J. W. Chapman
taking control, the former being the editor and the latter manager. Several
other changes were made from this time until 1870, when the oilier interests
were absorbed by Mr. Chapman, then county treasurer, Thos. I'. Tivvnor and
Spencer Smith, and was incorporated as the Nonpareil Printing Company
and under that name continued to do business for many year-.
Up to this time the state had been using temporary quarters at Iowa
City in maintaining an Institute for the Deaf. Colonel Sapp, as a member
of the House from this county, backed by leading citizens, secured a pre-
liminary appropriation for the erection of suitable buildings for such an
institute at Council Bluffs.
During this year Thomas C. Durant. vice-president of the Union Pacific
Railroad Company, on behalf of himself and other members of the company,
purchased a large body of land in the western part of the city to be used
for railroad purposes, and on which were later i structed their terminal
depot and transfer mounds, round houses, ear sheds, etc.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 55
At the spring election of 1867 Judge Frank Street was elected mayor,
his opponent being L. W. Babbitt, and A. J. Bump was again elected mar-
shal.
On the 24th of June the Empire block was destroyed by fire. There was
no fire department at that time and nothing could be done to save the prop-
erty. The loss was fully $100,000. The type, press and material of the
Nonpareil were totally destroyed, as well as the young men's library.
On May 3 a new democratic newspaper was launched, called the Daily
Democrat, under the management of Alf S. Kierolf & Co. Mr. Kierolf was
a sensational political writer, after the manner of Brick Pomeroy, with the
result that a bitter rivalry sprang up between his paper and the Bugle that
nearly disrupted the party.
The annual election for city officers was held on the 10th of March, and
resulted in the choice of Thomas Tostevin for mayor. The school election
was held on the same day and Mr. Bloomer was again chosen president of the
school board.
A special election was held on the 25th day of June, appropriating
$20,000 of the $60,000 loan for the purpose of purchasing a steam fire
engine. A Silsbe steamer was purchased, and Bluff City Engine Company
organized to manage the steamer. An engine house was erected in the rear
of the City building on Glen avenue, and the steamer arrived on the 17th of
September. F. T. C. Johnson was made chief and Council Bluffs became
for the first time possessed of a fire department.
Among the new enterprises was the establishment of a German news-
paper, which first saw the light as the Frei I'resse under the direction of
Messrs. Wenbore and Worden in September. For a time it was prosperous,
being patronized by the business men of the city and the German farmers of
Pottawattamie and Mills counties. It changed hands with varying success
until in 1880 it passed into the hands of a man by the name of Peiffer, who
conducted it ably and placed it on a paying basis.
The summer of 1868 was a very active one. The location of the Union
Pacific bridge, after thorough soundings had been made for quite a distance
along the river, was finally fixed by General Dodge, chief engineer, at the
point wdiich it now occupies, and in consideration of this and location of
proper depot and terminal facilities, the city agreed to donate its bonds to
the amount of $205,000.
During this year the building known as Bloom's hall w r as erected by Gen-
eral Dodge and Solomon Bloom, the third story of which was a hall 50x100
feet, with a stage across the Main street end. This was a popular place for
lectures, concerts, balls and dramatic performances for many years.
July, 1868, marked the completion of the Council Bluffs & St. Joseph
Railroad. This connecting with the Hannibal & St. Joseph gave us another
outlet to the east. During this year efforts were made to advance and im-
prove the public schools. Professor Adam Armstrong, a graduate of Spring-
field (Ohio) College, was employed as city superintendent and a graded sys-
tem established. During this summer the Sixth street schoolhouse was built,
being the sixth brick schoolhouse.
51 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
The summer of 1868 was an extremely lively one. On the 30th of July
General Grant, candidate for president, accompanied by Generals Sherman
and Sheridan, who had been on a visit to military posts, came to the city
on their way east, and. having an hour or two before the St. Joseph train
was In leave, they took a spin through the city and down to the depot, where
they were met by a large crowd anxious to pay their respects, regardless of
party feeling.
As the season advanced political excitement increased. Farmers' clubs
were organized by the republicans and Seymour clubs by the democrats.
who held their meetings in Burhop's Hall.
A large amount of building was done during this summer, among which
were three large store rooms belonging to Mr. Keller. J. M. Phillips and Mr.-.
Knepper, on the south side of Broadway, between Main and Fourth streets:
also the three-story brick on the southwest corner of Main and Broadway
now the First National Bank. Conrad Geise erected a large brewery, hut did
not commence brewing until the spring of L869.
A- the time of the election drew near the enthusiasm increased until it
resembled, if not excelled, the lou cabin campaign of L840.
It culminated October 22. so far as the republican party was concerned,
in a grand rally to which the people of the entire county were invited and
consisted of a big dinner served continuously from 10 a. m. to 10 p. m. and
a grand procession. The dinner was served in the three new buildings just
erected by Mrs. Knepper and Messrs. Keller and Phillips, each having two
tables their entire length kepi loaded with substantial that had been donated
from all parts of the county until their storage room resembled a commis-
sary's store for an army. At the same time C. L. P. Crockwell was installed
in an adjacent building with a sugar boiler making coffee, of which fifteen
barrels were consumed.
An arch spanned Broadway at the angle where the Hamilton shoe store
now is, on the supporting columns of which the names of soldiers of the
county who had lost their lives in the war were inscribed, while on the arch
itself were many of those of the state, and in the center of which was that of
Lincoln. The tables were served by a committee of a hundred men and a
like number of women, divided into reliefs, each of which served two hours.
Ai one o'clock a grand procession was formed, with Colonel W. F. Sapp
as marshal with a large detail of mounted aides. In the column nearly every
institution was represented — the army by returned veterans, the navy by a
gunboat, manned, and discharging rockets: the several state- by girls dressed
in white, with blue and red trimmings: mother.- and wives of deceased sol-
dier- in carriages. Some feature- were beautiful, others comical. Anion- die
latter was that of Grant's tannery, designed and conducted by Captain T. P.
Williams, in which were hanging dressed hides of leather representing Lee,
Buckner and Pemberton. while opposite hung the green hides of Seymour
and Blair waiting their turn to be tanned.
As the long column uncovered in passing under the arch the effect was
impressive, and not easily forgotten. In the evening the pageant was
repeated, to which was added a monitor and a large delegation from Omaha
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 57
with a gunboat and brass band. On the whole this far excelled any political
demonstration pulled off here, before or since.
During this year the old Dohany Opera Hou.se was built, being the upper
story of a livery barn and, although the odor arising from the stable became
pretty strong at times, it was for years the most popular hall in the city.
Among the celebrities that have appeared on its stage were Ole Bull,
Janausheck, Remenyi, Camille Urso, Henry Ward Beecher, Victoria Wood-
hull, Clara Louise and Fanny Kellogg, R. .1. Ingersoll, and a host of others.
The old building is still standing, but its glory has long since departed.
During this year Conrad Geise erected a brewery on the north side of
Upper Broadway, but did not commence the business until the spring of 1869.
The city having purchased an engine and a fire company having been
organized, it became necessary to have water, and the plan was adopted of
constructing immense cisterns at intervals along the business streets and filling
them from Indian creek, using the steamer for this purpose, as well as ex-
hausting them in time of fire.
At the city election on the first Monday in April, D. C. Bloomer was
elected mayor, F. A. Burke recorder, Mr. Treynor having been appointed
postmaster by President Grant. J. B. Lewis, John T. Oliver, J. B. Atkins,
L. L. Spooner, John Huntington and L. W. Babbitt were elected alder-
men.
A new code of ordinances was prepared under the supervision of L. W.
Ross, but not published until 1870.
On the 2d day of February an ordinance was approved granting to Wm.
Cones and associates, acting under the style and title of the Council Bluffs
I ras Light Company, the exclusive franchise for lighting the city with gas
for a period of twenty years.
The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad having obtained the
right-of-way of the M. & M., had steadily approached the Bluffs, and as it
became known that the first train would enter on the 12th of May, it was
decided to commemorate the event by laying the corner-stone of the Ogden
House, for which preparation had been made. A great concourse of citizens,
with the fire company, civic societies, band and artillery squad with gun,
repaired to the grounds, where a temporary depot had been erected, and as
the train pulled in it was given a royal welcome, being the third railroad to
enter the city. From here they repaired to the site of the Ogden founda-
tion, where Mayor Bloomer proceeded with the ceremony of laying the corner
stone, and the festivities concluded with a ball that evening at the Pacific
house attended by the elite of the city.
During this summer a two-room addition was added to the Washington
avenue schoolhouse at a cost of $6,000.
On the 13th of May, Council Bluffs Lodge No. 49 occupied their new
hall in the third story of the new building on the southwest corner .of Broad-
way and Main streets.
On the first of July a public installation of its officers took place at
Bloom's Hall, the exercises being conducted by Grand Master William Sharpe,
of Ottumwa.
58 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Humboldt Lodge No. 174 was organized in October, 1869, and Hawkeye
Lodge No. 184, a lodge in English, was instituted.
Twin Brother Encampment was chartered October 20 and duly instituted.
At the fall election John Beresheim, republican, was elected to the leg-
islature over his democratic opponent, Robert Percival, and John W. Chap-
man, republican, was elected county treasurer.
A beginning was made on the state school for the deaf during '68, but
no great amount of work was done until 1869. William R. Craig, of Nebraska.
City, had the contract and pushed the work, the east wing and center being
first completed. William Ward, of the Bluffs, was supervising architect. The
plans were altered so as to involve greater expense than was provided by the
appropriation, and when the contractor came to obtain his pay. he was con-
fronted with the objection that the changes were not authorized. He was
subjected to lawsuits by subcontractors and for material furnished, and finan-
cially ruined.
Finally the legislature in 1878 made an appropriation that enabled him
to extricate himself from debt. The ninety-six acres on which the insti-
tution stands \\a- purchased by the citizens and donated to the state as an
inducement to locate the institution at this point, and no finer site could
have been selected. A more complete history of the institution will be
found under the head of Tin. [owa School for the Deaf.
The firsi street railway was licensed early in 'li'.t mid the track finished
from First streel wesi on Broadway to the river by the firsi of December,
where it connected with the ferry. It remained and was operated here
until the tii-eat bridge was completed, when it was changed to run to the
transfer grounds along Union avenue. The car- wen. -mall and drawn by
mules.
Masonry was in a flourishing c lition at this time. Excelsior Lodge
was institute,! in the winter of '68-9, and Star Chapter about the same time.
In December, 1869, Ivanhoe Commandery of Knignts Templar was
organized.
The great social event of the winter was the opening of the Ogden
Hoiw. It was finished and on the 22d of December opened with a banquet
attended by nearly a thousand guests. It was the fines! hotel at that time
between Chicago and San Francisco. After a bounteous supper, toasts and
responses, dancing, in which between four and five hundred couples of the
elite of all nearby cities participated, was conducted in three different halls,
and the like has not been seen here since.
On the 4th of December the fourth railroad, being that of the I
Burlington & Missouri Liver, entered the city by forming a junction with
the Council Bluffs & St. Joseph at Pacific Junction and running in on its
track.
The Daily Times office at this time was located in one of the small
buildings near where McGee's real estate office now is. and two of the printers
employed there had a quarrel. The name of one was Austin, and the other
Bell. It appeared that Austin, being drunk, was renewing a quarrel that
had been patched up, and he was approaching Bell, when the latter shot
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 59
Austin straight in the forehead. This was on the sidewalk. Austin fell
and was carried into an adjoining room, where he lay in a comatose state,
breathing heavily. Doctors were called and tiny probed the wound, endeav-
oring to locate the bullet, without success. To the surprise of all, he rallied,
went about and conversed with friends, apparently without suffering until
the fifth day after the shooting, when he rapidly sank, and died June 25.
Bell was tried at the July term of the district court, and was convicted of
manslaughter and sentenced to six years, but was pardoned after serving
two.
During the trial, the defense tried to make it appear that the probing
by the doctors was as likely to have caused his death as the shooting. Experts
were examined, among them Dr. Malcom. On his coining out of the court
room he was asked what they were trying to prove by him. He replied:
'•They are trying to prove he was killed in the post mortem examination."
The first Unitarian church was organized this year, with Rev. Mr. Cham-
berlain as pastor. The brick carpenter shop of G. F. Smith was purchased
and fitted up into a very neat chapel and flourished for a year or two, but
interest lagged and it finally died out. and the place was sold, and a marble
works installed in its place.
In August the Iowa Editorial Association visited Council Bluffs and was
entertained with a banquet at the expense of the city. The bill being some-
thing like a thousand dollars, caused considerable kicking among the rank
and file of the people.
The railroad lines between Kansas City and Council Bluffs were consol-
idated under one corporation, thereafter known as the Kansas City, St. Joseph
& Council Bluffs Railroad Company. George L. Bradbury had charge of
the interests of the new corporation at this end of the line.
The census taken under the auspices of the United States gave us 10,020
inhabitants.
The building of the bridge over the Missouri was commenced. The
process was -inking immense iron cylinders through sand and mud to the
bed rock. The-e were set in pairs, each pair, when joined, thoroughly
braced and filled with concrete, formed a pier. Upon eleven of these rested
the superstructure, which was entirely of iron, the only wood being the ties.
The work was commenced under the immediate supervision of General Toney
Smith.
In the meantime, while congress was in session, a bill passed the house
providing for the charter of a company to build a railroad bridge to take
the place of the one begun by the Union Pacific Railroad Company. The
Council Bluffs people took the alarm, seeing in it a design to have the term-
inus on the west side. An immense mass meeting was held and resolutions
passed denouncing the scheme, and Colonel Sapp was authorized to convey
the same to Washington with a view to have its passage arrested in the
senate.
Senator Harlan caused the bill to be amended providing that the bridge
corporation might borrow money on the bridge bonds, providing that mort-
gages on the bridge should not attach to the main line, but providing that
60 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
the Union Pacific should still operate the road in conjunction with the
bridge as one continuous line. Work had been suspended for a time, hut was
resumed and completed under supervision of T. E. Sickels, general super-
intendent of the Union Pacific according to plans devised by General Dodge
before his resignation as chief engineer of the road. The approach to the
bridge required an immense fill, which was made by taking earth from the
bluff south of the city. This involved the laying a track and running trains
of dumping cars loaded by .-team shovel continuously for over a year.
The entire structure was regarded as of sufficient strength to withstand
the action of wind, water or ice. yet on the 28th day of August, LS77. an
electric storm wrenched two spans from the east end of the bridge and hurled
them into the river. In the meantime traffic arrangements were made by
which the business of the Union Pacific Railroad was transferred to the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy route and the Burlington & Missouri of
Nebraska.
The Oild Fellow- Grand Lodge of Iowa was held at Council Bluff< this
year, the session commencing October 26 and Lasting two days, and on
the evening of the second day the fraternity gave their visiting brothers a
grand banquet.
The high school building was completed this year so that it could be
used by the 18th of November, and on that day it was formally dedicated
by its being occupied, and by appropriate ceremonies, in which Governor
Merril and State Superintendent Kissel! took part and delivered addresses.
At the annual commencement of the high school on the 14th of June
the following young ladies graduated: Hattie William-. Mary Warren.
Lizzie Oliver, Ida Kirkpatrick, fngaletta Smith ami Verna Reynolds. These
were the firs! of many that have gone out of it- wall- to fill places of honor,
and to adorn home- all over our country from the Atlantic even to the Pacific.
Of these above named all are living hut one. Mis.- Reynolds, she chase the
profession of teaching and continued to follow it until called to higher work
above.
Realizing the importance of manufacturing in advancing the interests
of tin' community, a number of our influential citizen-, on the 1-t of Novem-
ber, formed an association for the purpose of promoting such industries.
Genera] G. M. Dodge was made president, G. W. Lininger, vice-president, S.
Parnsworth and E. 1.. Shugart, secretaries, and II. ('. Nutt. treasurer. The
business of manufacturing agricultural implements was commenced on
North Main street and prospered for a time, and the company built a large
power building near the Rock Island freight depot into which the business
was moved.
The Patron- of Husbandry also organized a grange during the same
month, the leading members of which were I). P.. Clark. Weoster Fay. L.
W. Babbitt, II. C. Raymond, II. A. Terry and J. A. Sylvester. They held
their meetings in one of the buildings on Pearl street, between Broadway and
First avenue.
During this year the three-story building known as the Brown block,
COUNCIL BLUFFS
LOOKING WEST ON BEOADWAY— 1854.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 63
running through from Main to Pearl street, was built; also the ('enter street
four-room schoolhouse.
Just at the close of the year 71 death claimed two of our prominent
citizen-, Sylvanus Dodge, the venerable father of General and N. P. Dodge,
on December 24, and Major McPherson, U. S. attorney for this judicial
district, I >ecember 29.
At the fall election John Bereshinn, republican, was elected to the legis-
lature, and George Doughty, democrat, was elected sheriff over Philip
Armour, republican, while J. \V. Chapman, republican, was re-elected
county treasurer over Vigo Badolett. democrat. During this summer we
were witness tn a phenomenon that at the time baffled the wisest. There was,
and .-till is, a little lake called Spoon lake near the Union Pacific transfer,
where the hoy- were in the habit of catching minnows for fishing. Imagine
their surprise, mi going there to catch some for bait, to find the lake literally
alive with fish weighing from one to twenty pounds. The new.- spread and
people came and took them out by wagon load- with pitchforks.' In a day
or two they disappeared as mysteriously a.- they came. None have appeared
since.
A FALSE PROPHET.
Another phenomenon of a different kind appeared in the person of a
crank called Potter Christ, which he had tattooed on hi- forehead. He would
occasionally preach to crowds, and finally made preparation to ascend to heaven.
One morning he appeared near the Methodist church on Upper Broadway
arrayed in a white robe, riding a mule and carrying a cross, and as he rode
down the street, strange as it may seem, he wa- followed by quite a number
of disciples. This pageant was preparatory to hi- going on a forty-day fast,
after which he was to ascend to heaven. One thing is certain, he disap-
peared. An unbeliever reported that while in the wilderness fasting he
was found sucking a cow; and another reported that he was caught up en-
circled by an immense flock of blackbirds. Although the truthfulness of
these statement- is doubted, there seems to he no authentic record of his
ending. Pathetic as his case appears, the old nursery rhyme seems appro-
priate :
"Where he's gone or how he fares
Xo one knows and no one cares."
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD BRIDGE.
Council Bluffs was now approaching a very critical period in its history.
The Union Pacific bridge was completed, and the company ignored Council
Bluffs, even to the extent of calling their temporary platforms "Lake Station,"
and with a switch engine transferring freight and passengers over to meet
the trains on this side. The condition was this:
An active enterprising city was endeavoring by liberal offers to seduce
the railroad company to make their terminus on the west side of the river
in violation of the plain provision of its charter, and the railroad company
appeared willing to be seduced, and it became evident that we must contend
64 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
for our rights. But now the question was how to commence. Fortunately,
we had men equal to the occasion. Colonel Sapp and Judge Larimer took
the matter in hand, and with the assistance of Hon. George W. McCrary,
the member of congress from the Keokuk district; an act was procured con-
ferring jurisdiction upon the circuit court of law in mandamus in cases con-
cerning the Union Pacific Railroad Company. This passed and became the
law on .March 3, 1873.
This was the first step, and the next was to start the legal machinery to
put the law into effect. A grocery firm (Hall it Morse) were shipping goods
west and had been compelled to deliver their freight to the railroad company
in Omaha. They were advised, and tendered their freight to the company
on this side, and on refusal on the pari of the railroad company to receive it,
a writ of mandamus was issued and the cause brought before Judge John F.
Dillon, then of the circuit court at Des Moines, and after a full hearing the
court decided adversely to the railroad company. In presenting the case,
Colonel Sapp and Judge Larimer were assisted by Hon. John N. Roger-.
of Davenport. The company appealed to the supreme court, and that august
body affirmed the decision of the court below, thereby settling in our favor
the vexed question for all time.
To the honor of Colonel Sapp and Judge Larimer, neither of whom are
living, be it said that they rendered this service without a dollar of remun-
eration. However, the city voted to pay Hon. John X. Rogers five hundred
dollars for his services.
Still the company continued to designate the terminus as Lake Station
until, during the meeting of the next legislature. Mr. Pusey, our state senator,
procured the passage of an act requiring conductor- or brakemen on all
passenger trains within the state on entering any city or town to plainly
and distinctly announce the name thereof, and fixing a penalty of fifty dol-
lars fine for neglecting to make such announcement. This had the effect
of abating this piece of impertinence.
After this the company complied with the order- of the court and pro-
ceeded to erect the depot that still .-land- on the ground purchased several
years lief ore.
During ks7-J-:i Council Bluffs was made (he headquarters of the sharpest
gang of bunco men that ever infested a city. It was completely organized
and each member assigned hi- place, which was mostly on incoming train.-.
and focusing at the transfer depot, with headquarters at a hotel on West
Broadway, kept by a German named Gerspacher. Every scheme known to
the craft was worked upon the unwary and their tricks were made to appear
so simple that Old 'Squire Burke, the police judge, once declared that a man
was a if he wouldn't bet on them. They were men of good address
and had numbers of friend-, gave liberally to any benevolent scheme, but
finally carried their game- so far that the legislatures of Iowa and Nebraska
enacted law- with, penalties so severe that the business became unprofitable,
and they scattered to more congenial clime-.
At the spring election Dr. X. D. Lawrence and Sam Haas were the can-
didate.- for mayor, and after a pretty lively campaign the former wa- elected.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 05
On the 5th of August the First National Bank was robbed of $20,000
in broad daylight and no clue was obtained to the perpetrator.
At the spring election of 1874 W. C. James was elected mayor, H. H.
Field, R. L. Douglass, J. B. Lewis, John Hawthorn, E. L. Shugart, W. A.
Wood, George Tabor and Horace Everett constituted the council, and Henry
A. Jackson was city marshal.
During the summer of "74 John W. Ross retired from the management
of the Ogden House, and by an agreement Mr. Baughn, one of the pro-
prietors, took control, and was running it successfully, when, on the night
of the 13th of October, it took tire from some unknown cause and, owing
to lack of water and bursting of hose, it was burned to the ground.
At the regular election held October !•'!. 1N74. K. 'I'. Bryant was elected
clerk of the district court, M. Flamont, county auditor, and J. 1'. Bolden
and Robert Kirkwood, supervisors.
In March, L875, one of the pioneer physicians, Dr. P. J. McMahon, died.
He was universally loved. Although rough spoken, he was the kindest of
men. When he realized that his end had come, he left orders that all the
livery carriages in the city be hired so that hi- poor patients might ride at
his funeral, while his favorite, though retired, old horse, Jerry, followed the
hearse. lb- also made provision for Jerry having the best of care without
work while he lived. His funeral was the largest that had ever occurred
here up to that time. The Masonic services at the grave were rendered by
N. F. Story, the worshipful master of Excelsior Lodge.
At the city election of 1875, C. B. Jacquemin was elected mayor, W. P.
Wightman, F. (.). Gleason, Peter Bechtel and Henry Metcalf were elected
aldermen.
With the settlement of the Union Pacific terminal question, people began
to make improvements. Horace Everett erected the brick block on the
corner of Pearl and Broadway, Keller and 1 Jennet the one on the corner of
Broadway and Fourth, and Mr. Whitney the one occupied by the Metcalf
Brothers, and a large number of dwellings were also built. The city was
visited by two destructive fires, one of which was the Transfer Hotel, being
the frame erected before the bridge was completed, and the furniture factory
of John Chase. This was situated about where the new bakery on Mynster
street now stands.
NON-PARTISAN ELECTION.
As the time for spring election approached many of the leading citizens
believing it for the best interests of the city to have a non-partisan election,
a mass meeting was called and a most excellent ticket nominated, with E.
L. Shugart at the head for mayor. Both the democratic and republican
papers supported it, and utterly refused to announce any other candidate.
A large element that had not participated in the mass convention were
dissatisfied. They wanted a good old-fashioned election, but how to effect
a breach was the question. With both papers and the leaders of both parties
committed it seemed hopeless for any one to run independently. This sit-
uation continued until within forty-eight hours of the time for opening the
66 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
polls, when J. H. Keatley consented to run providing requested to by three
hundred voters. Immediately petitions were put in circulation, and the num-
ber and more, too, of signatures obtained. Tickets were gotten printed some-
how, although neither of our offices Avould print them. The thing went like
wildfire, and there has never been such an election here since. It was not
that the ticket was objectionable, but -imply a rebuke to the promoters for
ignoring the boys. The ticket was badly beaten and Keatty elected by a
large majority. The aldermen elected at the same time were Lewis Hammer,
M. Keating, C. R. Scott and W. C. James. E. W. Jackson was elected city
marshal and (J. A. Holme- was elected city attorney by the council.
During the summer W. F. Sapp was nominated for congress by the
republicans a- against L. R. Bolter, of Harrison county. Near the close of
tbe campaign reports of gross immorality were sprung upon Mr. Bolter.
The matter witb which he was charged happened in Michigan previous to
hi.- coming west. Whether true or false, he was defeated.
INDIAN CREEK.
On several occasions Indian creek had become troublesome, and it became
a serious question how to control it. Mention i- made of it in the part of
tin- history relating to Hazel Hell township, hut owing to the conspicuous
pari it has played, it deserves more than passing notice. When the first
settlers arrived it was an insignificant little stream with an occasional log
thrown aero-- it for a foot-bridge. They huilt their cabins along it.- hanks
for convenience of it- water. The territory drained by it i- about three
miles wide by .-i\ mile- long, forming a trough in which, during a heavy
rain, it accumulate- and runs oil' with tremendous force. It originally
meandered, crossing ami recrossing Vine street. Coming down from Frank
Street it approached near to Broadway ami turned northwesterly to a point
near North First street, where a dam was huilt and water taken along what
is now Washington avenue, ami turning around west of where the schoolhouse
now i-. discharged itself on a large overshot wheel driving a mill, from which
Mill street derives it.- nana', while the creek, after crossing Kir-t street, bowed
southward, crossing Vine street, and. after running a short distance, crossed
Second, and struck Bryant street where it is to-day, then turning southwest
passed through the hay market, then turned west, crossing North Main and
pasing in the rear of the Beno and Sapp buildings ami the Opera house,
then turned abruptly north along the ea-l -ide of Sixth .-tree! until it rejoined
the water that had turned the mill and both kept on and spread over where
the Northwestern yards now are. and finally found a sag running south-
westerly, crossed Broadway near where it does at the present time, and con-
tinued south, along which Pete Debolt and .lack Ponder, and later Ross,
and -till later Stewart, erected their slaughter houses.
When there was a downpour in Hazel Hell the water could not get
through the windings rapidly enough and flooding of low grounds was the
result, ami with this problem engineers and city councils have been grappling
for half a. century. What were it- habits previous to the advent of the white
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY (37
man. we have only tradition, which represented it as gentle, but it seems
to resent his intrusion. The first to incur its displeasure was George Parks,
who started a lumber yard on the northwest corner of Sixth and Broadway.
A heavy rain up at Hazel Dell was the means of scattering that lumber all
over the low ground west of the Illinois Central depot. The next was Old
Bill Powers. He had a beautiful lot with fruit trees in which he took great
pleasure. The creek showed a disposition to encroach on the rear of his lot.
and he got heavy oak posts, set them four feet deep and put on two-inch
plank, only to sec them sailing away the next freshet. But Bill was wealthy,'
and the next year he had stone hauled and had a wall built three feet thick
across the rear of his lot at a. cost of $1,600. Then he felt a kind of sym-
pathy for his less fortunate neighbors, lint another shower fell near the
Hazel Dell church and that wall became a. thine of the past. Then Hell
became morose and commenced suing the city every time it rained. From
Frank street to Benton it ran along the side of Green street. Another of
the showers came, and all that is left of Green street is on Tostevin's map
of 1854.
But matters were .yetting serious. After due consultation with eminent
engineers, it was determined to make a straight ditch. This, it was supposed,
would allow the water to escape so as to prevent overflows. This was done,
hut the creek rose to the occasion and commenced eating off the rear of
the abutting lots, ami a wail went up. and Burning was resorted to for a
square or two, but it made short work of that. The old wooden bridges
that spanned it on First and Bryant street- were replaced by arches of stone
resting on piling at a cost of $6,000. Another shower in Hazel Dell and
those bridges became a memory. Although there is yet some uncertainty
as to its future, the railroad companies seem to be on the right track. Of
the fifty bridges spanning it within the city limits, by far the largest num-
ber are the heavy iron ones to be seen along all roads where they cross small
streams.
During the years 1905-6 a dredge was put to enlarging the outlet, and
at the same time material for rilling many low lots was removed, giving it
more waterway, and it is hoped the stream is at last under control.
The spring of 77 was an eventful one. John T. Baldwin and \Y. R.
Vaughan were candidates for mayor. The former had managed to secure
quite a following from among the working men, while Mr. Baldwin was the
regular nominee of the republican party. After a pretty active campaign
Mr. Baldwin was elected. F. A. Burke was elected city recorder over II.
H. Field, the republican nominee, and Henry Dawson. A. C. Graham, W.
S. Pettibone and J. W. Rodifer were elected aldermen.
During this summer the great labor troubles that prevailed in the east
begat a spirit of unrest here. For a time it looked as if it might become
serious. A large number of striking railroad employees went into camp near
the city and became bold in making demands on the mayor and city council
with the result that preparation was made to meet any unlawful demonstra-
tion, and the campers after a few days dispersed.
At the regular election held October 9. 1877. B. F. Clayton and George
68 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Carson were elected as representatives, John Bennett, auditor; Thomas Bow-
man, treasurer; Perry Reel, sheriff; Samuel Denton, surveyor; county super-
intendent, F. C. Childs; coroner, Henry Faul; Eli Clayton and E. L. Shu-
gart, supervisors.
A.- early as 1872 steps were taken to build what Ls now known as the
Wabash line to St. Louis. This was the incorporation of the St. Louls,
Council Bluffs & Omaha Railroad Company. The object being to secure
a short line from St. Louis by way of Brunswick and Chillicothe. General
J. H. Hammond was the active promoter of this enterprise, but the panic
of 1873 put a quietus on it for a time, but in '78 work was resumed and in
1878 the road was in operation to the city, and a consolidation with the
Wabash took place, under which name it ha.- ever since been operated. Also
the Union Pacific Railroad Company had built and opened their depot and
transfer hotel. The business at the transfer brought many families into
that vicinity, ami the number of children increased until it became neces-
sary to build another schoolhouse, and during the year a four-room house,
known a- the Eighth Avenue School, was built.
Al the city election in April. 1878, N. 1>. Lawrence was elected mayor;
F. A. Burke, recorder; 0. M. Brown, treasurer; R. C. Hubbard, assessor; G.
A. Eolmes, attorney; engineer, 1.. P. Judson; marshal, B. F. Baldwin. The
aldermen were Henry Dawson, A. C. Graham, John Epeneter, \Y. S. Petti-
bone, .1. W. Rodifer, G. II. Tabor and George II. Bicknell.
During this summer the greenback party held their convention at
Council Bluffs and nominated William Hick-, of Montgomery county, for
congress. Colonel Sapp was nominated by the republicans withoul opposi-
tion, and Colonel John II. Keatley by the democrats. Colonel Sapp was
elected by a large majority over both candidates.
'I'bc subject of spiritualism bad for some time been attracting consid-
erable attention. Mediums of all degrees appeared ami gave exhibitions,
cabinet seances, etc., thai seemed to be satisfactory to the believers, which
included many of oiir besl citizen-. Eminent lecturers appeared here as
elsewhere, and a large society was organized, ami mediums, both male and
female, flourished. As fa-t as one trick was exposed a new one would be
devised, until the delusion bad .-pent it- force. The turning point here
being from 1875 to 1880, alter which it declined about a- rapidly as it bad
advanced, until with the opening of the new century it had practically dis-
appeared.
At tin- regular election laid October 8, L878, Fit/. Henry Warren was
elected clerk of the districi court. J. I'. Goulden, recorder, and Robert Kirk-
wood, supervisor.
The wonderful discovery of silver in Colorado, together with the resump-
tion nf specie payment ami coinage of millions of silver dollars; gave a boom
Id all kinds ,,f business. Evidently previous to this the volume of money
bad not been sufficient or in proportion to the requirements of business.
Many of our citizens caught the mining fever ami rushed to the Leadville
and other camps to try their luck, but few. if any. were among the fortunate
ones.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 69
During January, 1878, our people were shocked by one of the most
horrible murders ever committed in any country. Mr. Frank Smith was
living on a farm just east of the city limits. He had in his employ a half-
breed Wyandotte Indian. Mr. Smith had occasion to go to Omaha, and the
day being very pleasant, he took the two oldest children with him, leaving
two smaller ones and a babe at home. The Indian had always conducted
himself like any civilized man, and was treated as one of the family. The
dav was one of those we occasionally have, like Indian summer, and after-
dinner the children went out to play at the barn, and on returning to the
house and not finding their mother, they started to the nearest neighbors,
only a few rods away, thinking to find her there, but hearing the baby cry, they
stopped and followed the sound back to a cave cellar in the rear of the
house, where they found their mother dead, her throat being cut from ear
to ear, and the babe was creeping in her blood. They ran to the neighbors
and the alarm was given. A large posse scoured the timber, while men were
started on each road on horseback and telegrams sent to all point-. I ml to
no purpose. The funeral was largely attended and the services were most
impressive. On the day following the funeral something could be seen in
the well, and on getting hooks and drawing it up, it proved to be the Indian.
The reasonable conclusion was that, when he approached her, she fled
with her babe out the back door and that he forced her into the cellar where
she was found, that he then went to the well to draw water to wash the
blood from his clothes. The well was provided with the common buckets
over a wheel, with a very low curb, and that in his haste and excitement
he pitched in head first and doubled down below the surface of the water
until decomposition caused the body to rise. To add to the horror, many
of the people attending the funeral, a- well a- those keeping the house, had
been drinking the water for three day-. Had the Indian been caught alive,
he would never have seen the inside of the jail. This was one of the mildest
winters for years, so much so that securing ice was quite a problem.
AT THE CITY ELECTION OF 79.
Addison Cochran was elected mayor; R. C. Hubbard, recorder; 0. M.
Brown, treasurer, B. F. Baldwin, marshal; engineer, L. P. Judson; attorney,
G. A. Holmes.
For some time the question of establishing a system of waterworks had
been agitated, and it entered largely into the spring campaign, also the creat-
ing of Union avenue.
During this spring Council Bluffs experienced the greatest temperance
revival in its history. A man named Dart, a reformed drunkard, came
among us and, although not a very good speaker, he had the faculty of
drawing and enlisting talent. It was called the Blue Ribbon movement,
and meetings were held nightly for several weeks. Nearly all the clergy
and a host of ladies, as well as many of our best public speakers, assisted,
and for a time it seemed as though all were to lie captured.
During this summer several good buildings were erected, among which
70 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
was Weise & Clausen's block on the corner of Broadway and Pierce; also one
by William Pyper on the corner of Broadway and Second street.-.
Since tbe early settlement of the city its topography has been materially
changed by cutting down the hills and tilling the low ground. The sharp
bluff at the southeast of Fifth avenue and Third street originally reached
down to Fourth street and Willow avenue and where the houses of Mr. Van
Brunt and Mr. Bennett are now standing il was as high or higher than the
top of their houses at present. The high bluff away above the Pierce street-
school formerly extended clear down to Broadway, with Fort Crogan located
near the present site of Mrs. Clausen's residence. .Much of this was used
in filling Broadway, which was some four feet below the present grade, and
was corduroyed for some distance.
The bluff on the wesl side "i Oakland avenue was from ten to fifteen
feet higher than now. and the road i" Fairview cemetery ran along the crest,
the ascent commencing in front of the Washington avenue schoolhouse.
What is now Oakland avenue was a gully some ten or fifteen feet deeper
than now. with a trail up through Hazel brush and was dignified by the
name of Valley street.
All the valley of Indian creek above the Masonic Temple and the Wa.-h-
ington avenue school was originally called Miller's hollow. The valley pene-
trated by Park and (lien avenue- was called Hang hollow, that by Benton
and Harrison. Muck hollow, Broadway above Oak became Mini hollow, ami
Franklin avenue above Platner street became Irish hollow, the first settlers
having been of that nationality.
Two squares of this hollow have probably turned out a larger number
of men thai have become prominenl than any locality of like extent in the
city or county.
To begin, at the entrance we encounter George Carson, who has held
ai differenl time- the offices of justice of the peace, judge of the circuit court,
member of the Legislature, mayor of the city and judge of the district court.
On the opposite corner wa- II. 11. Field, who was for -ix term- alderman
of the first ward, then deputj sheriff, next provost marshal during the war,
then sheriff, three terms member of the broad of education, two terms chief
of police ami two terms justice of the peace. Just above on Grace street Nick
O'Brien was bom. who grew to manhood, and a- deputy sheriff while arresting
a desperado was -hot through and through, hut recovered, and is an active busi-
ness man at this day. Ascending the hollow, next above Judge Carson we come
to 'Squire !•',. 15. (iardner, who ha- filled the role of printer, merchant, police
sergeant and justice of the peace. A little farther up we come to the Wickhams.
The Wickham brothers commenced at the bottom, with the hod. a half century
ago, and by industry and strict integrity have risen to become the largest
contractor- in mason work in all it< branches in the city. James, the senior
partner, although seventy, ami the father of twenty-two children, was never
sick a 'lay in his life, and doe.- not appear over fifty. While the girls are
accomplished ladies, the boy- are rustlers. Bernard and E. A., the eldest, in
addition to the mile- of street and sidewalk paving, are Large railroad contractors.
At this writing they have just completed a one-hundred-mile contract from
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 71
Chamberlain to Rapid City, in which four hundred teams and six hundred
men were employed, at a cost of .$1,000,000. And wherever you see greal
piles of earth, rock, brick, sand and lime, you can be pretty sure of finding
a Wickham close by.
But keeping along a little farther up the hollow, we come to Judge
Scott, of the superior court, and a little farther up we come to the home of
C. Hafer, the lumber king.
Mud hollow was for many years the home of L. W. Babbitt, a man
prominent in all the affairs of early days, having been at different times
register in the United States land office, a leading merchant, publisher and
editor of the Bugle, the first Democratic paper, and, although on the wrong
side during our great war, we must not judge him harshly. He believed
what he said and wrote and his integrity was never doubted. Judge S. II.
Riddle was another of the same stamp, both of whom have passed away.
At the regular city election of 1880 W. C. James was elected mayor; F.
A. Burke, recorder; L. W. Babbitt, city marshal; attorney. E. E. Aylesworth;
treasurer, O. M. Brown; engineer, L. P. Judson; assessor, J. W. Grassland.
The following persons were elected aldermen: John A. Churchill. W. S.
Mayne, G. H. Jackson, W. G. Unthank, Henry Dawson. A. G. Graham, X. C.
Phillips and Jacob Williams.
During this year the Bloomer schoolhouse was erected, being by far
the large.st of any except the high school building.
About this time the roller skate craze struck tins city as well as the
smaller ones of the county. The building now used by the Dodge Light
Guards as their armory was built and used as a rink. For a time it seemed
as though it would supersede dancing as an amusement. It was apparently
a harmless and graceful exercise and became very popular; but for some
unknown cause it stopped suddenly all over the country, bankrupting those
that had gone into the manufacture of the skates and leaving hundreds of
vacant rinks and a year later a roller skate could not be found anywhere.
At the regular election held October 11, 1881, H. O. Seiffert and J. C.
Morgan were elected representatives; auditor, T. A. Kirkland; treasurer, John
Bennett; sheriff. Theodore Guittar; surveyor. Samuel Denton; county super-
intendent. J. K. Cooper; coroner, Henry Faul; supervisor, S. G. Underwood.
At the spring election, 1881, W. R. Vaughan was elected mayor; F. A.
Burke, recorder; A. T. Elwell, treasurer; C. E. Stone, assessor; G. A. Holmes,
attorney: L. P. Judson, engineer; M. D. Hardin, street commissioner; P.
Lacy, chief engineer of fire department, and H. II. Field, chief of police.
John A. Churchill, S. S. Keller, F. W. Spetman, Nathan Phillips, E.
R. Fonda. W. C. Unthank. T. E. Gavin and Henry Dawson were elected
aldermen.
For two or three years the question of establishing city waterworks had
been agitated. As early as 1879 this became the "paramount issue," and
Colonel Cochran was elected mayor largely on account of his favoring the
enterprise. It took practical shape when, on January 24, 1881, the council
passed an ordinance granting to the American Construction Company, of
72 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
New York, a pretty well guarded franchise extending for twenty-five years,
and under which our water supply has been furnished up to the present time,
viz., 1907.
FLOOD OF 1881.
The spring of 1881 was remarkable on account of a flood, the most
remarkable ever experienced here. Unusually warm weather in Montana
during the month of March caused the Missouri to open up at the head
before the ice had gone out below. This gave us a double portion. Fortu-
nately, we had warning from points above so that most persons then living
on tbe low ground could prepare. .Some by moving to higher ground, while
the courthouse, halls, schoolhouses and even churches were thrown open
for the refugees, and everything in the shape of a boat was put in requisi-
tion to relieve such a- were unable In move. After a few days the water
began to subside and people began to return to their homes, when word
came of still higher water above, which proved to lie true. This time if came
to Eighth street on Broadway and from the smith it came up to Seventh
avenue. It came even with the platforms at the Northwestern depot, and
boats could run from there to Omaha. A pari of Street's addition and Cen-
tral sub, also a small section where the subsiding reservoir now is, were
not covered. Fortunately the current outside the river proper was not swift
and hut few houses were moved from their foundations, ami no loss "f life
was reported. By the first of June normal condition- were restored.
During the summer the state firemen's tournament was held here, com-
mencing June 7 ami ending on the loth. The tire department of Council
Bluffs, under the management of Thomas Bowman, IS. Newman. 1'. Lacy,
,). X. Beckley, G. A. Bolmes, and others, made ample preparation for the
event. A splendid track sixty feet wide by three hundred yards long was
prepared on which speed trials were had and were enclosed. The entire city
blossomed with flags
The meeting of the state association was held at Burhop's hall on the
7th. and on the 8th occurred the' grand parade, in which forty-six fire organi-
zation- participated. The column was more than a mile long, with John H.
Keattey a- chid' marshal. The afternoons of each day were given up to
trials of speed by hose companies, trials of engines. At night the city was
illuminated and Governor John 11. Gear addressed the firemen in the park.
A grand hall was given by the Council Bluffs firemen to their comrades
from abroad.
Among the victors were the Rescues of the Bluffs and I.lwff City, both
taking first prize-.
At the election of state officers General Lyman Banks, of Muscatine,
was elected president, and that city was selected as the place for meeting in
1882. The event closed without an accident or an unpleasant incident to
mar its pleasures.
For some time there had been a disposition on the pari of many to
change the form of the city government by abandoning its special charter
and coming in under the general incorporation law. A petition signed by
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 73
the requisite number of voters was presented to the council, and they ap-
pointed the third clay of October on which the abandonment should be
decided, and the proposition carried by a handsome majority.
The 26th of September was an eventful day in Council Bluffs, being
set apart for suitable memorial services on the day of the funeral of President
Garfield. At noon a salute was fired, but during one of the discharges Joseph
Spaulding, an ex-soldier, who was serving the gun, had an arm shattered so
that amputation at the shoulder became necessary. Fortunately he recov-
ered, was appointed by Postmaster Armour in the mail service, where he
served several years, and later held the office of constable, and at this writ-
ing is an inmate of the soldiers' home at Leavenworth.
In the afternoon the Grand Army post and civic societies assembled
in Bayless' park, where appropriate services were held, among them being
an eloquent eulogy by John N. Baldwin. Scarcely had the people left the
park when the entire city was startled by a most terrific explosion and,
on looking in the direction of the sound, a dense cloud was rising. The
cause proved to be burning of a car loaded with giant powder standing in
the Rock Island yard. How it caught has ever been a mystery, but
fortunately it was seen by one who knew the contents of the car and gave
the alarm, enabling all to flee and escape before the lire reached the powder.
The explosion was so terrific that whole trains of car- standing near were
reduced to kindling, windows a half mile away were broken, and teamsters
blown off from their wagons. Where the car stood was a pit as large as a
circus ring and twelve feet deep, but not a vestige of the car, cither wood or
iron, was to be seen. A pair of truck- came crashing through a house a
square away, in which was an invalid in bed, but fright from which she
soon recovered, was the only injury received by anyone.
The spring election of '82 was a most spirited one. Mayor Vaughan
was a candidate for re-election. N. D. Lawrence was the republican candi-
date for mayor, and Thomas Bowman the democratic candidate. Politics
did not appear to cut much figure in this election, the result turning on
the personal preference of the voters. The result was the election of Thomas
Bowman, mayor; auditor, F. A. Burke: treasurer, John Clausen; marshal,
E. W. Jackson; engineer, Thomas Tostevin; weighmaster, J. P. Williams;
aldermen-at-large, William Seidentopf, long term, J. P. Goulden, short
term; ward aldermen. F. C. Nuel, P. F. Eicher, Alex Wood, E. L. Shugart,
one year; for two years, W. C. James and M. Keating: judge of superior court,
E. E. Aylesworth: assessor, Hiram Shoemaker; street commissioner, A. E.
Avery: city clerk, A. C. Savacool; chief engineer of the fire department, C. D.
Walters.
During the summer of 1882 the Driving Park A-sociation made especial
efforts for its fall meeting, to begin on the 18th of September. In addition
to the mile track made the year before, the association constructed a half-mile
track inside of the other, and made the grounds attractive in every respect.
Arrangements were made for holding of a county fair at the date of
the fall meeting, and this was conducted successfully owing to the admirable
management of Dr. A. B. McCune, W. S. Pettibone, N. M. Pusey, L. C.
ft
74 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Baldwin and J. W. Peregoy, directors of the association. The fair -was
success, not only in numbers but in display, and financially, the daily
attendance during four days of fair and races being over ten thousand.
VETERANS' REUNION.
Following the fair and beginning on the 28th of September, was the
reunion of the Veteran Association of Southwestern Iowa and Northwestern
Missouri. The Driving Park Association gave the use of the fair grounds
to the reunion. Through the aid of Congressman Hepburn the war depart-
ment loaned the association one hundred and fifty hospital tents. The first
morning was clear and cool, and the first trains brought veterans by the
hundred, and by night three thousand of them were comfortably quartered
in camp.
Colonel John II. Keatley was commandant, aided by Colonel D. B.
Dailey, chief of staff. General G. M. Dodge, former commander of Six-
teenth Army Corps and first colonel of the Fourth Iowa, was on a visit home
from New York to meet the old regiment and take part in the reunion. On
the afternoon of the first day the veterans were organized into two battalions,
tlie one called the Wabash battalion, under command of Colonel Ellis, of
Villisca, and the other, the Northwestern battalion, commanded by Colonel
J. C. Cook, of Carrol]. Both battalions gave dress parades at five o'clock
thai evening, witnessed by thousands of spectators.
On tlie second morning at nine o'clock the column formed at the fair
grounds and marched into the city for parade and review. Old tattered and
torn battle flags were borne by the column as ii marched up Broadway by
platoon.- to First street, ami counter-marching. General Dodge took position
at the intersection of fourth street while the column passed in review and
retiring when the last veteran had passed. The scene was affecting, not only
to the participants, hut to the thousands of spectators that lined the street.
The afternoon was occupied by speeches by Colonel Hepburn, Major Ander-
son ami others to their comrades, and at evening, when on dress parade.
congratulatory dispatches were read from Generals Grant, Sherman, Sheri-
dan and Howard. At aighl the city was illuminated in honor of the veterans
and General Dodge threw his house and grounds open, giving a reception
to the veterans and public generally.
The reunion closed on Saturday after election of officers for the ensuing
year, with farewell greetings, and fixing the next place of meeting at Marys-
ville. Mo.
At the election held November 7. 1882, S. D. Street was elected clerk;
J. F. Rroadheck. county surveyor: S. B. Frum and R. Kirkwood. super-
visor-.
During the years L881-2-3 a large amount of building was done. Among
these was the Mueller Music Hall.
For this he had labored for a quarter of a century. It was complete
in its appointments, the first story being the sale room for all supplies be-
longing to the trade, with repair room and elevator in the rear. While the
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 75
second story, reached by both elevator and stairway, was used as a store-room
for pianos, and the third was a concert hall.
In 1882 the four-story building of the Empkie Shugart Hardware Com-
pany was built, as was also the Shugart block and the Twentieth avenue
schoolhouse.
During September, 1883, the people were startled by the report that Dr.
A. B. McCune had been killed by Dr. Cross.
The former was a very popular physician with an extensive practice.
There had been ill feeling for some time between them, each accusing the
other of unprofessional conduct.
Finally Cross was instrumental in getting McCune indicted for criminal
practice. Unfortunately both lived on the same street, Cross where the
Elks' club house now stands and McCune one square west, and meeting .just
at dark, the tragedy occurred. McCune died before his statement could be
taken. The theory of the prosecution was that Cross was lying in wait
for his victim near the front of his dwelling, while Cross declared that
McCune overtook him and struck him from behind a terrible blow, remark-
ing at the same time, "I've got you now." They evidently had a struggle, as
Cross had shot through his own left hand in the fray. On hearing the
report, Chief Field started for the place and overtaking Sheriff Guittar both
went to the house, where they found Cross already in custody of Policemen
Brooks and Cusic. He was bathing hi- wounded hand. A great crowd had
gathered around the house, but Cross was not in the least excited. After
bathing his hand he directed his wife where to get the proper dressing and
assisted in applying the bandage.
Chief Field then asked him if he understo '1 that he was under arrest.
He replied, "Yes. I will he ready in a minute." A friend who was in the
house suggested that as there was a great crowd in front, that we go out
the back way. He replied that lie had done nothing of which he was
ashamed and would go the front way. Kissing his wife and telling her not
to worry, he said he .was ready and walked down to the jail.
When the grand jury met he was indicted and held without bail, took a
change of venue to Mills county, was convicted and sentenced to death, but
on appeal to the supreme court, the decision was reversed on error in instruc-
tion and admission of evidence, and when cause was set for hearing, a change
of venue was again taken to Montgomery county, where he was finally
acquitted. It has been reported that Dr. Cross has recently died.
During 'this year another tragedy occurred of a darker color than the
one related above. It appeared that a colored man named McGee, an em-
ployee of the Pacific House, and George Washington, also colored, of the
Ogden, were rivals for the affections of a very dark colored woman of about
two hundred pounds weight. There was also rivalry between the two hotels,
and at the time it was hinted that some of the other employees and even
guests took sides in encouraging the rivalry. Be this as it may. Washington
was of lighter color than McGee, and with the prestige of his name added,
he seemed to be getting the best of McGee, who, becoming desperate, made
a raid upon the Ogden.
76 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Washington, seeing him approaching, suspected danger, retreated, but
was followed into the house and shot down. McGee was tried, convicted
and sent up for ten years.
The Dohany theater was built during this year. On November 12
the city council granted the Edison Electric Light Company the right to
install their system.
At the city election in spring of 1884 W. R. Vaughan was elected mayor;
treasurer, John Clausen; auditor, F. A. Burke; engineer, J. F. Broadbeck;
marshal, F. H. Guennella; judge of the superior court, E. E. Aylesworth;.
solicitor, G. A. Holmes; assessor, Hiram Shoemaker; weighmaster, William
Galvin; clerk, E. A. Troutman; chief of the fire department, C. 1>. Walters;
chief of police, Thomas Skinner; street commissioner, A. F. Avery; alder-
men-at-large, P. J. McMahon and William Seidentopf; ward aldermen, first
ward, Conrad Geise; second. William Mynster; third, M. Keating; fourth,
W. C. James.
The city having moved into new quarters on Bryant street, the old
building which had done duty I'm- many years, first as bank, then as county
recorder and treasurer's offices, and finally a- city building, together with
the engine house and stable on the rear, fronting on Pierce street, were
ordered Mild and the ground on which they stood was used to widen Glenn
avenue.
This spring the city also added a long step to its progress in paving
Broadway with granite blocks from First to Twelfth streets and Main from
Broadway to Sixteenth avenue. Many new buildings were added this year.
among which was the Creston Hon-- by Max Mohn, being the first .-tine
fruiit in tlie city.
This year electric lights were introduced and the high tower- adopted
for street lighting.
This being presidential election year, the campaign opened early and
proved to he the liveliest for many years. W. II. M. Pusey had been elected
to congress two year- before owing to disagreement among the republicans,
and was up for a second term, and it was generally understood that he had
a barrel to he kept on tap, while his opponent Major Lyman was backed
by tin' soldiers. Blaine was the idol of the republicans, even as was Bryan
alter his cross of gold speech, and the democrat-, remembering the jugglery,
by which Tilden was counted out. were determined to retrieve that disaster.
So that our local affair- were overshadowed by the national and congressional
campaign. As election day approached the excitement increased and lira-
bands, torches and transparencies became the order of the night and stump
speaking by day. with the result that Cleveland was barely elected. Pusey de-
feated, and in our county affairs -I. -I. Shea wa- elected clerk. II. -I. Chambers
recorder, and Itoht. F. .lone- supervisor.
The city schools were flourishing under the superintendence of Prof.
McNaughton and two new schoolhouses were added to the district, the Pierce
Street, with six rooms, afterward enlarged to twelve, and the Third Street
of four, and later enlarged to eight.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 77
Quite an amount of building was done this year, among which were
the Marcus block, next to the opera house, the Straub block on Main, the
Sanborn on Broadway and Bryant, two churches, and a number of first class
dwellings.
At the regular spring election of 1886 John \V. Chapman was elected
mayor; treasurer, F. W. Spetman; auditor, L. Kinnehan; engineer, Thos. Tos-
tevin: marshal" F. H. Guennella; judge superior court, E. E. Aylesworth;
solicitor, G. A. Holmes; assessor, \V. L. Patton; weighmaster, W. S. Amy;
clerk, F. A. Burke; chief of fire department. J. L. Templeton; chief of police,
J. M. Mathews; street commissioner, E. S. Barnett; aldermen at large, John
Bennet and Josiah Danforth; first ward. L. Hammer; second ward, S. S. Kel-
ler; third ward. Chris Straub; fourth ward. E. L. Shugart.
On June 10 of this year the mosl exciting race was pulled off at a lire-
man's tournament at Dubuque, wherein the Council Bluffs Hose Team No.
3, a like team from Pierre, South Dakota, and one from Waterloo, Iowa, were
contestants. It appearing that most of the, men were professional foot racers.
a protest was made to the hoard of control. This beng the case, they re-
fused tu ad as judges, and turned it over to the citizen.-' committee of ar-
rangements. These chose their judges and timekeepers, and the race was
called. The Bluffs team made the run and coupling in forty-one and one-
half second.-. The Pierre gained a second in run. but lost two in coupling.
The Waterloo tied the Pierre team, leaving the Bluffs team winner- of the
greatest race of Iowa, and on which thousands of dollars changed hand-.
Mayor Chapman died before he had served his first year, and .1. K.
Evans was made mayor pro tem. This was the first time that a mayor of the
city had died while in office.
Mr. Evans served until the spring election of 1887. when Wm. Orone-
weg was elected mayor; treasurer. F. W. Spetman; auditor, L. Kinnehan;
engineer, Thos. Tostevin; marshal. F. H. Guennella; judge superior court.
E. E. Aylesworth: solicitor, G. A. Holmes: assessor, W. L. Patton; weigh-
master, W. S. Amy; clerk, F. A. Burke; chief of fire department. .1. L. Tem-
pleton; chief of police, Jerry Mullen; street commissioner, A. 10. Avery;
aldermen-at-large, Josiah Danforth and Lucius Wells; first ward, Louis Ham-
mer; second ward, S. S. Keller; third ward, Patrick Lacy; fourth ward, Geo.
Metcalf.
During this year an ordinance was passed granting the Manawa Street
Railway Company a franchise for twenty-five years.
On July" 2. 1887. an ordinance was passed and approved granting an
electric light and power company a franchise for twenty years.
Council Bluffs has become a great market for all kinds of agricultural
machinery as well as wagons and carriages of every description. Among
the first to engage largely in this business were Beresheim and Weis back
in the early '60s. This was before the Union Pacific railroad was built, and
freighting by wagon was the only means of transportation. The Sehutt'.er
wagon had achieved an enviable reputation for enduring the long, dry. hot
trips without shrinking. For shrinkage to occur and wheels shed their tires a
78 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
hundred miles from any repair shop was a serious proposition, and freight-
ers were not slow to select the article that was proven to be the best, and for
years their wagons had the preference. Beresheim and Weis secured the ex-
clusive agency for that wagon for this point and extending to all points
from Nebraska to Sioux, inclusive, and reaped a rich profit. On the coming
of railroads others saw the advantage of this as a great distributing
point with the result many of the great manufacturers established houses
here. Shugart and Lininger were among the earliest dealers and others fol-
lowed rapidly, until the number of wholesale houses reached twelve. Thesq
are sales establishments, and not including manufactures, which are treated
separately.
At the election November 3. L885, John II. Keatley and R. S. Hart were
elected representatives; auditor, John Clausen; treasurer. John II. Plumer;
sheriff, Perry Keel: school superintendent. J. W. W. Land: surveyor, J. F.
Broadbeck; coroner. Dr. F. I'. Billinger; supervisors, S. *i. Underwood and
James Boiler.
At the city election of 1887 the following officers were elected: Mayor,
Win. Groneweg; treasurer, !•". W. Spetman; auditor, P. Kinnehan; engineer,
Thos. Tostevin; marshal, F. II. Guennella; judge of superior court, E. E.
Aylesworth; solicitor, (I. A. Holmes: assessor, W. I.. Patton; weighmaster,
W. S. Amy: clerk. F. A. Burke; chief of lire department, John L. Temple-
ton; chief of police, Jerry Mullen; street commissioner, A. E. Avery: alder-
men-at-large, Lucius Wells and Josiah Danforth.
During this year I. M. Sigler, a prominent citizen of Boomer town-
ship and an old pioneer, died while on business in Nebraska, and his remains
were brought home lor interment.
Among the prominent buildings erected tin- year was the Eisman build-
ing, the one now occupied by the Beno -tore.
A sad case of suicide occurred at the Transfer Hotel this summer, being
that of a woman, apparently about forty year- of age. She had a little son
with her. and was on her way from San Francisco to Boston, where the little
hoy said they had relative-. The railroad men took up the case, paid for
her funeral and got a home tor the boy. The history of her troubles died
with her. as the hoy was too young to know. Everything indicated that she
had been a lady of refinement.
TDK COURTHOUSE AND JAIL.
As early as 1884 hint- were circulated that the old courthouse, although
only sixteen years old, was unsafe. !!<■ tin- as it may, the county had out-
grown it. and the jail in the basement was not in sanitary condition, and at
the regular meeting of the board of supervisors on February 4. 1885, a reso-
lution was passed submitting the proposition to borrow $150,000 for the pur-
pose of building a courthouse and $30,000 for a jail, to be voted upon at a
special election to be held March 10, 1885.
At that election .V2:;-J vote- were cast in favor, and 2933 against the prop-
I. 0. 0. F. CELEBRATION, APRIL 27, 1868. LOOKING UP
BROADWAY.
■$l
*»o
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 81
osition. The bonds were issued and advertised, and taken by Messrs. Wood-
bury and Moulton, of Portland, Maine, they being the highesl bidders.
Plans and specifications by Eckle and .Mann were approved, and bids ad-
vertised for, and on August 12, L885, the bids were opened, and that of
Wickham Brothers, for $136,800 being the lowest the contract was let to
them, they giving $1,000 for the old building. The board leased the two
lower stories of the Masonic Temple for county purposes during construc-
tion, the lower for offices and the main hall for court room with side rooms
for juries and board room.
On excavating for foundation the architect decided that the ground was
such that the concrete foundation provided I'm' in contract was not sufficient,
and piling under the entire structure was ordered. This was done by Stephen
Robinson and involved an extra cost of $5,046.08. The decoration was by K.
A. Norling.
Tin' building speaks for itself, and for beauty, architecturally, convenience
and durability, it i> a success, and with proper care will serve the people for
a century. Its construction lasted nearly three year-, being accepted Febru-
ary 15, 188.S. Additional ground was required and purchased, affording room
for the jail, which also is a substantial structure.
The first term of court to be held in the new building was by Judge
Loofboro.
At the election November 8, 1887, Wm. Groneweg was elected state sena-
tor; P. S. Hart and Wm. Wyman representatives; sheriff, Jas. O'Neil; audi-
tor, Ira Hendricks: county superintendent. J. K. Cooper; surveyor, J. F.
Broadbeck; coroner. Dr. J. C. Waterman; treasurer. John II. Pluiner.
At the city election, spring of 1888, the following Darned persons were
elected: Mayor, M. E. Rohrer; treasurer, F. W. Spetman; auditor, C. A.
Hammer; engineer, F. Stimson; marshal, E. H. Guennella; judge of superior
court. E. E. Aylesworth; solicitor, G. A. Holmes; assessor, W. L. Pattern;
weighmaster, W. S. Amy; clerk. F. A. Burke; chief of fire department, C. I).
Walters; chief of police, O. H. Lucas: street commissioner, A. E. Avery;
aldermen-at-large, W. II. Knepher and John Weaver; alderman first ward,
E. T. Waterman: second ward. E. P. Rillinger; third ward. Patrick Lacy;
fourth ward, Geo. Metcalf.
During the year 1888 the new Washington Avenue schoolhouse was
built, with a seating capacity of 950 pupils.
This being the year for holding presidential election a lively campaign
followed and the republicans adopted to a limited extent the methods re-
sorted to by the wings during the campaign of 1840, by reviving the log
cabin idea, that proved so effective in electing the grandfather of their can-
didate, while the democrats stood pat for Cleveland. It was conducted with
less mud slinging than the one that preceded it. Locally the following per-
sons were elected: Clerk of the court. H. J. Chambers; recorder, W. H.
Thomas; attorney, John P. Organ; supervisors, Alex Osier and Charles Alex-
ander.
82 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
ELECTRIC STREET RAILWAY.
An event of much importance this year was that of the completion of
the Omaha and Council Bluffs bridge and electric street railway line. Two
years before, T. J. Evans, who had been east and witnessed the operation of
the first electric line in the United States, became enthusiastic on the sub-
ject of connecting the two cities by a toll bridge and electric line, and on ar-
riving at home proceeded to enlist capitalists in the enterprise. The two
cities granted the franchise and the work was rushed to completion, and
during the fall of 1888 the first car was run over the new track, and the event
was celebrated by a grand trade display in which the business men of all
trades and professions joined.
For years the getting hack and forward between the two cities was quite
a serious proposition and up to this time not much advance had been made
since Harl's 'bus line used to take you across and to any pari of the city for
fifty cent- either way. With the electric line taking them over in half an
hour for ten cents was a great change, and still they arc not happy, but for
two years have been clamoring for a live cent fare, with partial success.
During this year we als > bad a severe attack of the cedar block pave-
ment mania and for five years we had some elegant drives, only to come to
an untimely end alter about that length of time.
The city granted the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company the
right of way along First avenue to the river.
Also to the Chicago, Rock Island it Pacific Railway Company, on ami
along Fourteenth street from Twelfth to First avenue, and on First avenue
from then to the river.
A> early a.- 1880 the people of Council Bluffs believed themselves en-
titled to a postoffice building, bu1 not until L883 was there an appropriation
of $100.oi hi -ecured. The usual strife then commenced over its location
The old strife between up town and down town was revived, up town, with
the Ogden House and Neumayer Hotel influence wanted it on the Platner
property on the corner of Glenn avenue and Broadway, while the Nonpareil
influence contended for the present site, and the latter was successful. Work
was Dot commenced until L886. <*n testing the ground it was demonstrated
that piling would be necessary for the foundation, and further, that the plan
submitted by the architect could not be built within the appropriation. At
the next session of congress an additional appropriation of $50,000 was
made, the corner -tone was laid and work commenced under Supervising
Architect M. E. P>ell of the treasury department and prosecuted to comple-
tion. It was occupied during the summer of 1888, hut not completed until
a few months later. The building, though massive, is not a thing of beauty.
In fact from an artistic standpoint it is a failure. Hon. Thomas Bowman
was the first postmaster to occupy it. and the late Judge -I. M. Love was
the fir-t to hold a term of the United States district court in the building.
The court room is not what it should be. Already an addition i- con-
templated, hut whether it can lie made in a way to redeem the appearance of
tlie building as well as to add to its convenience, remains to be seen.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 83
At the city election for 1889 the following persons were elected: Mayor,
F. M. Rohrer; treasurer, F. W. Spetman; auditor, C. A. Hammer; engineer,
F. Stimson; marshal, F. H. Guennella; judge of superior court, E. E. Ayles-
worth; solicitor, G. A. Holmes; assessor, W. L. Patton; weighmaster, W. S.
Amy; clerk, R. S. Huntington; chief of fire departmi at, C. D. Walters; chief
of police, O. H. Lucas; street commissioner, A. E. Avery; aldermen-at-large,
John Weaver and W. II. Knepher; alderman of first ward. E. T. Water-
man; second ward, F. P. Billinger; third ward, Patrick Lacy; fourth ward,
Leonard Everett. The result being intensely democratic.
During this summer the state firemen's tournament was held at the
Trotting park and was largely attended and some line work done. The re-
cue steamer of Council Bluffs won on first water.
In (lie hose race the Alert of Marshalltown took first prize. Hook and
Ladder Co. of Atlantic won first in that contest, and in that of hand engine
Liberty No. 1 of Crestonville, Iowa., was the champion.
The attendance was the largest ever held in the state and the proceed-
ings were all harmonious.
During 1889 the venerable old Pacific House that previous to the erec-
tion of the Ogden House had been the leading hotel in western Iowa was
doomed to give way to a more modern structure, and the Eisman building
was erected in its place.
Another prominent building erected this year is the Sapp block on the
corner of Broadway and Scott streets. This is a modern office building of
five stories.
Here again another venerable old land mark had to give way. It had
once been used as the dry goods -tore of B. B. Brown, and later as a hotel
called the Napoleon House, and for -one years was kept by the late Peter
Bechtel. But such is the fate of all. Two of the large implement houses
were built during the year.
At the election held November 5 of this year R. W. Briggs and W. H.
Ware were elected to the legislature; county treasurer, J. II. Plumer; auditor,
I. F. Hendricks; school superintendent. J. K. Cooper; coroner, J. C. Water-
man; surveyor, H. F. Broadbeck; supervisors, A. C. Graham and August
Bostedt.
Again the spirit of rivalry between up town and down town flared up.
The Ogden House being located up town, and its proprietor, also owner of
the old street car line, it was claimed that the latter was run in the interest
of the former, and on the opening of the electric line it was determined to
have a hotel down town to eclipse the Ogden and the preliminary steps were
taken by calling a meeting at which arrangements were made with Kimball
and Champ, hankers, who agreed to erect the building, providing the citizens
would donate a suitable site. That where the Grand Hotel now stands was
agreed upon, and was purchased of Dr. E. I. Woodbury and the purchase-
money raised by subscription. A more desirable location could not have
been made, facing as it does on Bayliss park and on direct car line running
to all the railroad depots as well as to Omaha.
Kimball and Champ commenced by putting in piling for the entire
84 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
foundation at a cost of $5,000. The main building was erected at a cost of
$183,000, and the annex, including lot, at a cost of $50,000.
Later a company was organized and incorporated by Council Bluffs citi-
zens as. the Grand Hotel Company, which purchased the property of Messrs.
Kimball and Champ, and in whose interest it has been conducted. Edward
W. Hart is the present manager, and there is no better hotel west of Chicago
than the Grand.
At the city election 1890 Dr. Donald Macrae was elected mayor; auditor,
J. C. Lange; treasurer, L. Kinnehan; engineer, Thos'. Tostevin; marshal, John •
Templeton: judge of superior court, J. E. F. McGee; solicitor, J. J. Stewart;
assessor, W. D. Hardin: weighmaster, A. B. Paris; clerk, A. J. Stephenson;
chief of fire department, F. R. Levin; chief of police. Wade Carey: street
commissioner. A. E. Avery; aldermen-at-large, Alex Wood and W. II. Knep-
her; alderman first ward. L. A. Casper; second ward. Peter Wind; third
ward, Patrick Lacy: fourth ward. Leonard Everett: fifth ward. Peter Smith;
sixth ward. .1. W. Mikesell.
At the regular election for county and state officers held November 4,
1891, tlie following persons wen- elected: Clerk of district court, T. S. Camp-
bell; recorder. Wm. H. Thomas; attorney. John P. Organ; supervisor, F. G.
Hetzel; representatives, W. II. Ware and R. W. Briggs; treasurer, W. B.
Reed; sheriff, Thos. Bazen; coroner. Dr. F. 'I". Seybert; surveyor, 1.. P. Jud-
son; senator, Win. Groneweg; supervisors, -I. P. Black and Wm. Groneweg.
During this season quite a number of important buildings were erected,
among which was the Baldwin -i\ story block, corner of Broadway and
Pearl street. John X. Baldwin, from whom it derive- it- aame, commenced
it in L890 and completed it in L891, at a cosl of $50,000. In L896, n was
purchased by the stockholders of the Council Bluffs Savings Bank. The
Second Avenue school was (milt this year at a cosl of $20,000, also the Har-
rison street public schoolhouse was also built this year, at a cost of spJ.OOO.
EARLY CHARACTERS.
During the good old days, several persons appeared, each of whom in his
favorite role became conspicuous. Among them weir Henry DeLong, sport
Miller and Jim Snodderly.
The exact lime when these men commenced their activities is involved
in uncertainty. l>ut tradition points hack to the palmy days of the Ocean
Wave saloon. Their roles were somewhat dissimilar. Henry's long -nit was
praying, thai of Sport was absorbing Derby A: Lay'- thirteen cent whiskey,
and Jim's was being arrested. During the long years when Bump, Burkhart,
and "Old Jack" were city marshals it became a common saying thai no mat-,
ter what crime had been committed, Jim was arrested for it. dragged before
old Squire Burke, only to walk forth "clothed in the spotless robes of inno-
cence." Most persons would have resented such treatment, hut not so with
Jim. He seemed to accept the situation just a- the stage villain accepts the
part assigned him by the manager. He was in the habit of experiencing re-
ligion in the winter hut would invariably back-slide with the opening of
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 85
spring, when his arrests would be resumed. For some reason lie changed his
abode to a home in Nebraska. After years of self imposed exile, lie pined to
review the scenes of his early triumphs, but how changed! The good old
squire had gone to a higher court than any here, as well as those marshals.
He visited some of his old haunts, but they too had changed. An occasional
tall man in Hue with brass buttons would pass without noticing him, and he
returned sorrowfully, without seeing the inside of our city bastile or behold-
ing the majesty of our superior court.
As for Sport, he could carry a pretty heavy load of had whiskey and
still have a pretty clear conception of the relative value of two pairs, threes,
four Hush, or a full hand, etc. But as time went on the whiskey seemed to
be getting the best of him, to the extent that an enterprising temperance lec-
turer took him around to exhibit as a horrible example. Finally, he having
been a soldier, his friends prevailed upon him to retire to the Soldiers' Home.
After years he too, longed to revisit the old -eene.s. He came but no one rec-
ognized him. In this instance it was he that was changed. The regulations
of the Home had done its work, but he saw the [mint. He proceeded to take
on one of his old-fashioned jags when the mask fell, and all his old friends
gathered around and congratulated him, and after a pleasant visit he re-
turned with the good wishes of all.
As for Henry he kept on praying and occasionally digging a well for a
resting spell and added preaching to his labors, and at last his labors re-
ceived recognition. He received the appointment of probation officer. The
county authorities fitted him up a chapel in the courthouse handy by the
clerk's office where, as licenses are issued he i.- ready to perform the marriage
ceremony, and it is a poor day on which he fails to unite two or three willing
couples in the holy bonds of wedlock. This, with his pay as probation officer,
makes a pretty good thing for Uncle Henry, and -nine think of having him
open the courts with prayer. Having observed the salutary effect upon our
legislative bodies, they see no reason why it should not prove equally beneficial
to the judiciary. It has also been suggested that he be employed to preach
to the "Spirits in prison" on Sundays. This has been objected to as being
in conflict with the provision in the Constitution winch declares that "Cruel
and unusual punishment shall not be inflicted."
But seriously, neither of these were bad men, but had their peculiarities,
and all have a host of friends that are glad to see them at any time:
Another interesting character that the old-timers- will remember was
Major Bayliss. He was a brother to S. S. Bayliss, proprietor of the Pacific
House, and became a part of the assets. His long suit was entertaining the
stranger guests of that hostelry, and it was a very unappreciative
stranger that failed to invite him to the bar. He was a picturesque
figure, perhaps sixty-five, a little lame, wore a somewhat damaged plug hat
slightly cocked to one side, and when he assured a stranger that he was a
high toned Virginia gentleman by G — sir, few would question its truthful-
ness His dignity received a pretty severe shock away back in the 60's. after
a large committee of the young men prevailed upon him to run for mayor
on an independent ticket, assuring him of their active support, when the
86 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
returns showed that he had received eight votes. It resulted in a coolness
towards some of his most ardent admirers. No one ever knew how he came
by the title of Major, but after forming the acquaintance of Major Bag-iock,
in Dombey & Son we see the point. They were twins, but he too is gone.
He will not return like the others.
John and Hannah Ford held the front of the stage for years. He was
an Irishman of the ould stock, small in stature but long on courage, con-
sequently was frequently getting into trouble. While Hannah, who was twice
his size, usually acted as his attorney. In a civil suit before Justice Treynor
in which Hannah was an important witness, and during a rigid cross exami-
nation, in which she would baffle the attorney by witty answers, John would
manifest his approval by a cheerful yelp. The court administered a severe
reprimand, admonishing him that a repetition would result in his expulsion
from the court room. The offense was soon repeated, and the constable not
being present, tbe court proceeded to perform the office personally. He de-
liberately opened tbe door and seizing John, attempted to ejeel him, but
John turned and would have ejected the court, but for help of some of the
spectators.
CONSECUTIVE EVENTS.
At tlie city election of 1891 the following persons were elected: Mayor,
Dr. Donald Macrae. Sr.; treasurer, 1.. Kdnnehan; auditor, J. ('. Lange; engi-
neer. Thos. Tostevin; marshal, John L. Templeton; judge superior court. J. E.
V. McGee; solicitor, J. J. Stewart; assessor, W. 1). Hardin: weighmaster, A.
1>. Paris: clerk. A. J. Stephenson; chief of lire department, Frank Levin;
chief of police. Wade Carey: street commissioner, A. E. Avery; aldermen-at-
rge, Alex Wood and J. II. Pace; alderman firs! ward, I.. A. Casper; second
ward, Peter Wind: third ward, II. II. Van Brunt; fourth ward. Geo. D.
Brown; fifth ward. Peter Smith; sixth ward. Geo. Graves.
At the county and -taie election held November 4. 1891, the following
persons were elected: Representatives, W. s. Ware and 1!. \\". Briggs; treas-
urer, \V. I!. Reed; sheriff, Thos. Hazen; -el I superintendent, J. K. Cooper;
coroner, Dr. F. T. Seybert; surveyor, L. I'. Judson; state senator, Wm.
Groneweg; supervisors, J. K. Black and Win. Groneweg.
January 13, 1892, Pottawattamie my lost one of her most promi-
nent citizen- in the death of Mr. Thomas I'. Treynor. for years lie had been
in service of the public, as city recorder, postmaster, manager oi Nonpareil,
.1- an Odd Fellow had been honored with the highest position within the
gift of the stale, and politically a leader of men.
At the city election of 1892 the following officers wess elected: Mayor,
X. I>. Lawrence; treasurer, L. Kinnehan; auditor. Geo. M. Gould; engineer,
E. E. Cook: marshal, John I.. Templeton: judge of superior court, J. E. F.
McGee; solicitor, A. S. Eazelton; assessor, W. D. Hardin; weighmaster, A.
B. Paris; clerk. A. J. Stephenson; chief of tire department, Charles Nichol-
son; chief of police, J. M. Scanlan; street commissioner, A. E. Avery: alder-
men-at-large, J. II. Pace and Victor Jennings: alderman first ward, Fred
Gei.-e; second ward. (J. A. Tibbitts; third ward. II. II. Van Brunt; fourth
ward. Geo. 1 ». Brown; fifth ward. Peter Smith: sixth ward. George Graves
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 87
During this year the city hall was built, as well as several bridges over
Indian creek, and the Madison Avenue schoolhouse, and a large addition
to" the Avenue B school, and quite a number of fine residences. Abo a large
amount of work was done on the great Terminal bridge.
At the county and state election held November 8, 1892, the following
officers were elected: Clerk of district court, T. S. Campbell; auditor, J. B.
Mathews; recorder, W. M. Shepherd; supervisors, S. B. Wadswortb and John
Currie. November 11, 1893, the following were elected: Representatives, J.
K. Cooper and G. Diedrich; treasurer, W. B. Reed; sheriff, John T. Hazen;
school superintendent, A. J. Benton; coroner. Dr. II. B. Jennings; surveyor,
L. P. Judson.
In January, 1892, there was a jail delivery in which Harvey Moore,
Jack O'Donnel, Wm. Stewart. E. Ward, Ed. Fegley and a man named Doug-
las escaped by sawing off iron liars.
On February 17 occurred the funeral of Patric McCan. He had been a
soldier, and was a Catholic. The body was to he shipped, and was taken to
the church for funeral service. The casket was draped with the national
colors, and when about to enter, they were met by father O'Rourk, who for-
bade them to enter unless the flag was removed. This his comrades refused
to do. and went to the train with the body. The incident raised a howl of
indignation, and Father O'Rourk apologized, admitted that he was in error.
At the school election March 17 H. H. Field and L. E. Bridenstein were
elected members of the board of education.
On April 27 Geo. Stevens, ticket agent for the motor company, was held
up and robbed near the cast end of the bridge by two foot-pads who took
what money he had, and also his watch and revolver. They then started for
Omaha. Stevens followed them, put the Omaha police on, and they were
arrested, brought here and held for trial.
May 15 the new Broadway M. E. Church was dedicated with impressive
exercises, the great house being crowded and standing room was at a premium.
May 1 occurred the funeral of Hon. J. P. Casady. The judge came to
Council Bluffs in 1854. Was at one time county judge, was universally re-
spected.
On the same day Mrs. W. H. Robertson was buried. She was Scotch by
birth, was an excellent woman, was mother to Mrs. John Beno.
On June 5 Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Kohl, of Omaha, were instantly killed on
the motor bridge by the car making a sudden start that pitched them against
the iron railing.
July 27 Alderman Geo. Brown died, and immediately the city building
was draped.
At the spring election of 1893 for city officers the following persons were
elected: Mayor, N. D. Lawrence; treasurer, L. Kinnehan; auditor, Geo. M.
Gould; engineer, E. E. Cook; marshal, John L. Templeton; judge of superior
court, J. E. F. McGee: solicitor, A. S. Hazelton; assessor, W. D. Hardin;
weighmaster, A. B. Paris ; clerk, L. Zurmuehlen ; chief of fire department,
Chas. Nicholson; chief of police, J. M. Scanlan; street commissioner, A. E.
Avery; aldermen-at-large, Victor Jennings and S. S. Keller; alderman first
88 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
ward, Fred Geise; second ward, C. A. Tibbitts; third ward, F. 0. Gleason;
fourth ward, U. H. White ; fifth ward, Peter Smith ; sixth ward, C. R. Nichol-
son.
On July 1 James Burdutha, an old and respected citizen died.
The Fourth of July was celebrated by the Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation at the Driving park, where all kinds of athletic sports were engaged
in. Ernest E. Hart, I. M. Treynor and J. C. De Haven were the judges. It
was also celebrated at Manawa, Fairmount park and Courtland beach. Only
one accident was reported, that being at Courtland beach, where there was a col- -
lision of motor cars in which conductor John Patton sustained serious injury
and all the passengers severely shaken up.
On July 8 Frank Saunders was caught in the Rock Island yard by a
switch engine and both legs cut off, from the effects of which he died.
On July 3 Christian Bock, in Keg Creek township, suicided by shoot-
ing; no cause was assigned.
On September 7 the body of F. E. Burdick was found at Courtland beach,
supposed to have been robbed and thrown into the lake, as no money was
found in his clothes.
September 8 Wm. Mowhor, who was on trial at Avoea for the murder of
his wife, was acquitted. John P. Organ assisted by W. E. Mitchell were for
the state, and L. T. Genung ami Attorney Keenan were for the defense.
September 12 J. W. Hemingway, of Clarinda, was held up and robbed
of $50 on Main street, near Brown's drug store. It being dark he could give
no description of the robbers.
September 8 the Old Settlers of Pottawattamie, Mills and Fremont coun-
ties had a rousing celebration in which oratory and good feeling abounded.
September 14 the longest draw span in the world was placed in position
on the great Terminal bridge, which was opened for trade on the 29th.
September 21 the Medical Society of the Missouri Valley convened and
was largely attended and closed with a banquet at the Woman's Exchange
on Pearl street.
October 31 A. B. Enderton suicided in Fairmount park by -hooting.
He left a statement providing for his family by commending them to the
care of God.
November 11 Alex Olson suicided at saloon. No. 307 West Broadway
by shooting. No cause was assigned.
November 26 Peter Johnson was found dead from suffocation in a
trench, where he had been endeavoring to tind and repair a leak in a gas
main.
There had been a long contest between Mr. Hazen and Mr. Scanlon.
The returning board declared Mr. Hazen elected by quite a large majority,
but after a recount Mr. Hazen's majority was reduced to nine votes, while
the costs amounted to $268.
After a lively contest between S. B. Wadswortb and Arthur Reikman
neither one received the appointment.
Constable J. C. Buker was beaten by thugs he was trying to arrest and
although $50 reward was offered for their arrest it failed to bring them in.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 89
On January 25 Leon Lozier was arrested for criminal assault on a
young girl. Leon was a foot-racer of unsavory reputation. It caused great
excitement and an immense crowd assembled at the jail for the purpose of
lynching him, but lacking a leader and the sheriff being prepared to resist
the mob the necktie party failed.
January 31 Mrs. William Seidentopf suieided. Poor health and des-
pondency in consequence of the death of her husband was the cause. She
effected it by taking poison at night. Sbe was highly respected and its
occurrence gave a shock to the community.
February 18 Christian Schroder fatally shot himself while hunting.
He was but fifteen years of age. When brought home the doctors pronounced
his case hopeless and in a few hours he died after intense suffering.
At the regular city election the following persons were elected to lill the
several offices, were declared elected: Mayor, J. II. Cleaver, republican;
alderman-at-large, F. W. Spetman, democrat; judge of superior court, J. E.
F. McGee, democrat; solicitor, A. S. Hazelton, republican; treasurer, L.
Kinnehan, labor; auditor, George M. Govdd, democrat; assessor, William D.
Hardin; engineer, S. L. Etnyer, democrat; marshal, Ed Canning, republi-
can; park commissioner, William Arnd, republican; weighmaster, Thomas
Johnson, republican.
At the school election S. B. Snyder and E. R. Fonda were elected mem-
bers of the board of education.
March 21 Samuel Theodore, manager of the Standard Oil Company
for this place, suicided. Was defaulter to between $4,000 and $5,000. Had
been drawing salary of $2,500.
In March, Judge Woolson opened term of United States district court-
April 11 at a meeting of the Pottawattamie County Bar Association a
resolution was passed recommending Judge Deenier for appointment to the
supreme bench.
Sunday. 12. Kelley's army entered the city. Some apprehension of
trouble existed and the Light Guards were held in readiness, but all went
along smoothly. Citizens turned out and gave them a lunch, and they went
away and camped at the Chautauqua grounds.
April IS John Frese, J. B. Allen, S. P. Vannetta and G. II. Gable
were fined by Judge Woolson for being engaged in bond maturing companies,
holding that they were lotteries.
On April 26 great excitement was caused by the coming of an im-
mense crowd of men coming from Omaha and South Omaha, demanding
justice in the name of God and humanity. What their real grievance was,
if any, has been forgotten, but was probably only a manifestation of the
unrest peculiar to hard times by the unemployed. No serious trouble oc-
curred.
May 13 James Kelley, of Silver Creek, was killed and his wife seri-
ously injured by a collision with train at the crossing of track and Eleventh
street.
May 30 Decoration Day was observed by the largest attendance since
the custom was established. E. L. Shugart presided at Fairview cemetery.
90 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
where an iminen.se concourse assembled, and suitable exercises were con-
ducted.
Almost as many assembled at the cemeteries on Walnut Hills, notwith-
standing the distance, and fitting exercises were held here also. No accident
occurred to mar the occasion.
Peter Stocksberry, a bral?eman on the O, B. & Q. Railroad was shot
and thrown from the cars a short distance below tin.' city.
June 6 Mrs. George Smith, living near Underwood, was assaulted by
a tramp finding her alone at her house. The citizens turned out with the '
intention of having a necktie party if successful in finding him.
Mrs. Emma S. Bennett was burned to death by gasoline explosion at her
home. She was a member of Trinity Methodist church and of Women's
Relief Corp.- and Iowa Legion of Honor.
June 28 Judge Lewis sentenced Adolph Rockweitz to penitentiary for
three years for burglary at lien Mark's house at Manawa.
July 5 C. F. Connolly., a farmer hermit, was found dead at his home
in Boomer town-hip. The coroner pronounced it heart failure.
A citizen of Silver ''reek, while driving home from town with his little
boy, was struck l>v lightning, killing him and the team. The little fellow
got home crying and saying papa is dead. Neighbors found the body and
brought it home.
A woman named Sarah [kes; who had Keen at St. Bernard's Eospital for
some lime under an assumed name, committed suicide by banging. She
left a note stating her real name and gave the address of her father in Seward
county. Nebraska. Despondency was the cause -lie assigned.
July 18 at republican convention ninth congressional district Ilager
was nominated for a second term.
August - a terrible lire destroyed A. Melcher's barn on Broadway be-
tween Ninth and Tenth. Fourteen horses perished and their cries were most
pitiful. Everything was burned hut a lew buggies.
W. C. Waklev. son of Judge Wakley, of Omaha, was at Manawa accom-
panied by a lady. They crossed over to the beach and while there he con-
cluded in take a hath. Before going into the water he handed his watch to
the lady and also a half dollar, which he told her would pay her fare to
Omaha, then went into the water and .-hot himself dead. He left no cine to the
cause.
August Frank Roper was killed Irvine- (,, hoard a moving train.
His foot slipped and he was horribly mangled.
August 1f> the entire community was shocked by the awful death of
three of our citizens near Lincoln. Nebraska, by the burning of cars in a
smash-up on the Rock Island road. Henry Stannard. conductor. Ike De-
Puis, engineer, and Doctor Pinney. all of this city, were among the killed.
Doctor Pinney's body was so burned that only some papers on his under side
enabled friends to recognize his remains.
At the election held November <!. 1894, Ihe following persons were
elected: Clerk, F. L. Reed: auditor. J. M. Mathews: recorder. W. M. Shep-
herd; attorney, C. G. Saunders; supervisors, B. G. Auld and Perry Kearney.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 91
January 6, 1895, Thomas Jeffries, an old pioneer, died. He was a char-
acter. He came from Delaware. He and his brother started a .-team mill
on their land near the Missouri river. In process of time the brother, Ed-
mund, settled on land just east of the city, but Thomas retained that near
the Missouri. During one of its freak- the Missouri cut a new channel,
leaving it mi the west side, but the state line between Cowa and Nebraska
had been fixed by act of congress at the channel of the river a- it then was.
Omaha real estate men were quick to jump on to tbis new land, and imme-
diately laid it off and platted it as an addition to Omaha. Jeffries followed
Ins land, squatted on it, and as fast as they would evict him. return, and
commenced proceedings in the United State- court and at last won out, and
that piece of hind with the resort of Portland Beach form- a precinct of the
sixth ward of Council Bluffs, although on the west side of the river and
almost surrounded by Nebraska. In later years he settled and built an ele-
gant home in the Bluffs. Discovered an almost infallible cure for diphtheria.
added M. D. to his nana'. He was also a great spiritualist, a most agreeable
man socially and liked by everybody.
On the 18th of January Mrs. A. It. McCune was attacked at her home
on First avenue by burglars, who knocked her senseless, secured some jew-
elry and nineteen dollars in money and jumped out the back window and
escaped in the darkness.
On the 25th Bobby Burns' birthday was celebrated in good style with
a banquet and ball, with toasts, Scotch ballad- and dancing in costume.
January 30 Conductor Creel was held up on the motor line between
Thirty-sixth street and the bridge. The robber goj but $3 however.
February 25 Deputy Sheriffs Nick O'Brien and Hooker located two burg-
lars, who had robbed the Griswold bank, at a room in the Keil Hotel and
arrested them without any trouble, they submitting gracefully, and each one
with his man started over to the courthouse.
When at the steps at south front O'Brien's man shot him and then both
ran. The officers returning shot- and hitting one. O'Brien was so badly
hurt that his recovery was doubtful. The alarm was given and the robbers
were run down, tried, convicted and landed in Fort Madison. O'Brien re-
covered and is all right to-day.
At the city election March 4. 1895, the following officers were elected:
Mayor, J. H. Cleaver; treasurer, J. A. Gorham; auditor, G. M. Gould;
engineer, 13. L. Etnyer; marshal. Ed Canning; judge of superior court, J. E.
F. McGee; solicitor, A. S. Hazelton ; assessor, W. D. Hardin; weighmaster,
Thos. Johnson; clerk, N. C. Phillips; chief of fire department, John L.
Templeton ; chief of police, J. M. Scanlan ; street commissioner. W. J.
Sneethen.
Aldermen-at-large, F. W. Spetman, J. P. Greenshields; alderman lir-t
ward, Henry Rishton; second, B. Grahl; third, W. R. Brown: fourth. J. M.
Barstow; fifth, T. A. Brewick; sixth, L. M. Shubert.
On March 19 Peter Fulfs, a farmer on the Macedonia road, suicided by
hanging. Despondency from drinking was the cause.
92 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
March 22 the residence of Lucius Wells on Oakland avenue was burg-
larized and a gold watch and a pair of diamond ear-rings stolen.
March 24 Seifert Reif, of Reel, secured $1,500 by forging and negotiat-
ing notes, and was traced to Columbus, S. O, arrested and brought back
for trial.
May 24 great excitement was created by the finding of seven human
bodies in a gully just north of the city, but on investigation they proved to be
what was left of "subjects" from the medical college that a good-for-nothing
janitor had dumped there.
May 24 the body of Mrs. Ida Remmington was found in the river with
the bodies of her two children lashed to hers. They were taken to Estep's
undertaking rooms, and friends came ami took them to Omaha, that being
her home. She was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church and Women's
Relief Corps. She had been promised a position and was disappointed. In
debt, and became despondent was what her friends supposed led to the triple
tragedy.
Geo. J. Stephans, in a drunken frenzy, was threatening to kill his wife,
when his son. a lad. shot him in defending her. He was taken to the hospi-
tal, where he died from the effects. Such boys should be encouraged.
June 14 Miss Maud Warier, at the W. C. A. Hospital, suicided by tak-
ing morphine. She had evidently contemplated it for some time and made
every preparation for it.
The graduation exercises of the high school class, numbering forty-five,
were conducted at the Opera house, which was packed to its utmost capacity.
The decorations were elaborate and the program very interesting.
At tlie state and county election held November S. INO.I, the following
officers were elected: State senator, \. M. Pusey; representatives, L. F.
Potter and G. M. Peterson; county treasurer, Win. Arnd; sheriff, John S.
Morgan; surveyor, E. E. Cook: coroner. II. B. Jennings; supervisors, W. F.
Baker and Jacob Hansen: county superintendent, W. S. Paulson.
At the city election in March, 1908, the following officers were elected:
Mayor, Geo. Carson; treasurer, J. A. Gorham; auditor. II. Stephenson;
engineer, Thos. Tostevin; judge of superior court, J. E. F. McGee; solicitor,
A. S. Hazelton; assessor, W. I). Hardin: clerk, N. C. Phillip-- : weighmaster,
Wm. Higgison; chief of tire department, John L. Templeton; marshal. Ed
Canning; street commissioner, W. G. Morris. Aldermen-ai-large, J. P.
Greenshields and 0. W. Graham: alderman first ward, L. A. Casper, second,
J. H. Pace; third, W. R. Brown; fourth, J. M. Barstow; fifth. John Brough;
sixth, L. M. Shubert.
April 2 news was received of the death of Henry Mstcalf in California.
He was a prominent citizen here for years, a native of Chardon, Ohio, volun-
teered in the Seventh Ohio, was in twenty battles, among which were Antie-
tam, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, was at Atlanta and marched with
Sherman to the sea.
On April 9 a young woman named Amanda Bidler suicided by -hoot-
ing at the home of her sister, Mrs. Elsie Harris, at 14:! Vine street. No
cause assigned.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 93
The Southwestern Teacher.--' Association met at Council Bluffs. The
attendance was very Large. Rev. I>i\ A-ken delivered the address of welcome
and Dr. W. M. Brooks of Tabor responded. The meeting was a great
success.
May 31 W. H. Deal, of Hazel Dell, became insane and was sent to the
asylum at Clarinda. He was sixty-two years of age. His wife died some
months previous and he had been despondent ever since.
June 20 a very destructive fire occurred at Walnut, involving a loss of
$15,000 to $18,000, mostly insured.
At the congressional convention alter a lively contest Mr. Hager received
the nomination.
April 26 the seventy-eighth anniversary of founding the order of I. O.
O. P. in America was celebrated. The occasion was the dedication of the
new hall. Committees met the visiting delegates at the different trains and
escorted them in. Mayor Carson delivered the address of welcome, to which
Deputy Grand Master J. C. Koonz responded. One of the features was a
parade, in which five hundred marched, after which the new hall was
formally dedicated with appropriate ceremonies.
May '_'•'! Wm. Burbridge, of Boomer, suicided by hanging. There was
no known cause. He had told his wife and parents of bis intention to do
it, but they paid little attention, not thinking him in earnest.
July 5 George Immerine was arrested for asault on thirteen-year-old
daughter of S. W. Crabtree, and was committed to jail in default of $1,000
bail. There was strong talk of lynching, so strong that Sheriff Morgan re-
quested Captain PrVor to hold his company in readiness in case of need,
but the excitement subsided and the troop- were not needed.
Augusl IS the Odd Fellows held a picnic at Manawa in which good
music was discoursed and games of various kinds indulged in. and had a
good time generally.
August 21 a wedding occurred at the Bluffs that had some peculiar
features. The parties were H. E. Thomas and Mr-. J. D. Porter. The
bride was the widow of Porter, who had suicided on account of jealousy of
the groom, who was a nephew of Porter, and whatever their relation- had
been, now that Porter, who was much older, was out of the way, there was no
obstacle in the way and they improved their opportunity.
August 28 was a great day at Oakland. There was a reunion of veterans
and a crowd of ten thousand were in attendance. It commenced with a
parade arid after a day of enjoyment closed with a camp fire.
September 9 Rev. Theodore Lomack was arrested on a warrant i-.-ued
by Justice A T ein for defrauding Taylor Woolsey out of five cent?, which the
latter claimed was due on a meal.
The defendant had the nickel, but declined to pay, as he declared, on
principle, contending he had fully paid. Justice Vein held him to bail
in the sum of $25, which was furnished by N. M. Pusey signing the bond.
November 3 a stranger applied to Rev. Lemen at the Christian Home
to see if he could get a child admitted. Rev. Lemen made inquiries as to
94 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
age, sex and health, would prefer seeing it. whereupon the man opened a
grip he was holding and produced the child. Rev. Lemen received it.
At the state and county election held November, 1897, the following
named officers were elected: Clerk. Freeman L. Reed: auditor, R. V. innis;
recorder, Elmer E. Smith; coroner. V. L. Treynor; attorney, W. II. Killpack;
treasure!', Wm. Arnd; sheriff, L. B. Cousins^ supervisors, Jacob Hanson and
J. W. Mathews.
December 31 while hauling earth from bluff a sudden cave killed -I.
B. Black and Frank B. Krones and severely injured C. P. Reed, who were
shoveling.
January ii, 1898, the year just passed was reasonably prosperous, with no
serious fire and considerable building was dune. A large addition was made
to the Neumayer Hotel at a cost of $8,000, four r as added to Twentieth ave-
nue school and four to the Bloomer, besides a number of good dwellings.
March 30 Col. I>. B. Daily died. He was a lawyer of marked ability and
as a soldier had proved himself the bravest of the brave, having been shot
through the body before surrendering.
At a meeting of the hoard of supervisors an appropriation of $2,000 was
made for the purpose of building a wigwam for the Pottawattamies while at-
tending the Trans-Mississippi Exposition at Omaha the coming summer.
One of the saddest accidents happened wherein a brighi lad was killed
I a family stricken with grief as Everetl Patterson was shot by his younger
brother while playing with a revolver.
April 25 Company I. started to join it- regiment preparatory to going to
the Philippines. Throngs of friends assembled at their armory to wish them
( [odspei d and -ale return.
May 1 a tornado struck Macedonia aboul 5 p. 01., wrecked Odd fellow-
Hall and many other buildings. Fortunately no live- were lost nor anyone
seriously hurt.
At the city election for 1898-9 the following officers were elected: Mayor.
Victor Jennings; clerk. X. ('. Phillips; deputy clerk. J. R. Dietrich; special
clerk. F. T. True; treasurer, W. B. Reed; solicitor. S. B. Wadsworth; auditor,
F. 1.. Evans; judge of superior court. E. E. Aydesworth; mars! al, F. A. Bixby;
deputy marshals, Charles II. White and 1». Denney; streel commissioner, A. E.
Avery; city physician, T. B. Lacy; superintendent of market-. Wm. Ili^-
geson; poll tax collector. John Allwood; assessor, Wm. D. Hardin: chief of
fire department, John W. Hate-: capt. hose house No. !. Miles Scofield; No. 2,
C. II. Matheson; No. 3, F. G. Hitchcock; No. I. Chas. Watt-: electrician, la,.
G. Bradley; park commissioners, Wm. Arnd. A. ('. Harding ami M. 1'.
Schmidt.
April 1. 1899, Judge W. ('. .Tame-, who had been a prominent figure for
nearly half a century, passed away, lie was county judge from E856 to 1858,
twice mayor of the city, a leading democrat, a lawyer, but rarely practic d;
April 5 news was received of the wounding of three of Council Bluffs 1'
in battle with the Filipinos, and later that one of them (Robt. Daily) had
died, thus following his father who had recently passed away from a similar
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 9:>
cause, for he never fully recovered from the terrible wound he had received
in the Civil war.
FIRST AUTOMOBILES.
During this summer Mr. Maurice Woolman brought the first automobile
in the city. He had previously made one himself, but as it was not a success
he claimed nothing for it. L. A. Casper was tin 1 next to follow ami they have
continued to arrive until at the present writing they keep two repair estab-
lishments constantly at work, and if they continue to multiply the prophecy
made twenty-five centuries ago will soon be fulfilled, viz.: "The chariots shall
rage in the streets. They shall jostle one against another in the broad ways;
they -hall seem like torches; they shall run like the lightnings." (Nahum, 2d
chapter. 4tli verse.)
Another prominent man passed away. ('apt. D. F. Eicher was captain of
Co. E, 7th Iowa cavalry; a good citizen as well as soldier.
At the election held November 7. L899, the following state and county
officers were elected: Senator, A. S. Hazelton ; representatives, John IT. Jinks
and (i. M. Putnam; county treasurer. Win. Arnd; sheriff. L. B. Cousins; coro-
ner. V. L. Treynor; county superintendent of schools, 0. <l. McManus; sur-
veyor. Ernest E. Cook: supervisor, II. C. Brandes.
January 1. 1900, the new year was ushered in with blowing of whistles,
ringing of bells and firing of cannon.
January 5 Frank F. Everest was appointed supervisor of census for the
ninth district of Iowa, to commence June 1.
January Id Mrs. Wm. Geddes, daughter of II. II. Field, and sister of Mrs.
T. E. Cavin and Mrs. H. H. Glover of Grand Island. Neb., died in Washing-
ton City.
D. C. Bloomer, one of* the most prominent men of western Iowa, died
February 28 at his home on Fourth street.
At the school election held in March B. F. Sergant, republican, and Dr. D.
Macrae. Jr., democrat, were elected directors and W. E. Hooerstock treasurer
of the hoard of education.
Dr. ('has. C. Plunket died at his home at 703 East Pierce street and on
April 12 Norman Green, an old citizen, died at his home at 540 East Pierce
street.
At the city election for 1900-1901, the following officers were elected:
Mayor, Victor Jennings: clerk, N. C. Phillips: deputy clerk. H. M. Brown;
treasurer. F. T. True ; solicitor, S. B. Wadsworth ; auditor, F. L. Evans ; en-
gineer, S. L. Etnyer; electrician, James G. Bradley; judge superior court, E.
E. Aylesworth; marshal. S. I. Albro; deputy marshals. Chas. H. White and
D. Denney: street commissioner, A. E. Avery: city physician, H. B. Jennings;
superintendent of markets, Wm. Higgeson; poll tax collector, A. Fellentreter;
assessor. F. F. Everest, chief of fire department, John Templeton ; a a s'stant
chief. F. II. Hitchcock; captain hose house, No. 1. A. H. Teller: No. 2,
C. H. Matheson; No. 3, F. G. Hitchcock; No. 4, Charles Watts; park com-
missioners, M. P. Schmidt, C. A. Tibbits and Frank Peterson.
96 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
March 15 a $7,000 fire occurred in Jacob Zoller's store, corner of First
and Broadway. Covered by insurance.
March 20 J. A. Gregory was sentenced to the penitentiary by Judge
Smith for twenty years for larceny, being his third term.
May 31 John Shannon Briggs, last of the family of Hon. Ansel Briggs,
first governor of Iowa, died in Omaha.
June 12 Judge Walter I. Smith was nominated for Congress by accla-
mation.
July 26' A. T. Whittlesey, veteran newspaper man. died at the home of.
his daughter, Mrs. W. I!. Fisher, on Vine street.
July 28 Mr-. Gallup, wife of I. N. Gallup, died at their home in Garner
township.
August 8 Mrs. Jas. linker fell down stairs at her home at 101 West
Broadway, breaking her neck, and lived hut a few moments.
August L6 new.- was received of the death of ('apt. Will II. Murphy,
killed in battle in the Philippine war, casting a gloom over the whole com-
munity.
August 2 "> John Clausen, a leading merchant and one of our best
citizen-, died al his home on East Broadway.
September County Fair was held at Avoca and was well attended
and the display was immense.
James Stageman, an old settler of Garner township, died this month.
October 3 robbers attempted to rob the express on the K. C. & St. Joe
road. Messenger C. E3. Baxter shol and killed one of them. The others
made their escape in the dark.
The remains of Capt. Will II. Murphy arrived and were buried in
Fairview cemetery with military honor-.
October I the contract was let for the new high school building to
Geo. K. Hughes for $57,
September 12 Thomas Officer died, and on the 10th his partner. W.
II. M. Pusey, was committed to the insane asylum at Clarinda.
October 8 application wa- made for appointment of a receiver for the
Officer & Pusey hank by J. -I. Stewart, administrator for tin estate of Col.
Adison Cochran.
November 12 Mrs. Adelphia Sylvester of Garner died at the homestead
where -he had lived for nearly a half century, and on the same day in the
city Dr. W. L. Patton died at the W. G A. Hospital.
November 15 W. II. M. Pusey died at the asylum at Clarinda and his
remains were brought home for interment.
No event since the settlement of Council Bluffs has caused the aston-
ishment that was occasioned by the closing up of the affair- of the banking
house of Officer .V Pusey. When the first breath of suspicion was whispered
that there might he something wrong, everyone that had, known them longest
ridiculed the idea. Few people that were acquainted with their conservative
business methods, plain, even frugal domestic habits, and almost severe
piety, hut believed something like a million in their own righl slumbered in
the vault of that hank and that of their correspondent in New York.
BEEBEE'S HALL.
This hall was built of cottonwood logs, was Located at the east end of
the present Neumayer hotel, ami was for many year- the principal hall in
the city. The front of the structure was weatherboarded, which, in those
days, was considered quite a distinction.
^°.
1" ^t^
f0 Vl
f»v-°
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 99
Among the heavy depositors with Officer & Pusey were J. H. Gregg,
$42,550 and W. H. Kuhn, $31,109; Fred Miller, $14,800 and John Linder
$10,000.
At the election for county officers held November 6, 1900, the following
persons were elected: Clerk of the court, B. L. Reed; auditor, R. V. Innis;
recorder, E. E. Smith; attorney, W. H. Killpack; supervisors, Perry Kearney
and B. G. Auld.
During this year much attention has been given to the public highways.
Miles of paving have been made on the streets of Council Bluffs and twice as
many of brick or cement sidewalks, besides a large amount in the other
cities and towns of the county, while the country roads have been greatly
improved.
January 1, 1901, J. J. Crowe was arrested on request of Omaha's chief of
police as an accomplice of Pat, but nothing came of it.
January 24 Alex. Prentice, a pioneer of Crescent, died. He was born in
Lanarkshire, Scotland, December 21, 1829.
February 5 Isaac Smith and Joseph Coofman were killed and a boy
badly injured on the crossing of the Northwestern railroad and Avenue E.
Mrs. Martha Knepher, widow of Samuel Knepher, one of the pioneers,
died at her home on Glenn avenue. She was a native of Wayne county,
Ohio. They came to the Bluff's in 1854. Mr. Knepher was a merchant of
the early da>>.
On February 12 Arthur Goff, the musical prodigy, mention of whom is
made in another part of this history, died at the age of twelve years.
March 6 Mrs. Martha Spetman died of paralysis at her home on Fourth
avenue, at seventy-one years of age.
April 23 Mrs. Mary Huffman, aged seventy, and Mrs. Elizabeth Jeffries,
aged eighty-seven, died. Both had been residents of Council Bluffs for forty
years.
For the past three months there were many cases of smallpox, but few
fatal.
June 19 Mrs. Burchard, wife of N. C. Burchard, died at her home in
Hardin township.
Also Mrs. Mary Roberts, aged eighty-four, at her home in Hazel Dell.
Herman Sheckloth was instantly killed about two miles east of Neola
by a Milwaukee train.
July 9 David DeVal, aged ninety-five, died at the homestead of half a
century on South First street.
July 10 Mrs. McMullen, wife of Solomon McMullen, died at her home
in Crescent.
July 24 the torrid spell of weather that lasted twenty days in succession,
in which the heat reached one hundred degrees, was broken.
July 25 Riley W. C. Luce, foreman in employ of the Illinois Central
Railroad Company, was instantly killed while on duty. The coroner's jury
rendered a verdict censuring the company.
August 10 a young man named Carl Stoner, from Lincoln, Neb., was
drowned in Manawa.
635(,
100 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
August 20 there was a destructive fire at the U. P. freight transfer,
entailing a loss of from $50,000 to $100,000.
September 6 Henry Clay McMullen, of Crescent, died at the age of
seventy-six.
On the same day the people were shocked by the news of the assassina-
tion of President McKinley while at the Buffalo Exposition.
September 24 Charles T. Officer was indicted for fraudulent banking.
At the election held November 5, 1901, the following officers were
elected: Representatives, John H. Jinks and W. O. Freeman; sheriff, L. B.
Cousins; coroner, Dr. V. L. Treynor; school superintendent, O. J. McManus;
surveyor, E. E. Cook; supervisors, D. F. Dryden and W. F. Baker.
November 3 three men were killed in the Northwestern yards at different
times. Their names were A. J. Headlee, Thomas Green and Chas. Anderson.
December 18 John Schemerhorn, a veteran newspaper man, died.
January 1, 1902, Wm. Tompkins, of Macedonia, suicided after shooting
and wounding his granddaughter.
On the 17th Geo. F. Smith, an old settler, and father of Hon. Walter
I. Smith, was found dead in his room at the Ogden House, supposed to have
been suffocated by escaping gas.
February 5 A. B. Smith, superintendent of Refining Company, dropped
dead at the corner of Main street and Seventh avenue from heart disease.
On the same day G. A. Robinson, an old pioneer, the first county judge, died
at his home on Thirty-fourth street from the infirmities of old age.
At the school election held March 10 J. J. Hesa and Mr. Gorman,
republicans, were elected directors, and Geo. S. Davis, democrat, treasurer.
At the city election for 1902-:'. the following officers were elected: May-
or, Dell G. Morgan: clerk. X. C. Phillips; treasurer, F. T. True; solicitor,
S.'b. Snyder; auditor. I'. I. Evans; engineer, T. L. Etnyre; electrician, Jas.
G. Bradley; judge of superior court, < teo. H. Scott; marshal, C. A. Tibbits:
street commissioner, <;. C. Taylor; city physician, F. W. Houghton; super-
intendent of markets, Wm. Higgeson; poll tax collector. A. Fellentratter;
assessor. F. F. Everest; chief of fire department, John L. Templeton.
April 10 Dan Carpenter, one of the first printers of Pottawattamie
county, and at one time interested in the Council Bluffs Bugle, died at the
Printers' Home at Colorado Springs, Colo.
July 20 a man named Roderick was held to the grand jury by Justice
Bryant for the murder of a man named Mover.
August 20 Peter Jacobs, a lineman in the employ of the telegraph com-
pany, while shifting wire-, was electrocuted and instantly killed.
Peter Boogs, while working on the building of the wholesale grocery of
Gronewes & Schoentgen, fell through an opening, striking on hi- head and
died within half an hour.
September 7 Robert A. Johnson, a boarder at the Revere House, hecame
infatuated with a woman and suicided on her account.
At the -tate and county elections held November 4. 1902. the following
officers were elected: State senator, C. G. Saunders; attorney. W. II. Kill-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 101
pack; clerk, Freeman L. Reed; auditor, R. V. Innis; recorder, Elmer E.
Smith; supervisors, H. C. Brandes and Allen Bullis.
December 1 a man named Clay Hudnall was killed and three others
injured on the Wabash railroad near the city, the wreck being caused by a
cow being run over on the track.
On December 15 John L. Howe accidentally shot and killed a friend
named C. J. Gordon at the U. P. transfer. They were both in the employ
of the express companies.
January 11, 1903, Leffert's jewelry store was robbed of watches of the
value of $500 by the breaking of a show window. The noise attracted notice
and officers gave chase, exchanging shots, and the robbers dropped most of
the plunder, which was recovered, but they escaped in the darkness.
At a meeting of the Grape Growers' Association it was resolved to erect
a warehouse of their own of the value of $10,000.
January 13 Henry Stacy of the city was hauling in a load of wood and
was run down by a Rock Island train on the crossing near the school for the
deaf. He and his team were instantly killed.
Otto Barnhart, of Avoca, suicided by cutting his throat on account of
unrequited love of his sweetheart.
Through correspondence with Andrew Carnegie and the assistance of
Gen. G. M. Dodge and Hon. Walter I. Smith, the library association secured
a gift of $70,000.
January 18 a horrible double tragedy occurred some three miles north-
east of Oakland. Mrs. John Hanna cut her husband's throat and then her
own. It was not discovered until morning. She had left a note saying she was
going to do it.
January 24 the Christian Home received a donation of $30,000 from
Mrs. Mary E. Robertson of Sheboygan, Michigan, and $25,000 from another
benefactor who gave no name.
Marshal Sherman, who had the care of Mr. H. H. Van Brunt's team,
was found dead in the barn. The doctors pronounced it heart failure. He
was a member of the G. A. R. and Knights of Pythias.
A sad accident occurred at Carson. Eddie Conrad, thirteen years of
age, was drowned while skating on the Botna river.
February 16 Mrs. Barney McDaniels and Bert Levix were arrested
at Macedonia for the murder of Barney McDaniels, husband of the woman.
They were taken before Justice J. C. Ray burn, who held them to the grand
jury. Sheriff Cousins took them to Avoca, but the jail there not being con-
venient, they were brought to the Bluffs and placed in the county jail.
March 21 U. S. marshal W. A. Richards, accused of robbery, and after
giving bail and disappearing mysteriously, finally returned and surrendered.
Oscar Cattleman, a little four-year-old boy, while playing in the street,
was run over and instantly killed. It was the result of accident, unavoida-
ble by the driver and the coroner's jury acquitted him of blame.
March 26 a little old brick house being torn down on North First
street while a family named Cozad were living in it, and was the subject
of an article in the Nonpareil, had a history. It was one of the first brick
102 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
dwellings in the city. It was built in 1854, owned and occupied for many
years by J. Smith Hooten, at one time banker and later mayor of the
city. And many a swell party has been entertained in that little house.
Mr. and Mrs. Hooten were most generous host and hostess. But times
changed. They became poor and after his death, even that little home had
to go. This is another case almost, as pathetic as that of the Bayliss family,
and further along we shall relate another similar one. It seems hard that
such things must be.
On the 31st of March a well appearing stranger came into the Grand
Hotel, walked around in the rotunda a few minutes, then went out and
started down Pearl street, stopped and shot himself, dying instantly. He
proved to be a Mr. MeNew, of Riverton. Poor health was supposed to be
the cause.
April 1 the clerks at the postoffice had a very pleasant surprise — unusual
for the first of April, viz.: that each one would have a raise of $100, com-
mencing July 1.
A sad accident occurred at Honey Creek lake when Loyd Kirkpatrick,
seventeen years did, was accidentally shot while hunting ducks.
At the city election for 1903-4 the following officere were elected:
Mayor, Donald Macrae, Jr.: clerk. L. Zurmuhlen: treasurer, F. T. True;
auditor, P. J. Smith: engineer, S. L. Etnyre; electrician, C. A. Atkins; judge
of superior court, Geo. H. Scott; marshal, Geo. H. Richmond; physician,
M. A. Finley; superintendent of markets. Win. Higgeson; poll tax collector,
P. G. Mikesell; assessor W. D. Hardin; chief of fire department, Charles
Nicholson; captain of hose company No. 1, A. H. Telfer; No. 2, C. II. Math-
ewson; No. 3, F. II. Hitchcock: No. 4. Robert Jones; park commissioners,
A. C. Graham, J. J. Brown and Frank Peterson; aldermah-at-large, A. G.
Gilbert and John Olsen; adlerman first ward, 0. Younkerman; second ward,
Thos. Malonv; third ward, M. II. Tinley: fourth ward. J. P. Weaver; fifth
ward. Jas. McMillen; sixth ward. C. M. Crippen.
On April 4 Bert Forney was shot and killed : it hi- sal at L028 West
Broadway by masked robbers who made their escape.
April 10 Irvin Moore, driver of a coal team of Steepy & Steepy, dropped
dead on his wagon on East Pierce street of heart failure.
On April 21 one man was killed and one probably fatally injured
in collision of switch engine and freight train at P. P. transfer.
One of the most horrible- tragedies of modern times was the murder of
Mr. and Mrs. Church, two of Council Bluffs' best young people. They had
gone onto a ranch near the town of Gillette, Wy ing, ;ind comfortably
situated. A man named Clifton, who had been with them, brutally mur-
dered them both and buried their bodies in a manure pile. The first sus-
picion was raised when Mr. Clifton's mother went out to s e e them and their
absence set the neighboring ranchmen to investigating. Clifton was arrested
and finally confessed, but claimed it was in self defense. He was placed
in jail at Gillette, but a mob of ranchmen came and took him out to a high
bridge and buns; him. giving him a drop of forty feet, which entirely severed
his head from his bod v.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 103
The remains of the Churches were brought to the home of Mrs.
Church's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Foster, on Fifth avenue and the double
funeral was held at the Fifth avenue church, but not a fourth of the friends
could enter, so great was the sympathy of the entire community.
On April 22 Andrew Thompson, convicted of robbing the Curry store
at Underwood, was sentenced to six years at Fort Madison.
On the 26th Lozier and Moore, the fake foot racers, convicted of swin-
dling Chas. Huber out of several thousand dollars, were given three years
each at Fort Madison.
May 2 Mrs. McDaniels and Levix, who were tried at Avoca fur the mur-
der of Mr. McDaniels, were acquitted, but the feeling at Macedonia was such
that they were advised not to return there.
It seems that there was a carnival of crime about this time, as on the
10th of May Wm. C. Rogers was held to the grand jury for the murder of
Bert Forney.
The season opened up at Manawa with a full line of attractions, chief of
which was Covalt's band of thirty pieces.
A large amount of sidewalk was constructed. The street fair and car-
nival was a great success, the admissions for the week being over 70,000.
At the election held November 3, 1903, the following named officers
were elected: Senator, C. G. Saunders; representatives W. IT. Freeman and
Robert J. Martin; treasurer, L. G. Consigney; sheriff, Edward Canning;
coroner, V. L. Treynor; school superintendent, O. -I. McManus.
On the 5th of December, 1903, Council Bluffs was called upon to part
with one of its best citizens in the person of .1. B. Atkins, who had been in
poor health for quite a while. Mr. Atkins, like thousands of others, rushed
to the mountains at the first of the Pike's Peak excitement, and about the
same time Henry Allen, who at the time was postmaster here, resigned and
went, taking his family, consisting of wife and two daughters. Mr. Atkins
and the eldest were mutually attracted but there was no clerk to issue license,
but a preacher was found in a prospect hole who proceeded to tie the knot
that held them until parted by death. This was the first marriage of a white
couple in what is now the great state of Colorado and city of Denver. Mrs.
Atkins' mother and sister were the only women in the camp to witness the
ceremony.
The new year of 1904 brought the sad intelligence of the death of Mrs.
Mendel, wife of Herman Mendel, of Neola, being crushed to death in the
panic that occurred in the burning of the Iroquois theater in Chicago.
The new county house at McClelland was formally opened on the 29th
of June. The cost of which was $44,000.
The glorious Fourth was duly celebrated at Manawa, where it wa?
variously estimated the crowd numbered from 15,000 to 20,000. Five thous-
and gathered at Fairmount Park. The injuries resulting from carelessness
amounted to an even dozen, some of them serious, but none fatal.
On the tenth a young man named Edward Williams of Omaha was
drowned in Manawa while fishing.
The Eagles' midsummer jubilee opened on the tenth in the western
104 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
part of the city and drew immense crowds from Omaha as well as from the
Bluffs. Their pleasure was marred however by the sudden death of Frank
Sherratt, one of their number, from heart trouble.
A man named George Gilson, on coming up town from the jubilee on
the motor car, got into an altercation with a negro named Lincoln Turner
and was fatally shot by Turner, for which he was tried, convicted and got
three years only, as it appeared there were mitigating circumstances. At
Avoca quite a saloon war was precipitated by the granting of a license to five
applicants, but turning down the sixth.
On August 16 a serious accident occurred at the crossing of Broadway
and the Northwestern track wherein a man named Floyd F. Mitchell, a carpen-
ter, was killed. He had been drinking and the company was exonerated by
the coroner's jury.
On the 31st of August the hearts of many were saddened by the death
of Mrs. E. H. Longee, one of Council Bluffs' beloved young women.
The annual street fair and carnival opened September 5 and was a great
success, as the receipts for the week were $11,129.49, and after deducting ex-
penses, which were $5,600, it left quite a balance on the right side.
On October 26 Rev. H. R. Lemen, founder of the Christian Home, died
in the midst of his great work but firm in the faith of its continuous useful-
ness.
At the election held November 8, 1904, the following officers were elected:
clerk of the court, IT. A'. Batty; auditor, W. C. Cheyne; recorder, G. G.
Baird; attorney, J. J. Hesse; supervisors, W. F. Baker and Felix Deitz.
Careful estimates of the corn crop of Iowa for 1904 gives Pottawattamie
county 8,000,000 bushels, making her the banner county of the state.
On November 18 Fred Stone, who had been tried and convicted of
assault with intent to commit murder upon Hans Clausen, was sentenced to
twelve years in the penitentiary.
On the 8th of December Karl Kurrer, who had been convicted of rob-
bing the Treynor bank, was sentenced to twelve yearn in the penitentiary.
His wife had given up $1,500 of the money in October.
On the 14th of December a case of destitution was discovered which
seems impossible in a community where there are so many benevolent insti-
tutions, so many kind hearted people and such abundance of the necessaries
of life. Failure to let her wants be known in time is the only way to account
for the mast pathetic tragedy, culminating in the suicide of Mrs. Allgood in
the southern part of the city. The husband and father was gone.
The mother with five little ones onlv had what the two oldest
children could earn. They could not go to school for lack of
clothes. The truant officer. Rev. Henry Delong, took them from
her, and discourasred and heartbroken, she suicided. Then and not till then
did help come. The children were provided for and the lather returned.
On the 10th Eddie Kruger and Harry Moloski, ten-year-old boys, while
skating on Cut Off lake struck thin ice, went through and were drowned.
During the year 1904 the amount spent in building in the city and
school for the deaf was $1,300,000. The country was prosperous and the
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 105
republicans happy over the result of the election, having made a clean sweep
of the state and county offices as well as members of congress for the ninth
district.
On the 8th of February, 1905, Philip Wareham attempted suicide at the
Martin's Hotel. He had locked himself in his room and slashed his throat
with a razor, but was found in time to have the wounds attended to. Dr.
Macrae was called and prompt attention given. He was in comfortable
circumstances and ill health is the most probable cause for his rash act.
February 21 John Bernstein pleaded guilty to the charge of robbing the
Treynor bank. Arthur Deets elected to stand trial for the same offense.
On March 6 Wm. F. Steinbaugh was found dead on the ice in Indian
creek. Heart failure was supposed to be the cause.
On March 16 J. E. Adams of Omaha was run over by a train on the
Northwestern railroad above Loveland and when discovered his mangled
remains were scattered along the track for a mile.
On March 26 the plant of the Walker Manufacturing Company was
destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of $40,000, with only $5,000 insurance.
On April 24 Joseph Schema!, of Garner township, in a fit of insanity,
blew the top of his head off with his shotgun in the presence of his family.
At the city election for 1905-6 the following officers were elected:
Mayor, Donald Macrae, Jr.; clerk, L. Zurmuehlen, Jr.; treasurer, F. T.
True; solicitor, S. B. Snyder; auditor, P. J. Smith; engineer, S. L. Etnyre;
electrician, C. A. Atkins; judge of superior court, G. H. Scott; marshal, Geo.
H. Richmond; physician, Mat A. Finley; superintendent of markets, Wm.
Higgeson; poll tax collector, P. G. Mikesell; assessor, W. D. Hardin; chief
of police, Geo. H. Richmond; chief of fire department, C. M. Nicholson;
captain hose house No. 1, A. H. Telfer; No. 2, C. H. Mathewson; No. 3, F.
G. Hitchcock; No. 4, Clarence Hough; No. 5, Charles Withrow; park com-
missioners, A. C. Graham. Frank Peterson, J. J. Brown; aldermen at large,
A. G. Gilbert and John Olson ; alderman first ward, O. Younkerman ; second,
Thos. Malony; third, M. H. Tinley; fourth. J. P. Weaver; fifth, James Mc-
Millen; sixth, C. M. Crippen.
On April 24 the remains of Willy Lender were found on the U. P.
track near the transfer with head severed from body.
On the 27th Mrs. Margaret Peterson, eighty-one years of age, inmate of
county house, suicided by cutting an artery in her wrist. She had remarked
to others that she was tired of life.
On the 28th Samuel Steele was killed near U. P. transfer by train while
picking up coal on the track.
On June 2 Miss Clara Winslow of Omaha was drowned at Manawa, the
result of a collision of the boat she and her lover, Garret Pange, were in
with a steam launch.
On June 29 Frank Tabor fell from the top of a freight car at Neola
and was brought to the Bluffs and placed in the General Hospital, but his
injuries proved fatal, as he lived but a few hours.
The Fourth was duly celebrated at Manawa and Fairmount Park. A. S.
Hazelton was orator at the park. After the address all sorts of games were
106 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
indulged in, enlivened by music of Highland pipers. Fully 5,000 gathered
there, while fully 15,000 were at Manawa and no serious accident occurred
at either place.
July 11 the sad intelligence was received of the death of John Merkel
at Atlantic City, N. J. He was born and reared in the Bluffs and achieved a
national reputation as a delineator and minstrel performer and had been
with some of the best companies on the road.
September 2 Charles Platner, patrol driver, while in line of his duty,
in endeavoring to capture burglars, was fatally shot. It has never been
known of a certainty whether he was killed by one of the burglars or one
of the police, it being in the night. He was active, faithful and knew no
such emotion as fear.
The street fair and carnival opened on the 4th of September with 7,000
admissions the first night, and although some unfavorable weather was had
during the week it was a success both as to entertainment, as most of the
exhibits and performances were firstclass, and from a financial point of
view, as a handsome sum was realized after paying all expenses.
After a long trial Robert Little recovered a heavy judgment for damage
resulting from collapse of bridge near Minden in June, 1903.
On the 16th of September, during a terrific gale of wind, the electric
light tower on First street and Broadway fell. It was of steel, 154 feet high,
and in falling took trolley, electric and telephone wires with it, bul fortunately
it kept the street, so that no houses were hit and no person was injured.
On October 2 after dark a man named Otis Cartniehael was instantly
killed by a North western train opposite the brick yards. lie was a car painter
and worked at the car barns and was on his way home in the north part of
the city. He had been talking with friends and was sober and the only
theory was that the lights confused him.
October 8 the Eagles held a picnic at the Driving Park. Over 5,000 were
present.
For quite a while a contest had been going on between the mayor and
city council acting a- a hoard of health and the board of education on the
subject of vaccination. The board of health making the order that all
teachers, pupils and janitors in the schools who had not been vaccinated
should submit to the treatment, and, in default, they should he refused ad-
mittance. Then the question arose as to the method, as a large number of
teachers as well as pupils were opposed to tile old arm treatment, and a nuni-
her of teachers proposed to resign rather than subn it, ami for a time more
than a thousand pupils were out. Finally the matter was submitted to the
court, and Judge Macy held that the hoard of health had no righl to discrimi-
nate as to the mode of treatment, and as there was not an epidemic of -mall-
pox, the matter was dropped.
As Mrs. O'Neil and her children were returning from mass, her son
James, nine years old, was killed by a Great Western train at the crossing of
Seventh street and Ninth avenue.
On the 3d of November the court appointed P. P. Peed receiver, with
order to sell the Masonic Temple and divide the proceeds among the stock-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 107
holders, and also appointed G. W. Lipe, F. Everest and Win. Arnd as ap-
praisers.
On the 22d of December the safe in the Macedonia postoffice was blown
by burglars, but it contained no money nor was it locked.
During the year 1905 just closing, the sales of agricultural implements
at Council Bluffs exceeded those of any previous year and were only second
to those of Kansas City.
On the 20th of January, 1906, Henry Robinson, a pioneer jeweler, died.
He and a brother started the business at a very early day; the brother wenl
west many years ago, but Henry remained at the old stand to the last.
G. W. Scott, an old and prominent citizen of Hazel Dell, died on tbe
24th of heart trouble and on the same day, in the city Jeremiah Connor
died of the infirmities of age at ninety-two.
On the 25th the corner stone of the Jennie Edmundson hospital was
laid under the auspices of the Klks' Lodge, No. 531, Mayor Donald Macrae
acting as master of ceremonies.
On March 25 Rev. J. B. Lentz had commenced preaching at his
church in Macedonia; a fearful storm came up and he was .-truck down by
lightning in the pulpit. A panic ensued, the cupola took lire. Elmer
Turnbloom did an act of heroism by climbing to the roof and extinguishing
the fire, while friends carried Rev. Lentz to a neighbor's, where lie died in
half an hour. Some of the congregation were slightly burned by the elec-
tric fluid.
On the 0th of April E. A. Parker while crossing the Great Western
track near Minden at night was struck by the train and terribly injured.
Both his horses were killed and hi- buggy smashed to kindling wood.
At the city election held in April, 1906, the following officers were
elected. Mayor, Donald Macrae. Jr.; city solicitor, Clem F. Kimball; treas-
urer, F. T. True; auditor, John L. McAnney; engineer. S. L. Etnyre; asses-
sor, W. D. Hardin; superintendent of markets. Wm. Higgeson; aldermen at
large, John Olson and John C. Flemming; alderman first ward, Oscar
Younkerman; second ward, Thos. Malony; third ward, Robert B. Wallace;
fourth ward, H. F. Knudson ; fifth ward, Peter Smith; sixth ward. Wallace
M. Hendix; park commissioners, A. C. Graham, Frank Peterson, J. J. Brown;
chief of police, Geo. H. Richmond; chief of fire department, Chas. Nichol-
son; clerk, W. F. Sapp.
On the 25th of April Mrs. Sarah, the venerable widow of Dr. Henry
Hart, passed away, he having preceded her in 1891. They came from Bath,
N. Y., to Johnston, Rock county, Wisconsin, in 1853. and from there to
West Union, Iowa. When the war broke out he enlisted in 1861, became sur-
geon of his regiment, and served during the war. They settled in the Bluffs
in 1868. Only one son, Ernest E., survives them, Frank H. died at Beloit,
Kansas, in 1884, and one daughter, Mrs. Jennie Edmundson, in 1890.
On the 30th of April Frank Kruger, a farmer living about six miles
south of Minden, suicided by drowning in his cistern. Insanity was the
cause.
On May 16 a class of sixty-seven graduated from the high school.
108 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
On the 18th ¥m. H. Kuhn, one of the foremost citizens of Garner town-
ship, died at the age of seventy-three. He came here in 1856, built a mill for
Win. Garner, married one of his daughters; was a farmer, but spent some time
freighting and mining in the early days ; was a good manager, and, although
he lost heavily by the Officer & Pusey bank failure, left a comfortable for-
tune for his family.
May 20 Philip Wareham made a second attempt at suicide, this time
by drowning. While walking with his wife he started for the creek. She
suspected bis intention and tried to hold him, but he jerked away and
jumped into a deep hole, but her screams brought help in time to save
him.
On May 21 James Arthur was sentenced to nine years at Fort Madi-
son for the Treynor bank robbery, and Mickey Tagert to six years for robbery
of Solomon.
May 30 a man was found dead two miles above Honey Creek on
Northwestern track. From papers on his person he proved to be J. Mona-
ban of Lincoln, 111.
May 30 Memorial day was appropriately observed in the city by dec-
orating the graves in the forenoon and in the afternoon services were held
in Fairmount park. !
On June 4 a general foreman of bridge work on the Union Pacific
bridge was -truck by a Rock Island passenger engine while at work and
instantly killed. It proved to be Henry D. Baldwin, an employee of many
years' standing. His residence was No. 123 Fourth street, was fifty-four years
of age. The train was exceeding its speed limit at the time.
On the 18th William B. Cook, a switch engineer of Chicago, was crushed
to death between passenger coaches at the Great Western crossing at Sixtli
street and Ninth avenue.
Council Bluffs' crack team took first place and Xeola first in hose race at
the state tournament at DesMoines on June 21. and on the 23d Jack and
Jim went over and took first at Clinton.
June 29 a man by the name of John Dicks, insane, suicided by hang-
ing himself to a tree in John Robinson's yard at the corner of Seventeenth
street and Avenue G.
Manawa did a larger business than ever before, although the band was
inferior to that of Covalt's. The streel fair and carnival in September also
exceeded any of its predecessors.
On the 16th of October we were called upon to part with one of our
foremost citizens in the person of John Schoentgen. He was one <>f the
leading wholesale merchants, and most honorable of men.
At the election held November 6, 1908. the following officers were
elected: Representatives. H. C. Brandes and Willoughby Dye: auditor, W
C. Cheyne; clerk, H. V. Batty; sheriff, Ed. Canning: recorder, G. G. Baird :
attorney, J. J. Hes~e: school superintendent. E. R. Jackson; surveyor. J. IT.
Mayne: coroner. Y. L. Treynor; supervisors. W. F. Baker and Felix
Pitz.
The reunion of the officers of the army of the Tennessee was a brilliant
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 109
affair. Many distinguished soldiers and civilians were present, among whom
were General 0. 0. Howard, Archbishop Ireland, Colonel Stibbs, General
Fred Grant, Colonel W. L. Barnum, General G. F. McGinnis, General John
C. Black, Captain N. T. Spoor and Captain Joseph' R. Reed. Mrs. John A.
Logan also graced the occasion with her presence. The exercises were con-
ducted at the opera house, Major General G. M. Dodge presiding, and were
most interesting. The whole closed with a banquet at the Grand hotel,
where 500 guests were served.
On the 13th of December George F. Wright, for forty years one of the
leading attorneys of the Council Bluffs bar, passed away.
The year 1906 was a most prosperous one for the entire county. Crops
were good and much improvement was made on the roads as well as on the
streets of the city. More than a million dollars were spent in building.
January, 1907, the chief of police reports the number of arrests in the
city at 1,765. The chief of the fire department reports 132 alarm* and a
loss by fire of $142,597.
At a meeting of the Council Bluffs Bar Association on January S W. A.
Mynster was elected president; Spencer Smith, vice-president, and D. L. Ross,
secretary. After which the members to the number of forty partook of a
dinner at the Grand hotel.
On the 13th of January Andrew Hunter of Neola started oul for the
purpose of buying cattle, he going in a buggy, his two sons following on
horseback to drive the stock. At Geiss crossing of the Great Western rail-
road he was run over and instantly killed, also his team, and his buggy
smashed to kindling in plain .sight of his sons.
Charles Proctor, a widower living by himself and keeping a cigar stand,
was found dead in bed in his room back of his store on the 19th of January.
Heart trouble was the cause. He was a native of England, but had been a
citizen for many years, and was in his younger days an active member of
the old Volunteer fire department.
On the first of February the Jennie Edmundson hospital was thrown
open for inspection and more than a thousand visitors passed through.
On the second day of February, Dan Farrel, at one time connected with
the Globe, but more widely known as one of the most efficient civil officers
in the state, died at San Antonio, Texas.
On the Sth of February Royal D. Amy, the pioneer stove and tinware mer-
chant of Council Bluffs, died after being in the business for more than a
half century. He left a wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchil-
dren and thousands of friends. He was seventy-two years of age at the time
of his death.
On the 14th Fred H. Hill, manager of the Empkie-Shugart-Hill Hard-
ware Company, another of our leading business men, died of cancer at the
hospital after an operation performed as a last resort.
Royal B. Felton, banker, of Underwood, was killed by the Great Western
train at the crossing of Main street on the 21st of January.
On the 19th of March J. W. Morse died after a long tedious sickness.
Mr. Morse had been a prominent man in several ways, having been a mer-
110 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
chant, and had held the offices at different times of city marshal and justice
of the peace.
It was he and his partner, Mr. Hall, at that time doing a shipping busi-
ness, that instituted the suit by mandamus proceeding to compel the Union
Pacific Railroad Company to operate its line to Council Bluffs, which was
finally successful. He left a wife and two sons.
On the 23d of March James Anderson, janitor of the Masonic Temple,
was found dead in one of the halls with his skull fractured, supposed to have .
been caused by his falling down one story over the banisters.
On the 25th the community sustained a great loss in the death of Dr.
T. B. Lacy. As a physician and surgeon he stood at the head of his pro-
fession. He also occupied a high position in Masonry, being past eminent
grand commander of Knights Templar and past grand high priest of Royal
Arch Masons.
On April 9 the grand council of the Royal Arcanum convened here
and. after transacting business and selecting Boone for the next meeting,
closed with a banquet at the Grand hotel.
On the 21st of April two railroad employes were killed. Wm. Burns
switchman on the R. I., and A. Hofman, colored, a helper in Wabash round-
house.
April 23 City Treasurer True reports amount spent during last year
al $244,000, of which $161,415 were for improvements and $83,047.58 city
expenses.
Api-il 26, at the h c uf Henry Sperling, jii-t outside of city in Garner
township, his daughter, eight years of ngo, and Miss Mary Miller were
burned to death by lighting the fire with kerosene.
On June 13 John Beno, after three year.-' suffering, which lie bore with
heroic fortitude, quietly passed away. Perhaps no man in Pottawattamie
county was better known or liked than be. Coming here a boy in 1861, and
starting in as an errand boy, he filled every requirement. In the mer-
cantile business he went in at the bottom, and by strict integrity and indus-
try he reached the top. His family lost the kindest of husband and father
and the community one of its best citizens.
On the 26th Mrs. Mary, widow of Judge G. A. Robinson, died. She
was a pioneer, coming while the city was but little more than a Mormon
camp. She became a helpmate to her husband, wl ngaged in the hotel
business by becoming a frugal as well as popular hostess. She could adorn
the kitchen or drawing room with equal grace.
The charter of the Council Bluffs Water Works Company having ex-
pired for more than a year, it became a subject of much importance what
course to pursue, some favoring municipal ownership, while others were op-
posed to it. The present company applied for a new charter, and after a
lengthy discussion, the council passed an ordinance granting tin 1 company
a new charter, which was approved by the mayor and submitted to a vote of
the people to be taken at a. special election to ho held on the sixth day of
August, 1907, and at which it was defeated by a large majority.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY Ml
DR. DONALD MACRAE.
The Grim Reaper the past year was very busy in Council Bluffs. In
addition to several prominent persons previously named, Dr. Donald Macrae,
eminent as a physician and surgeon, passed away.
He was a native of Scotland, born October 3, 1839, came to Council Bluffs
in March, 1867, and practiced his profession up to within a short time
previous to his death, which occurred on the 14th of August. He also took
a lively interest in public affairs and was elected and served one term as
mayor of the city.
His wife, who was a daughter of Joseph Bouchette, surveyor general of
Canada, preceded him, dying in March, 1904. He was the father of the
present mayor, Dr. Donald Macrae, now serving his second term.
On the night of July 28 two policemen were shot in attempting to
arrest a burglar. One of them, George W. Wilson, lived but a few hours.
The other, William H. Richardson, although shot through the chest, has
nearly recovered. The burglar escaped in the darkness.
On the 10th of August Peter Bechtel, another of Council Bluffs' re-
spected citizens of long standing, died at the age of eighty. He came here
in 1868, engaged in the hotel business, was prosperous for years, built a fine
modern hotel and an elegant residence, bul in his old age was overtaken by
misfortune and lost all, save his honor, and, added to this, he was afflicted
with loss of sight. He left his venerable wife and one son and daughter.
Politically Pottawattamie comity, previous to the war, was democratic.
During that period the opposition to the war by leaders of the democratic
party caused many to change to the republican columns, so that since that
time the county at large has been republican by far the largest part of the
time, while in the city it has been somewhat different. Of the thirty men,
who have filled the office of mayor, the first one was a whig. This was be-
fore the birth of the republican party. Since that time thirty-two years
have been under democratic administrations, while the republicans have had
but nineteen. Of these, four have been soldiers, Cochran, Carson, Keatley
and Macrae, Jr. Two brothers, John and Caleb Baldwin, have held the posi-
tion. Also father and son, being the two Drs. Macrae. Of these, nine are
living, being Vaughan, Bowman, Evans, Rohrer, Groneweg, Carson, Jen-
nings, Morgan and Macrae. One, John Chapman, died in office.
Taken as a whole, it would be hard to find a more honorable set of
officials. In only one or two instances did the odor of graft attach to any
of them, and, however they may have differed as to the means, they had the
welfare of their city at heart.
Morally and religiously it is perhaps neither better nor worse than other
cities of its size. The wheat and tares are still growing together, but we
believe the wheat to be gaining. The street fair and carnival held in Sep-
tember was another success, netting over $3,000. which is to be expended in
public improvements. The management announced that as the last to be
given under their supervision.
The season now closing has been a very busy and prosperous one for
112 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
both city and county. In the city more buildings have been erected and
more street paving done than in any one year in its history.
Although Council Bluffs cannot as yet lay claim to being a manufac-
turing city, it is gradually taking steps in that direction as will be seen fur-
ther along, where they are given special notice. At an early day Council
Bluffs had a distillery and three breweries, but owing to unfriendly legisla-
tion, they have long been discontinued, but our sixty saloons find no diffi-
culty in getting supplies from neighboring states. Whether this is to our
advantage from either a moral, religious or commercial standpoint is still a"
debatable question. Only Geis' Bottlings Works is all that remains of a
former large industry.
As considerable attention has been given to the cultivation of fruits, flow-
ers and vegetables, we will proceed to notice some of the establishments en-
gaged in this business, after which we will look at some of our infant manu-
factures.
J. F. WILCOX, FLORIST.
Prominent among the industries of Council Bluffs is that of floricul-
ture. TIiq. largest of these establishments is that of Mr. J. F. Wilcox, on
East Pierce street. This business was started back in the seventies by Mr.
L. A. Casper, for whom the present proprietor worked for a number of
years. Ever since the commencement of Mr. Casper the business has had
a constant growth, and proved quite remunerative, so much so that by 1892
Mr. Casper was content to retire on a handsome fortune, and sold out to
Mr. Wilcox, who has since conducted the business with the same skill and
energy that has characterized its management from the beginning, until it
has reached mammoth proportions. Four hundred and twenty-five thou-
sand square feet of glass enter into the construction of the hot houses, while
miles of piping is required for keeping the proper temperature. Besides this,
he has an establishment just outside of the city, in Garner township, for
supplying fresh vegetables at all seasons of the year. Altogether 5,000 tons
of coal is consumed in a year to maintain the proper degree of warmth. The
business has become continental in extent, as, at his office at 521 West Broad-
way, orders are received from New York to Seattle, and from Minneapolis
to St. Louis.
His residence at 1132 East Pierce street is one of the finest in the city.
HENRY J. MEYER. GARDENER AND FLORIST.
The above industry was started in 1885 by the father of the present
proprietor. At first the business consisted of raising vegetables exclusively.
Having five acres under cultivation, and furnishing fresh vegetables at all
seasons of the year. During the year 1889 the elder Mr. Meyer died, since
which time the business has been conducted by the son. above named, and
to which he has added the raising of flowers. One acre has been devoted to
this branch and enclosed with hot houses. Although this addition has been
made but recently, one hundred and fifty tons of coal was required to keep
the plant at the proper temperature. The raising of vegetables is contin-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 113
ued, and in addition two acres have been set to raising choice varieties of
grapes.
Fred L. Lainson, gardener, has 35,000 square feet of glass in his hot
houses at 1308 Canning street. Two eighty horse-power boilers force heat
through three miles of piping, and requiring 1,000 tons of coal per annum
to keep the right temperature.
His business is raising vegetables and supplying them fresh the year
round at wholesale. So far he has not been able to supply the home mar-
ket and that of Omaha, but is enlarging his plant, with a view of supplying
the increasing demand.
MARKET GARDENING.
Thomas Capel started a market garden on East Pierce street in 1905 in a
small way, but is compelled to enlarge, and at the present time (1907) he has
30,000 feet of glass in his hot houses, with one mile of piping, and requiring
250 tons of coal per annum to keep the 'proper temperature. The rapid
growth of Omaha and Council Bluffs creates a great demand for these prod-
ucts, which they furnish the year round. His business being vegetables
exclusively and has $10,000 invested in the plant.
HERMAN BROTHERS.
The above named firm started business in 1905, on the corner of
Twenty-ninth street and Ninth avenue. They make a specialty of cut
flowers, which they furnish at wholesale and retail.
Although started but two years ago, their greenhouse has 40,000 feet of
glass, the main building being 250x100 feet, besides office and packing room.-.
They ship as far east as Chicago and west as far as Denver. Tiny employ
six persons besides themselves and families. It takes eight hundred tons of
coal per annum to maintain the proper temperature.
The value of the plant at present is $30,000.
GRAPE GROWERS' ASSOCIATION.
Fruit raising during the early settlement of the county was not at-
tended with much success. At first the young trees would kill out during
the winters, some of which were severe, but the real cause was found to be
the long distance from which they were brought.
A few of the pioneers, however, had faith, notably Mr. Terry, of Cres-
cent; Mr. McDonald, of Kane; Mr. Cooledge, of Mills, and later. Mr. Ray-
mond, of Garner, also Mr. Rice of Kane. Nurseries were started and fruit
raising became infectious until at this time a farm without an orchard or
vineyard, or both, is the exception. In a few years the crop more than sup-
plied the home market, and steps were taken to find others.
In 1891 a number of the fruit growers incorporated for mutual benefit
with a capital of $1,000. A building was rented temporarily in which to
handle the crop and they began shipping. The business grew and in 1905
114 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
the company erected a warehouse 36x60 feet of two stories and basement, in
which the business was conducted for two years.
In the spring of 1907 the company was reincorporated with a capital
stock of $35,000 under the name of the Grape Growers' Association, with
J. A. Aulabaugh, president; Alex. Wood, vice-president and chairman of
the board of director-; ; J. J. Hess, secretary, and Charles Konigmacher, treas-
urer. The warehouse built, not being sufficient, an additional one has been
added, 60x160 feet. This also is of brick, two stories and basement. The
shipping facilities are of the best, being located on the Great Western track.
The company has reliable agents in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Denver, Pueblo,
Duluth and Salt Lake, besides intermediate points.
The new warehouse above mentioned is probably the strongest in the
city. It is already rented, to take effect as soon as the grape season closes,
lor storage of 150 carloads or 7,500,000 pounds of sugar.
Among the leading fruit growers of western Pottawattamie are Rev. G.
G. Rice, D. L. Rover, Robert McKinsey, A. Wood, D. J. Smith, W. T.
Keelinc Harry Kingston, O. J. Smith, W. II. Kuhn, Mark L. Stageman,
Chas. Konigmacher, Wm. Arnd, A. Rosner, J. W. Dorland, W. G. Rich, N.
P. Dodge. Wm. Bomburg, Anton Kerston, James Peterson, J. A. Alabangh,
J. F. Gretzer, C. D. Parmale, John Johnson, M. R. Smith, Henry Sperling,
G. C. Hansen, Peter Peterson, Miss Nance Avery, Dr. A. P. ITanehett, J. F.
Wilcox and Charles Beno.
THE CONSOLIDATED CONSTRUCTION COMPANY.
This company was incorporated in 1901 with a capital of $25,000.
President, C. Hater; secretary, W. W. Hafer; treasurer and manager, P. I.
Van Order.
The business of this company is general contracting. Their business
differ- from thai of mosl contractors in their keeping all material in stock
for all the branches of building, commencing with the foundation, includ-
ing stone, brick, lime, cemenl and sand; also a full line of hardware and
paints, a- well as all standard sizes of doors and window.-, and in addition
it has a large factory equipped with the most improved machinery for mill
work of every description, including planing, scroll and band sawing and
turning. In connection with the lumber yard a full line of wire fencing i>
also kept. It also has its architecl and skilled foremen in every department.
An average of one hundred mechanics are employed and the payroll now
amounts to $7,500 per month.
The business during the year of 1906 reached $200,000, and that of
1907. counting contracts already made will reach $250,000 or over.
Among the buildings erected since starting arc the residence of E. E.
Hart, the Goodrich hotel, the Jennie Edmundson hospital.
Tlie establishment occupies 100 feet front on Pierce street.
OLD COTTONWOOD JAIL, COUNCIL BLUFFS.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 117
E. CHILDREN'S SONS MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
Among the numerous industries operating in the city is one of E. Chil-
dren's Sons Manufacturing Company. The business was started here in
1892 by E. Children and his two sons, who came here from Wisconsin and
engaged in the manufacture of agricultural implements, and the business
was conducted successfully for eight years under that management until the
death of the father, which occurred June 13, 1900, having been constantly
increasing and extending its business. After the death of the senior part-
ner it was incorporated with F. R. Children as president; W. C. Children,
treasurer, and E. G. Anderson, secretary, with a capital of $110,000. The
principal articles manufactured at this time are cultivators, grain drills,
sweep rakes, hay stackers, feed mills, elevators and dumps and horse powers.
The location of the establishment is well suited to their business, leaving
ample room for present or future needs, with trackage to facilitate ship-
ping.
The main building is 200x50 feet and two stories in height. The
foundry occupies a separate room of one story, being 100x50 feet, while the
finishing and sales departments each have separate rooms 100x50 feet, of
one story, while the power house is 50x50 feet and entirely disconnected
with the other buildings.
All are of brick and great care is taken to keep the several departments
separate as a protection against fire.
Nearby is a large lumber yard stocked with hardwood sawed at the mills
to the dimensions required for the several different articles of their manu-
facture, and no part of which is permitted to be used until it has seasoned
for two years. It is a hive of industry, where eighty men are employed, and
their trade constantly increasing.
THE MONARCH MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
Incorporated with a capital of $50,000, the officers are: E. P. Searle,
president; L. W. Kinyon, vice-president ; H. A. Searle, secretary and treas-
rer, and F. H. Searle, superintendent.
The plant consists of a main brick two-story building, 100x50 feet, be-
sides storage rooms, all located at the corner of Sixth street and Eleventh
avenue.
The business consists in the manufacture of high-grade greases and lub-
ricating oils. The location is fortunate in having trackage connecting with
all the railroads entering the city.
KIMBALL BROTHERS COMPANY.
The above named brothers commenced business in Council Bluffs in
1892, in a small way, in the manufacture of weighing scales, freight and
passenger, hand, electric and belt-power elevators.
The plant is situated on the corner of Ninth street and Eleventh ave-
nue. The business grew and in 1900 was incorporated, with C. E. Kimball
118 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
as president; B. Mclnnerney, vice-president and manager, and W. H. Kim-
ball, treasurer, with a paid-up capital of $100,000. All are practical mechan-
ics and especially skilled in these specialties, so much so that they are at
this time filling an order for two of their elevators to be shipped to New
York city, also one to Cleveland, Ohio, and another to Pittsburg, Pa.
The way their business is increasing, they will soon require more room,
their lot being but 200x130 feet. They have good shipping facilities, the
Union Pacific, Rock Island and Milwaukee railroads passing their doors.
On their payroll are seventy-five names.
SPRAGUE FOUNDRY AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
Among our manufacturing industries the Sprague Foundry and Manu-
facturing Company should not be overlooked.
It was established in 1885 on Third street, where it conducted a small
business until 1893, when it succeeded the Ogden Iron Works, and in 1902
moved to its present quarters at Eleventh street and Third avenue, and in-
corporated with a paid-up capital of $25,000.
The officers are: President and treasurer, C. C. Sprague; vice-presi-
dent and manager, R, M. Sprague; secretary. George S. Wright.
In addition to general foundry and machine work they have several
specialties, amonii which are the Rose patent shaking grates. Western Un-
derfeed furnaces, iron and brass castings and architectural iron work.
The business is showing and, though winking forty men, they .ire be-
hind with their orders.
The John T. Henderson Novelty Work.- is another industry, consisting
largely in the manufacture of toys. Mr. Henderson i- quite an inventor,
making Ins own machinery, and has secured several valuable patents.
THE WALKER MAM FACTORING COMPANY.
This establishment located in the city in 1902. coming from Rock
Island. 111., and occupying the building on the southeast corner of Twelfth
street and Ninth avenue, is engaged in the manufacture of farm machinery.
consisting of furrow opener-, disk sharpeners, wind mill regulators, stock
waterers, hay bunchers, sweeps and stacker-, woven wire fence, washing
machines and other specialties. The main factory is 50x100 feet, with
wing 50x50 feci, for foundry and powerhouse. At present time thirty men
are employed besides a traveling salesman. The location affords ample
facilities for shipping.
Peter Wind, contractor and builder, has a mill for planing, scroll and
1 mild sawing, all kind- of mouldings, turning and, in fact, doing all kinds
of mill work required in the line of building; also has kiln for drying lum-
ber. Has been one of the leading contractors for a quarter of a century.
\t this time lias sixty men in his employ. Capital invested, $25,000.
The plant is located on the southwest corner of West Broadway ami
Thirteenth street.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 119
KEYS BROTHERS, MANUFACTURERS.
A prominent building in the western part of the city is the factory of
Keys Brothers, for the manufacturing of carriages, surreys, buggies, spring
wagons, etc. They came in the winter of '88, and, after looking the ground
over, considering the facilities for distribution of finished work, concluded to
locate here, and the following spring purchased the ground and erected
their main building, which is 160x60 feet, and four stories high. They at
the same time secured ample ground for any enlargement that might be
required. They were from Ohio and, in addition to their plant here, are
largely interested in an establishment for doing the mill work required by
modern usage. So far the enterprise has proved a success, as the demand
for their work has increased each year. They have just added a wing to
the main building, 58x52 feet, of three stories. These, with the houses and
sheds for storing the materials, occupy two acres, and their shipping facili-
ties are of the best.
The concern is incorporated with a paid-up capital of $100,000, with
an average payroll of one hundred men.
On the 3d of September the above establishment was nearly destroyed
by fire, but at this writing, October 24, is being rebuilt larger than before.
THE KRITCHMER MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
This company was incorporated in 1900 with a paid-up capital of $30,-
000.
The officers being: E. Kritchmer, president and treasurer; J. C. Kritch-
mer, vice-president, and George E. Smith, secretary.
The senior member of the company had been for years engaged in the
manufacture of all kinds of bee-keepers' supplies in a small way on his
farm in Montgomery county, where he had made a study of the habits of
the bee, and the best methods of profiting by its industry.
So successful were his efforts, that his growing business required larger
facilities, both for manufacturing and shipping, and, after looking over
several localities, he decided on its present location on Third street, near the
Wabash freight depot, where it secured abundant room for buildings, lum-
ber yard, etc, also trackage for bringing the raw material and shipping the
finished, product.
Since coming here it has added the manufacture of steel and wooden
tanks. The main building is two stories, 100x90 feet, with the most ap-
proved machinery for making the bee supplies, while a smaller one, 25x60,
is used in the tank work exclusively, both being hives of industry.
It is encouraging to learn that the bee supply work has proved so satis-
factory that its sale is not confined to the home market, but that orders are
already received and shipments made to foreign countries.
Thirty-five men are on the present payroll.
The Alfalfa Meal Company was incorporated in 1904 and is quite an
120 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
extensive concern. President, M. M. Breen; secretary and treasurer, J. T.
Brooks. Capital, $80,000.
The plant is on the northeast corner of Twelfth street and Ninth ave-
nue. The main building is 100x100 feet of three stories, with storerooms
adjoining, 100x90 feet, part of which is one and part two stories. The
business is the manufacturing and sale of stock food. It employs on an
average twenty-five men and finds ready sale for its products.
THE GROWERS' CANNING COMPANY.
The Growers' Canning Company is a corporation formed in 1905. Its
officers are: Wm. Arnd, president; A. P. Hanchett, vice-president; J. J.
Hess, secretary, and E. E. Hart, treasurer, with a paid-up capital of $25,-
000.
The purpose is the production of high-grade canned fruits and vege-
tables.
The plant is situated on the corner of Third street and Twelfth ave-
nue and consists of a main building of two stories, 100x50 feet, besides stor-
age rooms and platforms with all of the most approved modern appliances
for prosecuting the work. During the active season it employs seventy-five
people, and has a capacity for producing 65,000 cans per day.
BLOOMER ICE AND COLD STORAGE COMPANY.
In 1893 R. H. Bloomer commenced the manufacture of wire and flat
fence, in a small way, employing a dozen men, and after getting fairly
started, had the misfortune to be burned out, but rebuilt on the same ground,
to which was added the manufacture of woven wire fence to the business, and
was incorporated, enlarged and employed forty workmen, besides fifteen
traveling salesmen.
In the spring of 1907 it was reincorporated as the Bloomer Ice and Cold
Storage Company, with R. H. Bloomer, president; E. C. Smith, vice-presi-
dent; Thomas Green, secretary, and Dr. A. P. Hanchett, treasurer, with a
capital stock of $125,000, and adding the manufacture of artificial ice and
operating a cold storage plant.
In establishing this the company has just erected a six-story brick
building, 100x86 feet, that has a capacity of 200 cars and requiring thirty
tons of ice per day in maintaining a temperature from freezing point to 15
degrees below zero. Although this has but just started, it requires a force
of thirty men, with every prospect of enlargement, and for which the com-
pany has abundant ground space and trackage.
THE JOHN G. WOODWARD COMPANY.
The above establishment is successor to the firm of Duquett & Co. and
commenced business in its present quarters in 1895. in tbe manufacture of
a general line of candies, with a capital of $50,000. The building in which
the business was started was the three-story brick, known as the Mynster
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 121
building on West Broadway. The increase of business required additional
room, and in 1899 a building 66x80 feet and four stories was added, also a
fourth story was added to the original structure, besides packing, shipping
and storage rooms, sheds and platforms, so that the entire plant at the pres-
ent writing is 165x100 feet.
In addition to the candy business, in sinking an artesian well at the
depth of 800 feet, an abundant supply of water was struck, possessing medi-
cinal properties, the bottling and sale of which has become a large addition
to their already extensive business. It also affords fire protection by having
an immense tank high above the roof constantly filled, from which the
entire plant can be instantly flooded in case of fire. From two to three hun-
dred persons are constantly employed in the works, many of whom are
girls and boys, besides a dozen to fifteen salesmen are kept on the road. The
goods find sale from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
THE M. E. SMITH SHIRT FACTORY.
This is a hive of industry, in which seventy-five women are engaged. It
is no "sweatshop," being roomy with the best of light and ventilation, sit-
uated at the southeast corner of Main and Fifteenth avenue. The sewing
machines are driven by electricity, and the output being from sixty to sev-
enty dozen per day. The entire force, including the superintendent, is com-
posed of women.
The Standard Manufacturing Company was incorporated in November,
1904, with G. G. Wooden, president and treasurer, and J. F. Hughes, vice-
president and secretary, with a paid-up capital of $25,000.
The business is the manufacture of wagon boxes and shovel boards.
The company secured ample ground, being half of the block on West Broad-
way, running through to First avenue, affording the most convenient ship-
ping facilities. Their main building is 150x160 feet, with another 130x40
feet for painting and storage. The lumber used is southern yellow pine, of
which a large quantity is kept on hand in their yard. It requires a force
of thirty men to enable the company to keep up with their orders.
COUNCIL BLUFFS BRICK COMPANY.
Brick probably enters more largely into the construction of a city than
any one commodity.
The Council Bluffs Brick Company was incorporated March 10, 1907,
with a paid-up capital of $10,000. President and general manager, E. A.
Wickham; secretary, William Arnd; treasurer, Ernest Hart.
The plant is located at the foot of the bluff in the northern part of city,
the great bluff furnishing an inexhaustible quantity of the raw material, and
the yard is equipped with all the most approved facilities for prosecuting the
work, which includes all varieties of common and pressed brick.
The product this year, 1907, will reach 3,000,000.
122 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Wickham Brothers are located under the same great bluff, where they
have been engaged in the manufacture of the same quality of brick from
•the time that the memory of man runneth not to the contrary. Most of
these are used by them in works, for which they are the contractors.
Their output will average 50,000 per day during the working season.
A. METZGER & CO., WHOLESALE BAKERY.
The above manufactory was established in June, 1906. The plant con-
sists of a two-story and basement building of pressed brick, 100x90 feet, with
all the most modern facilities for producing bread and cake of all varieties,
also ice cream. This establishment is located on Mynster street, and the
daily output runs from 4,000 to 5,000 loaves of bread, with a corresponding
amount of cake and ice cream.
In connection with this is a retail store and restaurant at 523 and 525
West Broadway. Twenty-two employes are now on the payroll and the
business growing.
Nearby is about the latest manufacturing establishment in the city, viz.,
The Orcutt Manufacturing Company. Incorporated June 1, 1907, with D.
M. Orcutt, president and treasurer; G. E. Fisher, vice-president, and W. E.
Orcutt, secretary, with a paid-up capital of $15,000.
The principal business is the manufacture of weighing scale- of all
kinds, including the pitless wagon scale.
Although so recently established here, their business requires the active
service of twelve skillful machinists.
THE NEW SPECIALTY MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
Incorporated with F. J. Duerr, president and manager; A. C. Walker,
vice-president: C. E. Woodbury, treasurer, and John Gretzer, secretary.
The business of this establishment embraces the manufacture of gaso-
line lamps and lighting appliances, gasoline engine and automobile repair-
ing, general machine work, steel frame pitless wagon and stock scales; also
make castings in gray iron, brass, copper, bronze and aluminum, and do
nickel and copper plating. Location, No. 43 to 47 North Main street, Coun-
cil Bluffs.
Nearby in the same line of industry is the Incandescent Light Manu-
facturing establishment of James Darby, who. with six men, are endeavor-
ing to keep up with their orders.
The Johnson McLean Company is engaged in all kinds of mill work
required in the building trade, kiln drying, planing, sawing and working
mouldings, also manufacturer of doors and sash. This firm takes no build-
ing contracts, hut does mill work for such contractors as are without these
facilities.
Is incorporated with a capital of $20,000. and employs from thirty to
forty men.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 123
THE A. C. KELLER COLLAR COMPANY.
This is situated on the southeast corner of Thirty-second street and Avenue
A in Council Bluffs and makes a specialty of horse collars. The proprietors
came here and started their business in a modest way, and, by industry and
close attention to business, it has grown until they now employ from ten to
fifteen men, and have introduced machinery and enlarged their factory, be-
sides erecting a separate building for storing the raw material.
BOX AND BASKET FACTORY.
Another small industry, made necessary by the large amount of fruit
being raised in the surrounding country, is the Council Bluffs Box and Bas-
ket factory. This is situated on Twenty-first street, opposite Cochran's
park. The building is 110x60 feet, two stories. This is one article for
which we have the raw material in abundance, as the cottonwood along the
Missouri is the best wood of which to make the berry, grape and other fruit
boxes and baskets, and the work is adapted to men, women and boys.
The proprietors, J. M. and F. P. Liggett, last season made and sold to
the amount of $36,300.
ELEVATORS.
The Cavers- VanDorn Elevator Company is situated at First avenue and
Thirtieth street, with capacity of 50.000 bushels, can handle 30,000 per day;
has trackage to all the roads.
The Peavy Elevator at U. P. transfer has capacity of 1,500,000 bushels,
can handle 150 cars per day; trackage to all roads.
The Trans-Mississippi at U. P. transfer has capacity of 500,000 bush-
els ; can handle one hundred cars per day.
The Droge Brothers' Elevator has capacity of 50,000 bushels; can empty
a car in fifteen minutes.
The Shugart and Owen Elevator Company was incorporated in 1905;
engaged in seed business. Elevator is situated on Sixth street and Tenth
avenue. Capacity 20,000 bushels.
Sales during 1906 amounted to $50,000.
A. Peterson's feed mill on Third street, 60x30 feet, two stories, driven by
gasoline engine, has capacity for 1,000 bushels in twenty-four hours. Capi-
tal of $10,000, and employs five men.
COUNCIL BLUFFS BEDDING COMPANY.
This is one of the infant industries recently established. It is incor-
porated with a capital of $5,000. At the present time the business is lim-
ited to the manufacture of mattresses, for which it is equipped with the
124 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
most modern machinery. At this writing five persons axe employed. The
factory being No. 34 Fourth street.
0. B. Anderson, manager.
The Council Bluffs Granite & Marble Works, southwest corner of East
Broadway and Grace streets.
Sheeley & Lane, proprietors, successors to H. J. Gibson in fall of 1892.
Have capital invested to amount of $10,000. Employ five men in works
beside one salesman on the road.
Among the manufacturers in a -mall way arc those of A. Rasmusson's
wagon- and carriage manufactory mi Upper Broadway, employing six men,
and also that of Schultz & Hill on the southeast corner of Fourth street and
Fifth avenue. These men employ six men, besides being practical workers
themselves.
THE WATERLOO CREAMERY COMPANY.
This institution was incorporated in 1900 and reincorporated in 1904
with a capital of $12,000. President, Leroy Corless; secretary, Corless Hop-
per; treasurer, Bert Corle--.
The business being the manufacture of butter and ice cream. It also is
wholesale and retail dealers in milk and cream.
The plant consists of a three-story brick with all necessary appliances
for conducting its business at 21 South Eighth street, and business l- rapidly
increasing.
Kindred establishments are those of I. Mucci at 218 West Broadway,
manufacturer of ice cream, also keeps constantly on hand fresh milk and
cream in quantity to suit purchasers.
Also that of O. O. Brown at 546 West Broadway, confectioner and man-
ufacturer of ice cream.
COUNCIL BLUFFS CARPET CLEANING COMPANY.
This institution is located at 28-30-32-34 North Main street; was started
in 1902 in the old Bluff City Laundry building; engaged in the business
of cleaning carpets by power machinery.
In 1903 looms were added for the purpose of weaving fluff rugs from
old worn-out carpets. It became incorporated in September, 1903, with C.
A. Beno. president; T. A. Bush, secretary and manager; Adolph Beno, treas-
urer; J. D. Evans, L. R. Hypes and W. F. Hypes, director-.
In 1908 the business was extended to include general cleaning ami
dyeing of garments, household goods, lace curtains, draperies, etc.
The growth of the business requiring more space a modern two-story
brick building has been erected adjoining the original plant, and both build-
ings occupied.
The business requires from eighteen to twenty hands.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
125
INDEPENDENT TELEPHONE COMPANY OF COUNCIL BLUFFS.
The above company was incorporated in 1905 with F. J. Day as presi-
dent; vice-president, E. H. Merriam; secretary, C. A. Beno; treasurer, T. G.
Turner.
Work was commenced immediately. The present site was purchased
and Exchange building commenced and rushed rapidly to completion.
While lines were being extended most approved apparatus installed so that
the company was ready for business and opened on June 1, 1906. Since
which time the business has rapidly grown until on October 1, 1907, their
subscribers numbered 3,200.
Besides the industries named, we submit the following as directory
showing the principal lines of business conducted at this writing in the city
of Council Bluffs:
Abstract Offices 3
Architects 3
Awnings and Tents 1
Automobile Repairing 2
Banks 5
Bakeries 10
Book Stores 2
Brick Yards 3
Building Contractors 12
Clothing Stores 5
Coal and Wood Yards 16
Dry Goods Stores 4
Department Stores 3
Drug Stores 20
Dye Works 3
Dentists 10
Electric Supplies 2
Engineers (civil) 4
Furniture Stores 5
Feed Stores 10
Galvanized Iron 2
Groceries (wholesale) 1
Groceries (retail) 62
Hardware (wholesale) 1
Hardware (retail) 6
Hospitals 4
Hotels 18
Implement Houses 16
Jewelry Stores 4
Laundries 6
Lawyers • 40
Liquor Stores (wholesale) 5
Lumber Yards 4
Livery Stables 10
Mr.it Markets (exclusively) 13
Music Stores 4
Millinery and Dressmaking 4
Novelty Stores 2
Oil (kerosene) 1
Physicians and Surgeons 32
Photograph Galleries 5
Plumbing Establishments 5
Printing Offices 5
Paint and Papering 5
Real Estate and Insurance 31
Restaurants 12
Saloons 60
Shoe Stores 6
Seed Stores 3
Sewing Machine Stores 3
Tailoring Establishments 6
Tea and Coffee Stores . ." 3
Transfer Companies 7
Theaters 3
Upholstering 2
Undertaking 2
Veterinary Surgeons 4
Wind Mill Establishment 1
During October one of our citizens of the Hebrew persuasion passed away
in the person of Mr. G. H. Mosler. He was an active member with Simon Eis-
126 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
man, Benjamin Newman and others of the first Hebrew society of Council
Bluffs.
Our community was surprised on the 29th of October by the determination
of our bankers to partially suspend, but allowing depositors to draw small
amounts from time to time. This was brought about by the action of the New
York bankers closing as a protection against runs and as New York went it
seemed necessary for all others to follow, and so far our citizens acquiesce in the
arrangement.
Having given the early history of the early settlement, and the agricul-
tural, manufacturing and commercial affairs, we will proceed to notice the
religious, fraternal, sanitary, patriotic and benevolent institutions, commencing
with the churches.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The Catholic missionaries seem to have been the first of the religious sects
to penetrate the wilderness of which this county once formed a part. The first
to identify himself with the Pottawattamies seems to have been Father J. Smet,
and we take the liberty of taking a few extracts from his writings after his
arrival here.
"Council Bluffs, September, 1838.
"For the last four months the result of our exertions has been truly
encouraging. A considerable number of savages manifest a desire to be
instructed.
"We have opened a school, but on account of the limited size of our hut.
we can receive only thirty children. The church in which divine service was
celebrated, is perhaps the pooresl in the world.
"We have already admitted one hundred and eighteen, of which number
I had the consolation to baptize one hundred and five," and again, "I
afterwards gave an instruction on the necessity and the ceremonies of baptism,
and conferred that sacrament on twenty adults, among whom was the wife of
the chief. * * * After mass I biassed four marriages." The letter from
which these few lines were extracted was addressed to Right Rev. Mathia-
Loras, Bishop of Dubuque.
Later Rev. A. Ravoux write.- from Council Bluffs under date of August 29,
L847: "We spent three or four hours near the great camp of the Mormons,
which is situated in one of the mosl beautiful regions of the Missouri. Dur-
ing the spring they cultivated a large tract of land and expect an abundant
harvest. They possess a considerable stuck of animals, and they number from
eight to ten thousand souls in the camp or within a circle of ten mil
"The same day aboul sundown we reached Council Bluffs, where we pasa d
the night. I baptized two children and gave instruction at the house of Mr.
Benoit. There are at least forty Catholic families in Council Bluffs." Much
more might be quoted but this is sufficient to -how that even after the Indian-
had left, and the Mormons were in full control, a root of the church planted
ten years before remained and continued to grow.
During two or three years from the departure of the Pottawattamies. the
advent and exodus of the Mormons and tide of California emigration, things
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 127
here were in a state of transition and no church seemed to be firmly estab-
lished, and although three of four priests had been assigned to this place, Rev.
Jeremiah Tracy was the first to erect a church since the old Indian mission.
It was he that commenced the brick church that stood on a part of the ground
now occupied by the Merriam block and was used until the completion of the
St. Francis Xavier church on the corner of Fifth avenue and Sixth streets.
Rev. William Kelly was pastor here from April to September, 1863, and
Rev. James Power from June, 1864 to June, 1865. He completed the church
and was called to duties in the St. Joseph diocese.
Rev. John Dachsacher resided here from June, 1865 to October, 1869.
He built a plain residence, introduced a bell, probably the first church bell in
the city, was constant and faithful in all his duties. During ten months in
1869 he had eighty-two baptisms. He also attended St. Boniface church in
the Plumer settlement and in other places and was recalled to his diocese in
Omaha.
The next to fill this important position was Rev. B. P. McMenorny. His
fame had preceded him and he was received with warm enthusiasm, which
ripened into lasting respect. Immediate steps were taken to make hi- abode
comfortable, the church w T as enlarged and embellished, and a parochial school
established on the northwest corner of the church grounds.
In 1871 the Sisters of Charity of B. Y. M. were introduced from Dubuque
and in 1873 commenced the St. Francis Xavier academy on its present site,
which from the beginning has made wonderful progress, and now ranks among
the best schools for the higher education of young ladies.
The rapid increase of the congregation made it advisable to sell the old
church property, from which was realized $25,000, and with this and other
contributions he proceeded to build the fine structure that now adorns the
northwest corner of Fifth avenue and Sixth street. This building was com-
pleted in 1888 at a cost of $50,000 and one year later a fine parochial resi-
dence was erected adjoining on the west at a cost of $9,000, while three years
previous St. Joseph's school for boys was built on the opposite corner east, at a
cost of $6,000. Father McMenorny was one of the most highly respected of
any of the clergy that have lived here, not only by those of his faith, but by
all. With the expiring year of 1892 he was laid to rest on Walnut Hill, Decem-
ber 31, 1892.
Succeeding Father McMenorny came the present pastor, Very Rev. Pat-
rick Smyth. He, like his predecessor, was born in Ireland, received his edu-
cation in All Hallows College, Dublin, was ordained on June 24, 1871, for the
diocese of Dubuque, Iowa, and shortly after set sail for America and arrived
in New York on the 14th of August, 1871.
It was here in his new land on the day following, in the church of the
Holy Innocents, he celebrated his first holy mass. He then proceeded to Du-
buque and was appointed assistant to Rev. R. A. Byrne at Holy Cross. Since
coming among us he has endeared himself to his congregation as well as won
the respect of the entire community and all the institutions connected with
the church feel the influence of his helping hand.
A meeting of the German Catholics of Council Bluffs w T as called and
128 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
assembled on May 9, 1886, attended by the following men : Peter Weis, John
Murgen, Rudolph Toller, Henry Toller, Peter Tholl, Jacob Neumayer, Peter
Beck, Joseph Miller, Jacob Apple, Joseph Schmidt, Dr. G. W. Emonds, Her-
man Roblings, P. J. Emig and Albert Schott. Peter Weis was called to the
chair and P. J. Emig appointed secretary, and it was resolved to organize a
congregation for the German Catholics and build a church.
The second meeting assembled on May 30, 1886, and Peter Weis as chair-
man, called the meeting to order, when a committee was chosen as trustees, con-
sisting of Peter Weis, chairman; John Mergen, treasurer; P. J. Emig, sec-
retary; Rudolph Toller; Jacob Neumayer and Joseph .Miller, and the com-
mittee was instructed to seek a suitable building site and report at the next
meeting, and also solicit subscriptions for money. The name of St. Peters
Association was selected.
On April 24, 1887, during high mass in St. Francis church, celebrated
by Rev. Adolph Wesseling, 0. S. B. of Atchison. Kansas, Right Rev. Bishop
Cosgrove of Davenport, Iowa, published the separation of the German Catholics
from affiliation with St. Francis Xavier's congregation, and announced the
selection of Father Adolph as pastor for the new Catholic church for the
Germans. The committee reported in favor of the site now occupied, which
was approved. The bishop gave his approval, arrangements were made with
Father McMenomy to use the old church during the construction of the new.
The construction of the building was commenced and prosecuted with
vigor. The present pretty church with its tapering spire, and flanked by the
parochial buildings makes a pretty picture and speaks well for the taste, piety
and enterprise of the members, while its chime of hells emits tones for which
these bluffs and ravines have listened for a thousand years.
The attendance at St. Francis academy continued to increase and in
1904 a four story addition was made, in which is a large auditorium. An
average of three hundred pupils receive instruction here, many coming from
a distance and boarding at the institution.
The attendance of boys at St. Joseph's is not so large, averaging seventy-
five.
In connection with St. Peter's church are parochial schools for both girls
and hoys, with an average attendance of seventy-five, in which the sexes are
about equally divided.
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
It is seldom we are able to get historical tacts at first hand after a lapse
of fifty-six years, as in this case, whore we arc permitted to interview the ven-
erable founder of the Congregational church here, and learn from him person-
ally of its first establishment. In 1851 the Rev. G. G. Rice, under commission
of the Home Missionary Society came here, and in conjunction with Rev.
Win. Simpson, Methodist, rented a room of Isaac Beebe, which they furnished
cheaply and proceeded to hold meetings and also a Sunday school. Rev. Simp-
son was of the Methodist persuasion, and they alternated in their use of the
room, and got along amicably.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 129
In the spring of 1852 they bought a hewed log house for one hundred and
twenty-five dollars of a man that was starting for Oregon, and raised the money
by subscription to pay for it, and this became the first Protestant church in
this county. In 1852 Rev. Simpson was given a charge in the eastern part
of the state, and Rev. Moses Shinn was sent to fill his place. In the spring of
1853 the first Congregational church was organized, and the two congrega-
tions separated, the Methodists built their little frame church on Pierce street,
and the Congregationalists purchased a small frame warehouse and fitted it up
on Broadway a little west of Glenn avenue, where it was used until a small
brick church was built on Pearl street, where the Brown block now stands,
which was completed and dedicated in 1856.
In the organization of the church in 1853 it consisted of the eight follow-
ing charter members: Rev. G. G. Rice, Martha C. Rice, J. D. M. Crockwell,
James Harrison, Mary L. Harrison, Louisa Turley, Rachel Nichols and
Dorcas A. Crockwell.
Of this number, all but the pastor and his wife were born in the west and
came from three different denominations. While in their little rude cabin,
Father Rice baptized the first infants in the Protestant faith in this commun-
ity. Here also the Council Bluffs association of Congregational churches was
organized and here for the first time the Congregationalists of the south-
western part of the state of Iowa gathered in fellowship. This association
has since grown to be one of the strongest in the state with such churches as
Creston, Red Oak, Shenandoah, Atlantic, Tabor and Glenwood in its fellow-
ship.
The congregation continued to worship in the brick on Pearl street until
the completion of the one on Sixth street and Seventh avenue. During the
construction, after being enclosed, it was demolished by a tornado, thus
delaying its completion until 1870. Up to 1869 the church had been
assisted by annual contributions from the American Home Missionary Society,
in which year the church became self supporting. During the fifty years of
its existence, the church has been served by the following pastors : Rev. G. G.
Rice, from '51 to '58 ; James S. Haskell, 1859 till September. This man was
a wag. Could preach a good sermon, make a beautiful prayer, play a strong
game of poker, was a fine sleight of hand performer and ventriloquist and
could not resist the temptation to occasionally astonish the natives with his
tricks, and finally landed in a circus, where he rightfully belonged. Harvey
Adams, '60 to '63; W. W. Allen, '63 to '65; J, B. Chase, '65 to '68; H. P.
Roberts; '68 to 71; H. S: DeForrest, '71 to '76; Cyrus Hamlin, '77 to '84;
G. W. Crofts, '85 to '92 ; John Askin, '93 to '97 ; W. W. Wilson, '97 to 1901 ;
James Thompson, '02 to '05; O. O. Smith, D. D., to present time of '07.
The most marked periods of growth were during the pastorates of Revs.
Adams, Chase, DeForrest and Crofts.
Dr. O. 0. Smith, the present pastor, has served with great acceptability
since May 1, 1905. The present membership is three hundred and eighteen,
with a flourishing Sunday school.
Grown out of this church is the Woodbury Avenue Mission People's
Church, Rev. Burkhart, pastor.
130 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
There is a growing sentiment among the membership in favor of a new
church building more centrally located.
The Rev. Mr. Rice, in addition to his church work has always taken a lively
interest in public affairs. He was a member of the first city council in 1853,
and is still with us, wearing lightly his eighty-eight years, and now is largely
engaged in fruit raising.
THE REORGANIZED CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST LATTER DAY
SAINTS.
This small church is one of a vast body that seceded years ago from
the Mormon church, and have built up churches all through western Iowa,
and are in no way affiliated with the dominant church, the head of which is
at Salt Lake City.
This has a membership at this time (1907) of two hundred and ninety-
seven, with a Sunday school and also a literary society connected with it.
One peculiarity of this little church is that it is self sustaining, never
asking assistance from outside, nor resorting to the schemes practiced by other
denominations for raising money.
Notwithstanding this it is slowly but steadily growing. The present pas-
tor is the Rev. Samuel Harding.
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF COUNCIL BLUFFS.
This, like most churches here, began with a mission.
It was first organized in 1891, by Rev. Monroe, with a membership of
seventy. The first meeting place was in an old vacant store building on
the corner of Broadw.iy and Twenty-third streets, where services were held
for three years, then moved to Broadway and Seventeenth streets. Dr. Carter
preached one year, from '92 to '93, was followed by Rev. E. \V. Allen till "95
when the tabernacle was built. Rev. H. \V. Abberly preached until '96 and
was succeeded by Rev. S. M. Perkins, from '96 to '99, then Rev. W. B. Crewel-
son until 1903, when W. B. Clemer took charge and continued until 1907.
The church has made very rapid growth, having m this writing a member-
ship of six hundred, about five hundred within the city and about one hun-
dred in the country immediately adjoining, also a prosperous Sunday school of
over two hundred and a well trained choir. The pulpit is vacant but a supply
has been secured and will arrive and take charge in the near future.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
In the settlement of a new country it is but natural for persons of the
same religious faith to mingle and organize for mutual benefit, both religiously
and socially. The first settlement of this county and city differed from thai
of most new communities in being all of one church, a body just as distinct
from other organizations as were the Jews on leaving Egypt. And although
persons of other religious views were tolerated, so overwhelmingly Mormon
was the entire community, thai there was little use for Gentiles (as all others
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 131
were termed) to attempt to organize churches until the great body with its
leaders had moved on. Neither was it a good field for missionary work, as
they had our Bible, and no people on earth were more familiar with its
contents and teachings than they, so that if you attempted to teach them,
they would turn the tables and teach you, and further, they had the advantage
of receiving revelations from time to time, an advantage not claimed by other
denominations.
It was not until 1856 that it seemed worth while to attempt the organi-
zation of a church, which was accomplished by Rev. John Hancock and thirteen
others. The salary of the pastor for the first year was raised by subscription,
many of the largest contributors to which were not even professors of religion
let alone members. On the 12th of October, L856, the church was organized
and a room in the second story of the Empire block was secured and cheaply
furnished, which served until 1861. This was over what is now Camp's drug
store, and the alley in the rear of the block got the name of Presbyterian alley.
The church prospered and by 1861 it was able to build a small Fra
about twenty-five by forty feet on Pearl street, where the waterworks office
now is.
In 1857 a lot had been secured where the present church new -land- and
a foundation commenced when the financial crash came, and the building
was suspended for some years, the congregation continuing to worship in the
little church on Pearl street.
In 1859 Mr. Hancock was released for one year on account of ill health.
In 1860 he resumed his work for a while, but was obliged to give it up. and
for a time the church was without a pastor, till Rev. Wm. McCandlish suc-
ceeded him for a period of two years. He again was succeeded by Rev. J. H.
Clark. During 1865, work that had been suspended on the church on the
corner of Willow avenue and Seventh street was resumed, and the building
enclosed and basement finished, in which the most successful services were
held in which many were added to the church. Up to this time Mr. Clark
exercised a greater influence in the community than any clergyman that
preceded or has followed him, and it was a severe shock to his church as well
as to the people generally, to learn that he was guilty of gross immorality,
for which he was promptly dismissed.
Following this the pulpit was supplied by Rev. Wm. Hamilton of Bell-
view, Nebraska, until the arrival of Rev. Thomas Cleland in August. 1866.
His pastorate continued for sixteen years, during which time four hundred
and sixty members were added, besides completing the church building, which
had cost $17,270, of which amount $1,823 was supplied by the Ladies' Society
of the church.
Sixteen months intervened between the resignation of Rev. Mr. Cleland
and the employment of his successor, Rev. Alfred F. Bates of Lima. New York.
Many candidates were heard during this period and for three months the
pulpit was supplied by Rev. Henry McKeekin. Rev. Mr. Bates remained with
the church from October, 1883 to January 16, 1887, but refused to accept a
call as pastor. It was during Mr. Bates' ministry that the church began to
feel the need of more room, and after consideration it was determined to tear
132 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
down the old building and build anew, using the material as far as possible
in building the new and more modern structure.
This was earned out and resulted in the construction of the building as
it stands to-day. Rev. Stephen Phelps came to the church in 1887 during
the building of the new church, and it was completed during the first of his
ministry, which lasted until July, 1896. During his ministry three hundred
and seventy-five members were added to the church.
Following Rev. Phelps, Rev. W. S. Barnes accepted a call and remained
as pastor until September 1905.
During his ministry two hundred and ninety-five names were added to
the church roll and the membership reached four hundred and sixty-nine.
Rev. Marcus P. McClure accepted a call and assumed the pastorate in
November, 1905 and at this time (1907) is actively engaged in the work.
Number of communicants in 1907, four hundred and eighty.
Many of our most honored and prominent citizens have belonged and
are at present members of this church and many more have passed away.
The second church of this denomination is the outgrowth of the "Har-
mony Mission," started in the 80s by the ladies of the northern part of the
city, who succeeded in establishing a chapel on the corner of Frank and
Harmony streets, where sendees were held by pastors of different denomina-
tions, who, for a time, received no compensation, and although many of its
founders have long since passed away, the little mission survived, and in 1889
was organized as the Second Presbyterian church, with Rev. George Williams
as pastor, who was succeeded by the following pastors: Rev. Grosman, Alex-
ander, Sarchet, Armstrong, Litherland, Hosteller, and Rev. Grant B. Wilder,
the present pastor. In 1898 the mission building was sold and the proceeds
applied towards building the pretty church on the corner of Pierce and
Brace streets and later a parsonage was added. The first elders were Dr. David
Hutchinson and E. Morehouse. A. M. Hutchinson, E. Morehouse, R. N. Mer-
riam, C. M. Burgess and F. L. Hayden are the present trustees; present mem-
bership, one hundred and forty.
In addition to the above, a mission has been established on Eighteenth
avenue In 'tween Ninth and Tenth streets in Bethany chapel, in charge of
Rev. John Kroonsmeyer.
SALEMS SOCIETY OF THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION.
Was organized in 1858. This society is composed of German speaking
people. Their first pastor was Rev. J. F. Schou r ber. Their first church build-
ing was a small brick on the southeast corner of Broadway and Stutsman
streets, where they worshipped for several years, after which they secured a
small brick building on the southwest corner of Glenn avenue and Pierce
street, where they worshipped for many years under different pastors, who,
up to the present day, number twenty-six.
The church prospered and in 1893 the present church was built on the
same ground at a cost of $6,000, and in 1906, under the administration of
Rev. G. P. Cawelti, a neat, modern parsonage was added at a cost of $3,100
o
"X
-
-
O
02
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 135
The present number of communicants is one hundred and forty-four,
with a Sunday school of eighty-two pupils with sixteen officers and teachers.
Also connected with the church is a Young People's Alliance in good work-
ing order and a Ladies' Aid Society of thirty members engaged in missionary
work.
During the year 1906 the members contributed for all purposes twenty-
eight dollars each.
The present pastor, Rev. G. P. Cawelti, is hopeful for larger results in
the future.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
Was organized January 18, 1868, with ten constituent members, being
W. J. Midler, Florence Midler, W. H. Smith, F. D. June, Frances E. Smith,
Thos. H. Stewart, Ursula Bragg, Julia Wiggs, Margaret Smith and Nancy S.
Thrall. Rev. T. S. Thickstun was called as its first pastor, and assumed charge
in August, 1868, remaining with the church for thirteen years. During his
pastorate a lot on Willow avenue was purchased, on which a chapel was built
and dedicated in February, 1869. At tlii- time the church numbered but
twenty-nine. Later this lot was sold, and the lot on the northeast corner of
First avenue and Sixth street purchased and the present building erected.
It was dedicated, fre° of debt, in June, 1879.
In April of 1876, a Scandinavian church was set off from the first to do
work among those of its own nationality.
Subsequent pastors were as follows: Rev. J. G. Lemen, L. A. Hall, D.
H. Cooley, James H. Davis, V. C. Rocho. Milford Riggs and F. A. Case.
The present membership is five hundred and twenty, with a Sabbath
school of two hundred and seventy scholars.
SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH.
In September, 1906, a part of the members of the First Baptist church,
living near the mission known as the Thickstun mission, aided by Alex Tip-
ton, who had taken up his residence in its vicinity, concluded to organize an
independent church. Previous to this services were held Sabbath evenings
and occasionally on Sundays when a suitable person could fill the pulpit.
Being encouraged by those outside, the church invited Rev. W. J. Bell to
become pastor, which he accepted, and his work began February 1, 1907, as
assistant pastor of the first Baptist church, and on April 4th following an
independent church was organized with fifty-seven members, forty-one of
these bringing letters from the first church. The organization has largely
increased and a Sunday school established, in which great interest is taken,
and in September, 1907, the membership of the church reached seventy-two
and the Sunday school increased from seventy-five to one hundred and five.
Have greatly improved the church building and pay bills as made.
CHEVRA B'NAl YSROLL.
A Hebrew church was organized in 1904 with J. Galmski as the first
president with eighteen members, also a Sabbath school of twenty-five mem-
136 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
bers. During 1904-5 the society erected a church on Mynster street at a
cost, including the lot, of $6,600.
The present president is Geo. Whitebook.
THE COUNCIL BLUFFS HEBREW SOCIETY.
Was organized in 1880 and incorporated in 1882. The first officers were
Benj. Newman, G. H. Mossier, Simon Eisman and others. Their meetings
were in various halls until they purchased Temple Emanuel on North Seventh
street, which they subsequently sold to the Swedish Baptists.
They will hold their meetings this year in Grand Army hall.
Its ritual is the Hebrew Reform.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Rev. Wm. Simpson was sent out by the Methodist Episcopal conference
in 1850, and in "51, in conjunction with Rev. G. G. Rice, Congregationalist,
they rented a room of Isaac Beebe (a Mormon) and proceeded to hold regular
services, alternating in use of the room for a year of so, when Rev. Simpson
was removed to the eastern part of the state and Rev. Moses Shinn was sent
to fill his place. By 1854 the society had become strong enough to build a
small church of their own, and Rev. Goodfellow took charge for a time, and
after him Rev. Todd.
This little church stood on the south side of Pierce street, where the west
part of Hafer's large shop now stands. Mr. Todd was the most popular min-
ister wo had had up to that time and had been very successful in building
up the church. During the winter of 1859-60 they had quite a revival and
sinners of all degrees were invited. Among these was an eccentric character
named Marshall, always called Major. Bayliss, a brother of S. S. Bayliss of
the Pacific House, and a liberal patron of its bar. Pious converts succeeded
after many efforts in getting him out to attend a revival meeting. The ground
in front of the church was somewhat steep, and that night was sleety, and in
coming out he fell and fractured his hip. He said this was the first time
he had been sober for ten years, and if he got over that, he vowed he would
never be sober again, and he came pretty near living up to his resolution.
This little church did duty until the brick on the corner of Broadway and
First supplanted the Ocean Wave. This was built during the pastorate of Rev.
Joseph Knotts, at a cost of $25,000.
During the early days of the church the singing was according to the
old style, being led by one, and the congregation joining. Following Rev.
Knotts came Rev. C. C. Mabie, whose administration was successful in bring-
ing the membership up to one hundred and fifty-five with twenty-three proba-
tioners and a Sunday school of two hundred and twenty-four with a library
of five hundred and seventy-five volume.-. In 1869 S. Guyer was succeeded
by Rev. P. F. Brezee. He was followed by Rev. R. M. Smith, who remained
two years and was succeeded by J. G. Eckles. In 1876 L. M. Walters was
called and served three years. In '79 and '80 Rev. M. D. Collins was in charge,
and in '81 Rev. Brezee was again pastor, followed by Rev. J. Z. Armstrong.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 137
who remained two years. In 1884 Rev. E. D. McCrary became pastor. The
church had grown to the number of two hundred and fifty, a $5,000 parson-
age was built. In 1887 Rev. W. H. W. Resse became pastor, but was made
presiding elder at the close of the year, and in '88 and '89 Rev. D. C. Franklin
became pastor, and it was during his pastorate that a sentiment grew in favor
of building the present church. In 1890 Rev. Franklin was appointed elder
of the Atlantic district and T. McKay Stewart was assigned and during his
pastorate the present large structure was built at a cost of $50,000, and on
May 5, 1892, it was dedicated in the presence of a congregation of 1,500 per-
sons, by Bishop Joice, when $16,000 was raised to apply on indebtedness. From
September, 1892 to '95, H. P. Dudley was pastor, and '95 Rev. J. H. Senseny
was appointed pastor. At this time, 1897, the church had a membership of
four hundred and fifty and a Sunday school of two hundred and fifty and an
active Epworth League.
In the fall of '97 Rev. Waddell succeeded Rev. Senseny, the latter being
made presiding elder of the Des Moines district, and was followed by Rev.
Calfer, who served three years and was followed by Rev. Stratton, who was
compelled to retire at the end of one year on account of sickness.
This brings it up to the pastorate of Rev. Jas. O'May, the present pastor,
and 1907 finds the church with a live membership of five hundred and a Sun-
day school of three hundred.
While in the old brick a good choir was organized with, for a time, a
pretty fair orchestra.
The pipe organ in the present church renders the orchestra unnecessary.
This appears to be the parent church. The mother of the Fifth avenue
and Trinity, besides several missions in city and adjoining territory.
During the week ending September 14 the Des Moines conference held
its meeting here, presided over by Uishop Goodsell. Rev. O'May of Broadway
church is assigned to Crtston. Rev. J. M. Williams succeeds him here. Pre-
siding elder. Council Bluffs district, A. E. Griffith ; Fifth avenue, E. C. New-
land; Epworth, W. L. Holly; Crescent, W. H. Doyle; Neola, E. B. Scrogan;
Oakland, A. J. Mathews ; Walnut, to be supplied ; Trinity, Charles Mayne, are
the assignments.
THE FIFTH AVENUE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
This church has grown from the Overton mission on Fourth avenue and
Sixteenth street, organized in 1888.
The next year the present site on Fifth avenue and Eighteenth street was
secured and a church erected.
This building was remodeled in 1905 under the pastorate of Rev. W. N.
Graves.
The pastors in the order of their pastorates are : S. Alexander, Geo. H.
Bennett, Chas. W. Brewer, A. F. Conrey, J. I. Farley, W. H. Cable, M. T.
Tweedy, G. P. Fry, E. W. Erickson, J. W. Abel, W. N. Graves and Eddy C.
Newland, the present pastor.
138 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
This church is situated in a part 01 the city that is developing rapidly;
the membership numbers two hundred; is a harmonious congregation.
It has a Sunday school numbering two hundred and fifty, under the
leadership of Dr. C. S. Erickson, a most efficient superintendent.
The church also maintains splendid Epwor'th and Junior Leagues under
the leadership of President Edward Owens and Superintendent Clara Smith.
The Ladies' Aid Society is a very valuable help to the church work; its
president is Mrs. Nellie Evans: the church is largely indebted to this society
for its existence.
The Epworth mission at Twenty-sixth street and avenue G has recently
organized as an independent church with the Rev. Mr. Webster as pastor and
has a growing membership and Sunday school.
TRINITY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
In November, 1888, a petition addressed to Rev. W. T. Smith, presiding
elder of the Methodisl Episcopal church, was circulated l»v Mrs. Mattie Witter,
and signed by Lee and Lwenty-four others requesting him to organize them
into a society to be called the Trinity Methodisl Episcopal church of Council
Bluffs, Iowa, and pledging themselves to sustain the doctrine-, usages and
interests of said church.
On Sunday night, December 30, 1888, this list was read to the congre-
gation and a elass was organized by the pastor. Soon after this an annex
to a brick church was built on the southwest corner of Fourth street and
Ninth avenue, which was paid for, and in which services were held until 1899,
when the valu< of the church property was $5,000.
In 1902 the church .-old the lot and so much of the building as was
completed, and erected the church that now stands on the southeast corner
of Ninth avenue and Fourth street, where they haw continued to worship
until the present time.
The church is in a prosperous condition with a membership of one hun-
dred and fifty, and a Sunday school of one hundred.
Rev. Charles Mayne is now on hi- third year as it- pastor.
ST. PAULS EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Was organized by the Rev. Edward Peet, rector of St. Paul's church, Des
Moines. April 17, 185C.
The vestrymen of the parish were: John B. Beers, D. C. Bloomer.
Horace Everett, Adison Cochran. W. C. James, T. P. Tivynor, J. P. Casady,
Samuel Perrin and Geo. W. Dodge.
Bishops Lee and Kemper assisted in completing the organization.
A lot was purchased for the church building in the fall of 1858, the build-
ing of the first church was begun in 1861 and completed in 1863. It seated
one hundred and cost $1,100. In 1867 the church was lengthened twenty-
five feet and two transepts added, doubling the seating capacity. The expense
of this enlargement was $3,000.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 139
In 1876 a lot for a rectory was purchased and a rectory built on it at
a cost of $1,700 in the following year. In 1880 another lot was purchased.
In 1884 the building of the stone church was begun and was completed
in 1886 at a cost of $40,000, with a seating capacity of four hundred and
fifty.
The following is a list of the rectors:
April 17, '56, Rev. Edward Peet ; from January, '57 to June, '61, Rev.
Geo. W. Watson; from December 25, '62 to April 17, '65, Rev. Faber Billsby;
from June, '65 to June 30, John Chamberlain ; from '71 to '75, Theophilus
J. Brookes; from Easter, 1875 to 1882, F. T. Webb; from January 15 to July
1, 1891; T. J. Mackey; from July 23, 1891, to April 1, 1895, E. J. Babcock:
April 1, 1895 to November 20, 1898, L. P. McDonald; from February 1, 1899
to October, 1903, G. E. Walk; from March 1, 1904, Homer Worthington Starr,
being rector at this writing (1907).
The parish began in 1856 with five communicant members.
In 1907 it has three hundred and seventy-five; two hundred pupils in the
Sunday school, four hundred and thirty confirmed persons, five hundred
and forty-three baptized persons and six hundred and one individuals con-
nected with the parish.
LUTHERAN CHURCH.
This church has organizations among our people of four different nation-
alities, viz., English, German, Swedish and Danish.
That of the English was organized in August, 1891. In 1896 they built
the church on the southeast corner of Willow avenue and Seventh street.
This is known as St. John's Lutheran church, and at this writing has a
membership of one hundred and ten and Sunday school of as many children.
Rev. George Snyder is the pastor.
St. Paul's German Lutheran church at No. 627 Seventh avenue was
organized in October, 1881 and for a time rented rooms in which to hold
their meetings, until 1892, when they erected the building they now occupy.
Their first pastor was Rev. A. Detzer. It now has one hundred and forty-six
communicants and a flourishing Sunday school.
Rev. J. H. Lindemeyer is the pastor.
The Danish Lutheran church was organized in 1871, and consisted of
the Rev. PL Hansen and one man, a Mr. Newman.
From this small beginning it has grown to a membership of three hun-
dred at the present time, with a prosperous Sunday school and a mission on
Nineteenth avenue, and also on East Broadway, where weekly services are
held and Sunday schools established.
Rev. Jens P. Heede is the pastor. This church is situated on the south-
east corner of Ninth and Mynster streets.
The Swedish Lutheran church, situated on the southwest corner of
Seventh and Mill streets, was organized November 12, 1890, with twelve
140 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
members, Rev. C. E. Elving of Omaha serving as first pastor. The church
prospered and the following year the pretty church and parsonage were
built, the lot and buildings being of the value of $10,000. It has one hundred
and twenty communicants, a Sunday school, Ladies' Aid Society, Luther
League and a fine church choir. B. N. Glim is the present pastor; trustees,
Otto Applequist, Carl Olson, Oscar Swanson and B. A. Olson.
The Swedish Baptist church was organized in 1893. The church build-
ing now occupied by it was originally built by a German Methodist society
and by them sold to a Jewish organization and used for a time as their
synagogue, and finally sold by them to the present owners. The church is
small, numbering only forty-two communicants, with a Sunday school of
thirty-five scholars. Both of these, however, are growing.
Rev. G. D. Forssell is the present pastor.
The Danish Baptist church is situated on the northeast corner of Seventh
street and Seventh avenue, was organized in 1876.
The church was built in 1885. Like most of our churches its growth has
been slow. There being but one hundred communicantej with a Sunday
school of one hundred and twenty-five. H. A. Richenbach is the present
pastor.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE IN COUNCIL BLUFFS.
The introduction of Christian Science into Council Bluffs was by Mrs.
E. B. Fenn of Omaha in the autumn of 1885. Mrs. Fcnn had taken a course
of instruction of Mr-. Mary Baker G. Eddy, discoverer of Christian Science
and founder of the Christian Science church, and by request bad come to
Council Bluffs to give Christian Science treatment to invalids who had failed
to find health and healing by material means, and who. having heard of this
new-old way, desired to test its healing power.
hi the spring of 1886 Mrs. Jeannette D. Coleman of Boston, came by
invitation to organize a class for the systematic study of Christian Science
with its text book, "Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures," by Man-
Baker G. Eddy.
There were eight members of this first class, prominent among whom
were Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Filbert and Mrs. Mary D. Porterfield, who afterward
studied under Mrs. Eddy as teacher, going through both primary and normal
classes in Massachusetts Metaphysical College, located in Boston, and who
later taught classes in Council Bluffs.
During the following year Mrs. Fenn taught a second class which
included several persons prominent in Council Bluffs circles.
During several years and before the organization of a church proper,
meetings for study and divine service were held in the homes of those inter-
ested in Christian Science. Later on, religious services were held on the
Sabbath in what is known as the Brown block on Pearl street. These services
were conducted by Mrs. Al. Freddie Delong of Omaha, and other students of
Mrs. Eddy, giving a short address on Christian Science.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 141
In the year 1895 the present form of worship was instituted by Mrs.
Eddy for all churches of this denomination and adopted by the Council
, Bluffs society.
This service consists of silent prayer followed by audible repetition of the
Lord's Prayer by the congregation, the singing of hymns and reading pas-
sages of the Scriptures and Science and Health alternately. It was not until
June. 1899 that a church was formally organized and chartered with thirty-
one members, an upper room was leased in the Sapp block on the corner of
Broadway and Scott streets for the meetings of the new church, and here for
several years the little flock met every Sunday morning and Wednesday even-
ing.
At the semiannual communion season new members were added from
time to time until the church numbered in 1902 seventy members.
In the summer of this year a second church was organized which con-
tinued a separate existence until January, 1907, when the two organizations
united in one under the name of First Church of Christ, Scientist, of Council
Bluffs.
It was soon found that the former places of meeting were inadequate
for the larger organization, and the spacious auditorium of the Carnegie
Library was secured until the church is able to erect its own house of worship,
which it hopes to do in the near future.
As a part of the missionary work this church has undertaken a free read-
ing room where Christian Science literature of all kinds is kept for sale, for
reference, and for free distribution.
This room is kept open every afternoon except Sunday, with someone
in attendance, and visitors are always welcome.
For this brief history we are indebted to Mrs. Helen C. Montgomery,
who, in introducing the subject says, "Every new movement of consequence
is more or less an invasion, or at least an innovation, hence it is interesting to
trace the causes which led to it, and its trend.
"It might be likeDed to the mustard seed which is said to be the smallest
of all seeds, and yet grew to be the greatest of all herbs. Whether this proves
true of the Christian Science faith in Council Bluffs, the future alone will
determine.
"Tt may certainly be likened to the seed sown on good ground, for it
speedily took root, and in due time brought forth its thirty, sixty, and it
may yet be an hundred fold, for the harvest is not yet ended.
"It. has at least stood the test given by the great founder of the Christian
religion, twenty centuries ago :
" 'Every plant which my Father has not planted shall be rooted up.' "
THE JENNIE EDMONDSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.
"Tall oaks from little acorns grow."
The little acorn from which the Women's Christian Association Hos-
pital has grown, was planted by five Christian women calling themselves the
"Faith Band," and consecrating themselves to any Christian work into which
the Heavenly Father might lead them.
142 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
The first meeting of the Faith Band occurred in the parlors of the First
Baptist church in May, 1884, after the close of a district convention of the
Young Men's Christian Association, and in the following month the organi-
zation now known as the Women's Christian Association of Council Bluffs
was projected into being, growing into completeness as the months passed by.
It began with prayers and this has been always its resource and its recourse.
The first definite object mentioned after permanent organization was
effected, was a cottage hospital, but lacking unity of purpose and perhaps
faith to ask the needed help for such an undertaking, the project was tem^
porarily abandoned, and evangelistic and charitable work among the poor of
the city was substituted. This was for two years carried on with much benefit
to the donors as well as the recipient-. Among the members of the Faith
Band was Mrs. Dr. Green, always full of love for her kind and devotion to
her Savior, and has passed to her reward.
Miss Laura Cole was an early member who served for two years as
treasurer. She too has been called to the higher life.
In the autumn of '84 and '85 systematic visits among the poor and the
dispensing of charity was carried on and brought new revelations of human
life to many who had heretofore seen only its sunny side. On Christmas
day of 1884 an entertainment was given at the Baptist church through means
of which about three hundred women and children were presented with
clothing, books and toys. Some of the Sunday schools that year gave,
instead of receiving presents, exemplifying tin- truth that it is more blessed
to give than to receive.
The result of this entertainment was a central mission Sunday school
that for nearly a year distributed weekly to the most ignorant and neglected
of the city the bread of life.
Out of this grew a sewing school for poor girls where they were not
only taught the art of making garments, bul also provided with wholesome
clothing.
This was in operation for three years until it gave way to the larger work
of the hospital.
In August, 1886, the plan of opening a cottage hospital again engaged
the attention of the association, but it was not until November of that year
that decisive action was taken which resulted in the renting of a small cot-
tage in the northern pari of the city and opening it for hospital purposes.
This was named the Cottage Home Hospital.
At this time the association was given the collection from the union
Thanksgiving service, a custom which has since that time been yearly observed,
and for which the members feel grateful not only to the pastors but also to
the public. As the work became better known, donations came from various
60urces from the charitably inclined, donations of fruit, vegetables, furniture,
etc. In this the Sunday schools and the public schools as well as individuals
and churches have nobly borne a part. Their names cannot be given in this
history, but their gifts are recorded. The hospital, while it never refused to
shelter the impecunious, was not designed to be exclusively a charitable insti-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 143
tution, but requires those who are able to pay for their accommodation to do
so.
In April, 1887, basket donations were solicited from ladies of means in
the city, to the value of two or three dollars each, to supply the larder of the
hospital, which has ever since proved an efficient aid to supplying the table.
Mention should be made of Mrs. 0. M. Brown, who became a member this
year, and until her decease was a faithful and untiring worker. In June,
1890, she too passed within the veil.
In the autumn of '87, finding the cottage too small the association leased
the brick residence known as the McMahon place, situated on (he corner of
Sixth avenue and Ninth street, and moved all their appurtenances into these
more commodious quarters, and three years later the property was purchased
for the sum of $4,200 and remodeled to suit the purpose for which it was
intended. A steam heating plant was introduced which, with other improve-
ments and repairs made, cost the sum of $2,634, making the debt at that
time $6,834.
The society was incorporated under the laws of Iowa on the 20th day of
July, 1886 by the following named persons signing the articles of incorpora-
tion: viz., Josephine Allen, Mary G. Green. Laura M. Cole, Perris Stacy, Caro-
line A. Day, Helen E. Sealy, Angela Shugart, Anna B. Phelps and Angeline
H. Peak.
The officers elected for the first year were as follows: President, Josephine
Allen; vice-presidents, Mary G. Green, Helen E. Sealy, Perris Stacy, Caroline
A. Day and Amelia Bloomer; recording secretary, Mary G. Green; corre-
sponding secretary, Helen Montgomery ; treasurer, Lydia B. Atkins ; trustees,
Anna B. Phelps, Angela R. Shugart, Sarah E. Tulleys, Mattie E. Gaylord,
Laura M. Cole, Minta Gaines and Angeline H. Peak.
In 1898 the association received a substantial donation from the late
Mrs. Sarah J. Ballard, being $10,000 in money and property, which was
sold for $10,115. This enabled them to add largely to their facilities for
carrying on the good work, and in recognition, the board has endowed a room
and two beds in perpetuity, preference to be given to old ladies without means.
In June, 1905 the association accepted a loan of Mr. J. D. Edmondson
of $40,000, at five per cent interest during his lifetime and at his death the prin-
cipal is to become the property of the association, thus making it largely a dona-
tion. By this agreement, while the property remains in possession of the
association, it will be hereafter known as the Jennie Edmondson Memorial
Hospital, and two rooms are endowed, and a tablet placed to perpetuate the
memory of the first wife of the benefactor.
On receipt of this assistance the board proceeded to look up a suitable
location and decided on a beautiful location on East Pierce street known as
the Bock property, and having agreed upon the plans, commenced active
operation on the new building, which was rapidly pushed to completion, and
on the 12th of February, 1907, possession was taken, since which time the
association finds its self installed in a beautiful three-story fire-proof build-
ing with sixty-two rooms exclusive of bath and store rooms, with all the modern
144 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
appliances required for conducting the same, and in which lighting, heating
and ventilation have received the fullest consideration.
A training school for nurses has also been established in which thirty-
seven have been graduated.
The salaried employes, including superintendent, number thirteen. The
building has a capacity for comfortably caring for seventy-five patients and
in case it became necessary, could care for one hundred.
The directors for 1907 are: President, Mrs. R. M. Sprague; vice-presi-
dent, Mrs. Clem Kimball ; recording secretary, Mrs. M. C. Gaines ; correspond-,
ing secretary, Mrs. Mary E. Thomas; auditors, Mrs. 0. H. Lucas and Mrs.
J. B. Atkins, Mrs. M. F. Rohrer, Mis. W. W. Wallace, Mrs. G. H. Richmond
and Mrs. J. H. Carse.
The grounds are large and so situated as not to be in danger of being
crowded in the future and with abundance of room that may be needed
for enlargement of present buildings, or building additional ones.
THE CHRISTIAN HOME ORPHANAGE.
Inaugurated in 1882; incorporated in 1883.
Those who are skeptical as to the Bible story of the prophet being fed
by ravens, should visit the abore named institution.
In the fall of 1882 Rev. J. G. Lemen, then pastor of the First Baptist
church of Council Bluffs, organized a department in connection with his
church work to give aid to the poor of the city.
It soon became known, and children were brought to him even as they
were to another person some nineteen centuries ago, and if he did not claim
to bless, he fed and clothed them.
Himself poor, he struggled on often far into the night, but always found
a way to meet the emergency. Children continued to come, and the work grew
until it encroached upon the time he owed to his pastoral duties. At this
point, he claimed, God's hand appeared, and the decision was made for him,
not by him. He gave up his pastoral work and devoted his whole time, and
that of his family, to the work of saving destitute and afflicted children. His *
house being too small he rented others, having faith that the Lord would put
it into the hearts of the people to sustain him.
At times he did not know where the next day's food was to come from,
but it came. More room was needed as the children continued to come, more
houses were rented and help employed and the money came to pay for them.
Hundreds of our citizens had no conception of what he was accomplishing, so
quietly was the work progressing. A chapel was needed and piny grounds,
these also were provided as well as schools, and the ravens continued to come.
If a child was feeble or crippled it had special care.
Year after year it continued to grow, but the constant strain was wear-
ing the faithful pair away. On September 10, 1902, Mrs. Florence J. Lemen,
the devoted wife, passed away, but the founder worked on, makinc improve-
ments and adding to and enlarging its grounds for two years more, when his
Father called him October 6, 1904.
- HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 145
Then people wondered what would become of it.
The ravens came in flocks.
H. R. Lemen, son of the founder, took up the orphan's burden where
the father had laid it down. Large, substantial buildings with all modern
improvements have supplanted the old frames, a department has been added
for aged and dependent women, also for deformed and afflicted children.
Ample playgrounds for both sexes provided. The grounds adorned with trees
and flowers, and in all its arrangements it will compare favorably with any
of the benevolent institutions of the state.
Its property is valued at $275,000. Five thousand helpless children
have passed through it to comfortable homes.
And still the ravens come.
THE GOOD SAMARITAN SANITARIUM AND
MATERNITY HOME.
Dr. G. W. Pangle, Founder.
After practicing medicine thirty years in this city, in 1900 he founded
the above named institution at No. 723 First avenue, where he makes a spe-
cialty of treating women, and providing homes for infants born within the
institution. It is not conducted strictly as a benevolent institution, as all pa-
tients that are able are expected to pay for treatment and care, the same as is
customary in general hospitals. The great increase in his practice required more
room and greater facilities and during this year he purchased the entire block
known as the Foster Flats, where he is prepared to receive all of the afflicted
that apply.
ST. BERNARD'S HOSPITAL.
It is doubtful if any city of its size is better provided with benevolent
institutions than Council Bluffs. All of these have started from small begin-
nings. Among these is the St. Bernard's Hospital.
In the fall of 1887 two Sisters of Mercy arrived in Council Bluffs to
establish an institution for the relief of suffering and helpless humanity, and
as a result of their efforts St. Bernard's Hospital was founded on September
24, 1887, having procured the Hanthorn residence on Fourth street. In a
short time this building was too small and in May, 1888, they bought the
beautiful residence of Conrad Giese. This was a two-story house of seventeen
rooms which were used for hospital purposes until 1890, when the east wing
of the building was constructed for an insane ward. From this time on the
institution has experienced a constant growth until at this time there are
insane patients from several Iowa counties and private patients from nearly
every state in the Union.
In the year 1896 the sisters erected an additional wing. This is one
hundred by sixty feet, three stories high with finished basement, and fur-
nishes the equipment of a complete hospital service. The rooms and wards
are all high, light and perfectly heated and ventilated, and are arranged
according to the most approved plans of hospital architecture.
146 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
This is situated on a commanding eminence overlooking a large part
of the city, but not so high as to render it difficult of access. St. Bernard's
Hospital is now devoted exclusively to the care of the insane and nervous
patients and has the capacity for the comfortable care of two hundred and fifty.
Just across Frank, and fronting on Harmony street, stands the Mercy
Hospital. Although entirely detached, it is under the same management and
warmed and ventilated from the same plant. It is four stories high and has
all the modern appliances for heating, lighting and ventilating and is abso-
lutely fire-proof and provided with fire escapes from every floor. All the rooms"
are light and airy, and finished in hard maple except operating rooms and
lavatories which are of white tile.
This was built during 1901-02, and on the 19th of January, 1903,
twenty-four convalescents were removed from St. Bernard's Hospital to Mercy,
and the first meals were served in the new building. The first mass was said
on January 23, and the public opening was held on May 24, 1903.
The building contains one hundred and eighteen rooms and will accommo-
date one hundred and fifty patients.
In connection with the hospital there is a training school for nurses,
where young ladies can pursue their course of studies with assurance of
good instruction and opportunity to acquire experience which is so necessary
to all well trained nurses.
ST. MARY'S HOME FOR YOUNG LADIES.
The sisters also purchased the Wheeler residence on the corner of Har-
mony and Baughn streets, and fitted it up for a home for young ladies who
find it necessary to be employed away from home, and as a refuge for respect-
able young women who are seeking employment. It is a three-story structure
and thoroughly equipped for the care of girls. It is in every respeci a home
with all its comforts and protection. The ourses al Mercj Hospital have their
quarters at the home and at the present date it accommodates fifty boarders.
In August, 1905, the Sisters of Mercy purchased the Gilbert property on
Upper Broadway consisting of about ten acres of lawn and forest in order to
establish a home for the aged where they may retire in quiet after becoming
too old and infirm to continue the struggle and storms of the outside world
and end their days in peace.
At present it will accommodate but a limited number of people but the
sisters propose to build an addition this fall.
This place is known as Mt. Loretto. The sisters also intend to open a
seminary for small boys on the grounds near Mt. Loretto. The plans are
out and contracts have been let and they expect to build the coming fall.
The money already invested in the grounds, buildings and equipments
amounts to $250,000.
THE CRECHE.
The most beautiful object in all the world is ;i healthy, well cared for, joy-
ful child. The most pathetic is a negleoted, forsaken, helpless and afflicted
one, but such there are all around us. Id this heaven favored community the
hitler urc but few; there should be none.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 147
In the constant struggle for existence the weakest are trampled down and
unless assisted most perish, and all honor to the noble women who have banded
themselves together in this blessed effort to "rescue the perishing."
This is the mission of the Creche established by a society of ladies under
the style of the Associated Charities of Council Bluffs and incorporated in
January, 1901, with the following list of officers: President, Mrs. Jacob
Simms; vice-president. .Mrs. Lewis Cutler; corresponding secretary, Mrs. C. A.
Wiley; recording secretary. Mrs. F. T. True; treasurer, Miss Maud Smith;
auditor, Mrs. Fred Johnson; assistant auditor. Mrs. W. E. Dawson; attorney,
Miss Caroline Dodge; superintendent of Creche, Mrs. Caroline Johnson; his-
torian, Mrs. G. W. Snyder; with the following list of trustees — Mrs. J. P. Hess,
W. M. Frederick, H. A. Ballinger, W. Runyan, Chas. Parmelee, F. H. Hill,
F. W. Miller, Geo. Phelps, J. P. Greenshields, S. T. McAttee, Horace Everett,
Geo. Allingham, Miss Caroline Dodge, Mrs. N. J. Swanson, Ellen Wyman and
Mrs. Geo. Camp.
The paramount object of this institution is earing for deserted wives and
children, the unfortunate girl and the waif. By taking the children to the
institution and getting employment for parents that will enable them to pay a
small sum for their keeping.
Like nearly all benevolent institutions it commences in weakness and
trusting in the generosity of their fellow-citizens for assistance.
Already substantial aid has been rendered by one of our wealthy citizens
which has enabled them to purchase an ideal place on East Pierce street with
large well shaded grounds which have been put in condition to receive the lit-
tle guests, thirty-three of whom are now comfortably domiciled here. No bet-
ter site could have been selected, and with the assistance already rendered, and
the known generosity of our citizens its success for the future appears assured.
THE IOWA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF.
Although the history of the above named institution has no connection
with Pottawattamie county previous to 1866, it seems but proper to start from
its inception and follow it up to the present time. In this we are indebted to the
present superintendent, Mr. Henry W. Rothert.
Shortly after the admission of Iowa as a state small appropriations were
occasionally made by the legislature to pay for scholarships for Iowa children
attending schools hi other states.
It was not until a private school was organized in Iowa City by W. E.
Ijams that a part of the public funds was directed towards establishing an
Iowa institution. This private school received for a time a small pecuniary
assistance from the state until January, 1855, when an act was passed estab-
lishing the Iowa institution for the education of the deaf and dumb, and ap-
proved by the governor.
Under the provisions of this act providing means to support and maintain
this institution the general management was intrusted to a board of trustees
consisting of the governor, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruc-
tion, and four others elected by the general assembly.
148 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
The board of trustees so appointed and chosen consisted of Hon. James
W. Grimes, governor; Hon. G. W. McCleary, secretary of state; Hon. J. D.
Eads, superintendent of public instruction; John C. Culbertson, Rev. F. A.
Shearer and William Crum.
One of the first official acts of this board was to absorb the private school
of Mr. Ijams with his twenty pupils, appointing him principal, Mrs. Ijams
matron, and Mr. Perry Barns teacher, and the state institution, afterward to
be known as the School for the Deaf, was duly founded.
The school grew rapidly, the building became inadequate, and another
one was rented to accommodate the increasing number of pupils. The $10,-
000 appropriated for the equipment and support of the young institution was
exhausted at the end of the biennial period, and the succeeding general as-
sembly in 1857 appropriated $7,000 for its continued support. This was fol-
lowed by an appropriation of $8,000 annually for ihe years 1858 and 1859.
Liberal as these acts of the general assembly might seem to be, yet, under the
most careful management deficiencies at the end of the term appeared and ap-
plicants were denied admission. At this time the school numbered fifty-nine
pupils.
This unfortunate condition continued for several years, under the strain
of which Mr. Ijams' health failed, compelling his resignation.
At the beginning of the term of 1863 Mr. Benjamin Talbot, a former
teacher in the Ohio School for the Deaf, was placed in charge. Each year
showed an increase in the number of pupils. The necessity for better accom-
modation and larger facilities becoming more and more apparent, on the third
day of April, 1866, the general assembly passed an act by the terms of which
the institution was removed to or near Council Bluffs. A commission consist-
ing of Thos. Officer, Caleb Baldwin and E. Honn was created and empowered
to select a permament location, invite plans and receive proposals for the erec-
tion of the buildings. One hundred and sixty acres were selected, plans were
submitted by different architects and after adopting one that appeared the
most acceptable, hid- were asked for and received. The matter was then re-
ferred to the general assembly with a recommendation that $300,000 be ap-
propriated to carry out the suggestions as made by the commission. This was
approved only to the extent of an appropriation for the erection of the center
and one wing of the main building, and the commission was authorized to
proceed with the erection of the same.
From this time on the institution seemed destined to come up through
tribulation. Defects in plans were encountered and changes were made, faulty
construction was charged, as well as inferior material, time had to be extended,
and it was not until December 1, 1870, that the pupils could enter their new but
not very comfortable home. The center building of five stories and one wing
of four were erected on an appropriation of $125,000.
In 1876 the general assembly provided for the erection and completion
of the other or west wing, but before this was completed a fire on the 25th of
February, 1877, nearly destroyed the center and east wing, and rendered what
had been imperfectly done uninhabitable and useless. Some of the children
were sent to their homes, while some were provided for in an industrial school
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY L49
building erected in 1868, on the east side of the grounds. The west wing was
being pushed forward with energy when in August a tornado destroyed a
large part of the work done, so that the fall school could admit but a limited
number of pupils.
In the following year Mr. Talbot resigned as superintendent and was suc-
ceeded by Mr. Moses Folsom of Chariton, Iowa. During the two years of Mr.
Folsom's administration the center building was rebuilt and the educational
facilities increased by the addition of a printing office, affording pupils the ad-
vantage of learning this remunerative trade.
Mr. Folsom resigned in 1880 and Rev. Alonzo Rogers, of Glenwood,
Iowa, was appointed to fill the vacancy. During his administration the east
wing was rebuilt, thus completing the main building. Improvement was made
in surroundings and school rooms, thus placing the institution in a position
to fulfill the mission for which it was erected and maintained. Mr. Rogers
resigned in August, 1883, and was followed by Mr. H. C. Hammond, who was
at the time superintendent of the Arkansas School for the Deaf. Mr. Ham-
mond was an executive, as well as teacher, and during his administration a
twenty-room schoolhouse, chapel and dining room were added, and the water
supply improved by sinking an artesian well eleven hundred feet deep. This
affords an ample supply of excellent water and superseded the old arrangement
of cisterns filled by pumping water from Mosquito creek.
After three years' service Mr. Hammond severed his connection with the
school, and was succeeded by Mr. G. L. Wycoff, who had been a teacher of
the deaf in the Iowa and other schools.
Mr. Wycoff filled the position but one year, the position being tendered
and accepted by Mr. Henry W. Rothert, the present incumbent, in 1887. At
this time it was thought best to create a new office, that of principal of the
school, to which Mr. Wycoff was called, and who should be directly responsi-
ble to the board of trustees, while the superintendent was intrusted with the
general management, looking after its material and financial welfare. This
dual arrangement was changed by an act creating the board of control of state
institutions, and providing that there should be but one chief officer, recog-
nized in the person of the superintendent.
Notwithstanding the ordeal the school has passed through by tornado
and fire, its growth has been continuous. Workshops have been added, a
chapel and hospital built, sewerage constructed, and all modern improvements
and conveniences provided, and the grounds constantly improved.
After a period of prosperity, on the eleventh day of August, 1892, a fire,
the cause of which could not be learned, destroyed a two-story building in the
rear of the kitchen, containing the laundry and ironing room, and damaged
the engine, dynamo and boilers to the extent of $15,000. This loss was speed-
ily repaired and it seemed as though it had suffered enough, but in a little lesa
than ten years it was doomed to pass through the severest ordeal of all. On
the 9th of May, 1902, the entire main building and part of the chapel and
pupils' dining room were entirely destroyed by fire. It is a matter of congratu-
lation that notwithstanding the great pecuniary loss, not a child was hurt, nor
did a pupil lose a meal or an hour's study. The remaining buildings were
150 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
utilized, temporary schoolhouses built, until in 1906 the ruins were replaced
by better and more commodious buildings than before.
This structure cost $250,000, to which was added a fire-proof hospital,
costing $30,000, also a new powerhouse and laundry costing $60,000. Grounds
have been graded and farm buildings erected at a cost of $8,000.
Many people still call this the deaf and dumb asylum and consider it a
benevolent institution. This is all wrong. It is simply a large public school,
the pupils of which require teachers specially qualified.
Neither are the pupils subjects of charity. They have the same right to-
a public school education as all others. The course of study is substantially
the same as that in our primary, graded, and high schools, to which is added
trades adapted to both sexes, the full intent of which is to fit them for inde-
pendent and intelligent citizenship.
The name as fixed by the general assembly is simply the Iowa School for
the Deaf.
The institution as now constituted represents a money value of over a
half million dollars.
The number of pupils at this writing (October, 1907) is two hundred and
sixty.
THE WESTERN IOWA COLLEGE.
This institution was established in 1884 and commenced business in the
Shugart block.
It is strictly a business school, its aim being to equip young men and
women to fill satisfactorily to themselves and their employers any position
of a clerical nature that may be open to them.
The officials and instructors are as follows:
E. P. Miller — President and business manager, instructor in penmanship
and correspondence.
Charles Benson — Vice-president, principal of business department and
instructor in bookkeeping, banking, commercial law and arithmetic.
Catharine L. Miller — Secretary and treasurer, superintendent of short-
hand, office practice department.
Alice A. Benson — Principal .shorthand department, and instructor in
shorthand and touch typewriting.
Mrs. W. L. Baker — Principal normal department, and special instructor
in English sciences and didactics.
After some years more room was required for its increasing business and
the institution was moved to the Masonic Temple and on completion of the
Public Library building the college secured the rooms vacated by that asso-
ciation in the Merriam block, where it is established at the present writing, with
ample room for its three hundred students, it became incorporated in 1906,
with capital of $10,000.
OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Next to the home, the public school is the most sacred institution in our
land. It is the ground floor on which our children can assemble without
money and without price and receive instruction fitting them for the every-
THE POSTOFFICE, COUNCIL BLUFFS.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 153
day duties of life, as well as to prepare such as desire, for the college and uni-
versity.
The church, the Sunday school and the home are the proper places for
religious instruction, and there is no danger of their receiving too much of it
there, but here is, and should be, neutral ground on which all can be taught,
unvexed by creeds and dogmas that have perplexed older heads for centuries.
Here the young mind can expand, and outgrow bigotry and superstition that
in times past have led up to persecution, even to the rack, stake and faggot.
Such is the present condition of our public schools today, and as such we
are proud of them.
The following is a list of those of the independent district of Council
Bluffs, with number of rooms and seating capacity.
Seating
Rooms. Capacity.
Bloomer 12 600
Avenue B 12 600
Harrison Street 4 200
Eighth Avenue 4 200
Pierce Street 12 600
Third Street 8 400
Washington Avenue 19 950
Eighth Street 8 400
Twentieth Avenue 12 600
Second Avenue 10 500
Madison Avenue 4 200
Thirty-Second Street 8 400
West Council Bluffs 2 100
High School 12 600
These being filled, as the secretary reports, gives 6,350. This, with the
500 in the two parochial, the commercial, and Christian Home, gives
us 6,850, and still many are not attending. Some of which are at work and
some playing truant, as the state census of 1906 gives Council Bluffs 8,338 of
school age.
These require the services of a superintendent and one hundred and fifty
teachers,- including specialists and substitutes.
The pay of teachers in the grades is from $40 to $70 per month. High
school from $75 to $133. Principals from $80 to $112. Superintendent
$2,600 per year.
The board of education is constituted as follows : President, Emmet Tin-
ley, J. P. Hess, F. J. Shugart, N. P. Anderson, J. A. Schoodsack, G. S. Elliott
and W. H. Killpack.
Secretary — D. L. Ross.
Treasurer — Geo. S. Davis.
154 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
BLUFF CITY LODGE FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS.
June 8, 1855, dispensation was issued by A. R. Cotton, grand master, as-
sisted by T. S. Brown, grand secretary of Grand Lodge of Iowa, A. F. and A.
M., to L. L. Bowen, P. J. McMabon, S. H. Riddle, A. Y. Larimer, W. C. James,
Wm. Clancy, L. W. Williams, Samuel Knepper, Rufus Beall and J. C. Fargo,
to form and open a lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Council
Bluffs, by the name of Bluff City Lodge, and appointing L. L. Bowen. W. M. :
P. J. McMahon, S. W., and Samuel Riddle, J. W.
July 21, 1855, the first lodge meeting was held. June 4. 1856, charter was
issued by Grand Lodge of Iowa, A. F. and A. M.. to Bluff City Lodge No. 71,
A. F. and A. M., signed by John F. Sanford, grand master, and T. S. Brown,
grand secretary.
December 6, 1856, twenty Master Mason? residing in Omaha, Nebraska
territory, exemplified the work in Bluff City Lodge No. 71, A. F. and A. M..
and asked for, and received a recommendation to form a capital lodge at Oma-
ha, Nebraska.
May 5, 1860, a resolution presented at a former meeting to surrender the
charter of the lodge was voted on and carried in the negative.
January 23, 1869, Geo. W. Lininger and other brethren exemplified the
work and received the recommendation to form Excelsior Lodge in Council
Bluffs.
The cornerstone of the .Masonic Temple was laid by Geo. B. Vansaun,
grand master of Iowa, October, 1883. The lodge held its first meeting in Ma-
sonic Temple December 16, 1884.
December, 1905, Masonic bodies bought Masonic Temple and made sub-
stantial improvements, including installing an elevator.
Present membership (1907) is 250.
Officers of Bluff City Lodge. September 1. 1907, are as follow?:
D. E. Stuart. W. M.; J. G. Wadsworth, S. W.; Geo. E. Williamson. J. W.;
H. W. Binder, treasurer: G. W. Lipe, secretary: H. E. Doolittle, S. D.; T. B.
Lacy, J. D.; J. M. Morrow. S. s. : G. H. Nicoll, J. S.; C. A. Bailey, tyler.
June, 1860, Thos. H. Benton, Jr., of Council Bluffs, was elected grand
master of the Grand Lodge of Iowa.
June, 1893, Thos. B. Lacy was elected J. (J. warden Grand Lodge of
Iowa.
June, 1898, G. W. Lipe was elected J. <;. W. Grand Lodge of Iowa.
IYANHOE COMMANDERY NO. 17. K T.
Charter was granted October 17, 1871.
Officers: C. E. Walters, commander; R. C. Peregoy, generalissimo; S. F.
Shuart, captain general; G. W. Lipe, senior warden; C. W. Perdum, junior
warden: W. S. Baird, prelate: C. Konigmacher. treasurer; <'. II. Jackson,
recorder; E. E. Smith, standard bearer; J. E. Lundine. -word bearer; W. E.
McConnell, warder; J. Anderson, sentinel. Finance committee- * '. E. Wal-
ters, R. C. Peregoy ami S. ]•'. Shuart. Past commanders — T. B. Lacy, F. J.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 155
Pierce, G. W. Lipe, Geo. H. Jackson, V. Jennings, H. W. Binder, C. M. Hart,
P. H. Wind and J. C. Mitchell. Past grand officer— T. B. Lacy, P. G. com-
mander. Membership, 87.
STAR CHAPTER NO. 47, R. A. M.
Organized July 5, 1869.
Officers: F. J. Pierce, M. E. H. priest; <i. H. Nicoll, E. king; \Y. H.
Miller, E. scribe; C. E. Price, treasurer; G. H. Jackson, secretary; J. C. Mad-
sen, captain host; G. W. Lipe, principal sojourner; J. E. Lundine, R. A. C;
P. H. Wind, M. third vail ; G. E. Gould, M. second vail ; H. E. Doolittle, M.
first vail ; J. Anderson, guard. Finance committee — F. J. Pierce, G. H. Nicoll,
W. H. Miller. Past high priests— P. H. Wind, A. McMillen, T. B. Lacy, H.
W. Binder, C. Konigmacher, J. C. Mitchell, C. M. Hart, G. W. Lipe, J. C. Mad-
sen and C. E. Walters. Past grand officer — T. B. Lacy. Membership, 119.
JOPPA COUNCIL NO. 15, ROYAL AND SELECT MASTERS.
Date of charter October 8, 1902.
Officers: F. J. Pierce, T. I. M.; C. E. Walters, D. M.: P. H. Wind, P. C.
W. ; E. Kretchmer, treasurer; G. E. Jackson, recorder; G. W. Lipe, captain
guard; A. McMullen, C. of C. ; H. V. Battey, steward; J. Anderson, sentinel.
Finance committee — F. J. Pierce, C. E. Walters and P. H. Wind. Past T. I.
masters — Thos. B. Lacy, G. W. Lipe and F. J. Pierce. Membership, 51.
HARMONY CHAPTER NO. 25, O. E. S.
Organized December 21, 1878.
Officers: Mrs. Blanch Killpack, worthy matron; W. H. Killpack, worthy
patron; Miss Crystal Dingle, associate matron; Emma G. Potter, secre-
tary; Mrs. Jennette Ott, treasurer; Miss Jesse Caldwell, conductress; Miss
Blanche Arkwright, conductress; Miss Blanche Arkwright, A. conductress;
Mrs. Carrie Van Fossen, Adah; Mrs. Emeline Williams, Esther; Mrs. Helen
M. Wheeler, Martha; Mrs. Lillie Cook. Electra; Mrs. Barbara Tucker, warder;
J. Anderson, sentinel; Mrs. Mattie E. Witter, chaplain; Mrs. Esta M. Conrad,
marshal ; Mrs. Clara Williams, organist. Past matrons of Harmony Chapter —
Mrs. Lizzie Huntington. Mrs. Maria Jackson, Mrs. M. Duquette, Mrs. Jennie
P. Gray, Mrs. Ada Morgan, Miss Emma G. Potter, Mrs. Harriett Stevenson,
Mrs. Barbara Tucker, Mrs. Charles E. Walters and Mi's. Jennie Wilkins.
Past patrons of Harmony Chapter — Ephraim Huntington, Wm. Highsmith,
G. H. Jackson, Chas. E. Walters, Peter H. Wind and Andrew McMillen.
Finance committee — Geo. H. Jackson and Mrs. Harriet Stephenson. Relief
committee — Miss Maggie McMillen, Mrs. L. M. Shubert, 0. J. McManus. Past
grand officers — Mrs. Maria Jackson, P. G. matron ; G. H. Jackson, P. G. patron ;
Emma Potter, P. G. Ruth. Membership, 170.
156 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
EXCELSIOR LODGE NO. 259, A. F. and A. M.
Dispensation was granted February 1, 1869. Chartered June 2, 1869, with
the following charter members: G. W. Lininger, T. A. Megath, J. Lyman,
P. J. McMahon, B. Newman, W. J. Brainard, Leech Clark, Thos. J. Evans,
Richard Gray, H. W. Goff, J. H. Keatley, J. W. Vinacke, A. J. Bond and J.
Brewster.
First officers were : G. W. Lininger, W. M. ; T. A. Megath, S. W. ; J. Ly-
man, J. W. ; P. J. McMahon, treasurer; B. Newman, secretary; J. W. Brainard,
S. D. ; Leech Clark, J. D. ; T. J. Evans, tyler.
In 1907 the membership had grown to 145, with the following officers
Wm. S. Baird, W. M.; Charles H. Conrad, S. W.; Harry A. Lenox, J. W.
John S. Kinkle, treasurer; Thos. McMillen, secretary; Edward D. Carr, S. D. ,
John B. Sherman, J. D. ; C. M. Maynard, S. S. ; G. Gail Garretson, J. S. ; Jas.
McMillen, tyler. Trustees— George H. Jackson, Dell G. Morgan and Samuel
Payne. Membership, 145. Past masters— C. M. Harl, P. H. Wind, W. A.
Highsmith, G. H. Jackson, Samuel Payne, H. E. Spoor, D. G. Morgan, A. Mc-
Millen, S. G. Culver and James I. Henry.
The following are the directors of the Masonic Temple Association: G.
W. Lipe, F. J. Pierce, W. E. McDonnell, V. Jennings, J. .McMillen, G. H.
Jackson, J. G. Wadsworth, W. S. Baird and P. H. Wind.
Officers: President, G. W. Lipe; vice-president, P. H. Wind; treasurer,
F. J. Pierce; secretary, J. G. Wadsworth. Executive committee — J. McMil-
len, V. Jennings, G. H. Jackson and W. E. McConnell.
THE MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA.
Is a fraternal benefit insurance association. Hazel Camp, No. 171 was
organized February 6, 1886, with sixteen members.
Its growth has been continuous, until at the present time it has a mem-
bership of 630.
It has distributed to the widows and children of its deceased members
ninety-four thousand dollars ($94,000).
It includes in it- membership many of the foremo~i business and pro-
fessional men in the city.
FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES.
The Council Bluffs Aerie was organized December 28, 1900. First past
president, S. P. Wadsworth ; first president, John Lindt ; second president, W.
H. Ware; third president, Steve H. Connors; fourth president, Thos. Metcalf;
fifth president, Chas. Nicholson.
The organization at present (1907) is as follows: President, J. J. Klein;
recording secretary, J. H. Bryant; financial secretary, F. C. Hendricks; treas-
urer, Geo. S. Davis.
The present membership of this Aerie is 700.
The benefits distributed since organization have averaged $3,000 per an-
num.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 157
COUNCIL BLUFFS LODGE NO. 49, I. 0. 0. F.
The charter of Council Bluffs Lodge No. 49, I. 0. 0. F., was granted Oc-
tober 26, 1853, by the Grand Lodge of Iowa, and record shows that from De-
cember 21, 1859, no meetings were held until July 11, 1887, when the follow-
ing brothers met for the purpose or reorganization: J. P. Casady, D. C.
Bloomer, J. Smith Hooten, W. L. Biggs and J. D. Test. Brother J. P. Casady
being appointed by the grand secretary. District deputy grand master ordered
an election of officers, and the following brothers were elected and installed:
Brother J. Smith Hooten, noble grand; Brother D. C. Bloomer, vice grand;
Brother J. P. Casady, secretary; Brother W. L. Biggs, treasurer.
At the following meeting July 19, 1867, the following brothers were
elected by card: J. H. Stewart, T. II. Stewart, I. N. Chapman, B. Newman
and A. H. Orr.
The present membership is 195, and the present officers are: G. W.
Eckert, noble grand; Thos. Q. Harrison, vice grand; J. V. Howard, secretary;
C. W. Dachtler, treasurer.
Hawkeye Lodge No. 184, I. 0. 0. F., was instituted December 10, 1869,
by Past Grand W. L. Biggs, D. D., G. M.
Charter was granted October 20, 1870. The charter members were as
follows : J. W. Peregoy, noble grand ; Robert George, vice grand ; J. S. Sayles,
recording secretary; A. H. Orr, treasurer; G. W. Wilcox, Ben Newman, R. H.
Kells and R. R. Kirkpatrick.
The present membership is 148, with the following officers: J. R. Mc-
Pherson, noble grand ; J. R. Ezra, vice grand ; J. F. Spare, secretary ; A. D. Van
Horn, treasurer.
The five-story brick temple now occupied by the several lodges was built
in 1896.
Park City Lodge, No. 606, 1. 0. 0. F., was instituted October 20, 1894, with
the following charter members: A. N. Lund, J. A. Heflin, F. A. Grout, Geo.
W. Skinner, P. B. Griffith, E. A. Pippin, Geo. D. Clark, T. H. N. Peterson, Geo.
Shoemaker and Geo. H. Scott.
The first officers were: F. A. Grout, noble grand; Geo. D. Clark, vice
grand ; A. N. Lund, secretary ; Geo. Shoemaker, treasurer.
The grand officers who instituted this lodge were : A. D. Van Horn, past
grand of Hawkeye Lodge, No. 184, Dist. Dept. G. M. ; C. E. Tucker, past
grand of Council Bluffs, No. 49, grand warden ; Fred Knapp, past grand of
Humboldt Lodge, No. 174, grand secretary; S. S. Keller, past grand of Coun-
cil Bluffs Lodge, No. 49, grand treasurer.
Five of these original charter members are still connected with this
lodge. All the charter members are living except P. B. Griffith, who died some
years ago.
The present membership is 168. Present officers are: W. F. Johnson,
noble grand; F. R. Starr, vice grand; Walter C. Joseph, secretary; I. N. Par-
sons, treasurer.
158 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
St. Albans Lodge. No. 17, K. of P., was organized June 12, 1872, by a
delegation of Knights from Nebraska Lodge No. 1, of Omaha, with the follow-
ing list of charter members: J. J. Monell, Jr., Edwin J. Abbott, F. W. Ben-
nett, A. M. Wickens, W. H. Lafferty, J. W. Jacobs, G. W. Taylor, H. C. Van
Brunt, C. N. Beyers, F. Gandy, J. Armstrong, J. E. Riley, W. P. Windel, C.
Hummel, R. George, 0. D. Boomer and Will H. Hoxie.
The first chancellor commander was J. J. Monell. Jr., and Edwin J. Abbott
first master of exchequer, and J. W. Jacobs, K. of P. and S. past chancellor.
Edwin J. Abbott and J. W. Jacobs are the only charter members con*
nected with the lodge.
The lodge is in a flourishing condition. Its present officers are: Julius
R. Cummings, C. C. ; Ray Cook, V. C. ; Geo. Hunter, prelate ; A. W. Huber, M.
of W.; Edwin J. Abbott^ K. of P. and S.; C. A. Tibbitts, M. of finance; A. C.
Lane, M. of E. ; S. J. Culver, marshal ; H. Danells, J. G. ; J. W. Jacobs, 0. G.
Trustees— Ed. Carr, C. W. Atwood and Thos. Pilling.
PROTECTIVE AND BENEVOLENT OEDER OF ELKS.
Council Bluffs Lodge, No. 531 was organized in the fall of 185)9. and on
the 27th of December the first meeting was held, when 245 charter members
were duly initiated, being the largest charter membership of any lodge ever
instituted up to that time.
The following were the first officers of the lodge: Hon. John N. Baldwin,
exalted ruler; Dr. T. B. Lacy, esteemed leading knight: W. J. Davenport, es-
teemed loyal knight; Emmet Tinley, esteemed lecturing knight; H. Z. Haas,
secretary; F. A. Buckrnan, treasurer; E. A. Troutman, esquire; N. E. Terryll,
tyler; Rev. Geo. Edward Walk, chaplain; E. C. Brown, inner guard. Trus-
tees — Lucius Wells, three years; Win. An id. two years: Ceo. E. Smith, one
year.
In the fall of 1900 an Elks' building association was formed and stock
was issued, sold, and money raised to purchase ground and erect a lodge build-
ing and club rooms, and on October 21, 1900, the corner stone was laid with
ritualistic ceremonies of the order, and on April 19, 1901, the building was
properly dedicated and opened for the use of its members. From that time to
the present the lodge has been in a most prosperous condition, having at the
present time 600 members in good standing. The cost of building and ground
was $30,000.
ROYAL ARCANUM.
Fidelity Council of the Royal Arcanum, No. 156 of Council Bluffs was
organized by Thos. G. Magrain, August 12, 1878, with nine members, viz.:
Dr. John Green, Thomas E. Weeks, Albert B. Nicholas, James P. Goulden,
Thomas Bowman. B. F. Baldwin, Col. D. B. Daily, Thomas E. <\i\ in and Orvil
M. De Kay.
This was but one year and two months after the organization of the su-
preme council of Boston, and was the first council organized in Iowa.
The splendid impetus given the new society by these enthusiastic young
business men launched it upon a most successful and honorable career, and in
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 159
twenty-nine years of its history 650 members have claimed its protection. Its
present membership is 252.
There have been forty-three deatlis among its members, and the material
benefits distributed to the widows and orphans of the deceased members amount
to $126,000.
The total membership of the order is 249,000, and the total benefits paid
$112,000,000.
Of the original nine charter members of Fidelity Council only three are
now living, viz. : Hon. Thos. Bowman, T. E. Cavin and A. B. Nicholas.
WOODMEN OF THE WORLD.
Council Camp, No. 14, Woodmen of the World, was organized September
8, 1891, by Deputy S. L. Waid in the Red Men's hall, corner of Broadway and
Main street, with a charter list of 175 members.
The first set of officers were: Consul commander, Dr. D. Macrae, Sr. ;
advisor lieutenant, Dr. C. H. Brown; banker, Dr. V. L. Treynor; clerk, H. A.
Baird; escort, Dr. D. Macrae, Jr.; sentry, Jas. A. Harlan; watchman, L. E.
Roe; managers, J. I. Lutz, Dr. F. S. Thomas and C. A. Tibbitts. The camp
moved from the hall in September, 1893, to what was known as Peterson's
hall, on Upper Broadway, which was rented, and remained the W. O. W. hall.
This they occupied until January, 1906, when they moved to their present
quarters, corner of Broadway and Park avenue.
The present officers are as follows : Consul commander, C. E. Barry ; ad-
visor lieutenant, M. R. Jones; banker, C. A. Tibbitts; clerk, Del G. Morgan;
escort, E. W. Corlies ; secretary, E. A. Aspinwall ; sentry, J. H. Carsley ; watch-
man, E. E. Grimes; physicians, Drs. P. J. Montgomery, C. H. Bower, O. V.
Hennessy and J. H. Gasson ; managers, J. G. Bradley, W. J. Lauterwasser and
A. C. Lane.
The camp has a well drilled uniformed company of sixteen men under
Captain W. C. Smith. One of the features of the W. O. W. plan is the placing
of a monument over the grave of every deceased member.
Council Camp has forty-one monuments placed, mostly in the city ceme-
teries.
The camp has paid out up to this time (1907) $42,000 in death benefits.
The present membership numbers 440.
ABE LINCOLN POST, G. A. R.
Was organized in December, 1880, and held its first regular meeting on
the 7th day of January, 1881, with E. H. Harrison, W. H. Campbell, J. Lindt,
E. J. Abbott, Lewis Souvreign, Ed F. Holmes, R. P. Seely, J. Daugherty, A.
Austin, Wall McFadden, Geo. B. Miles, Geo. Carson, L. S. Russel, C. J. Beck-
man, D. B. Daily, E. Casey, W. H. McGinnis and J. A. Spaulding as charter
members.
The first commander was C. N. Harrison ; first adjutant E. J. Abbott.
The post and its members have been prominent in the Grand Army affairs
of the state, Past Commanders John Lindt and J. J. Steadman having been
160 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
department commanders of the state of Iowa, and General G. M. Dodge is del-
egate-at-large to the national encampment, Post Commanders L. B. Cousins
and D. R. Witter have served as inspector generals, and E. J. Abbott as adjutant
general and judge advocate of the department, and many of the members have
oerved as aids to the department and national commanders.
The officers of the post at present are : Past commander, C. S. Hubbard ;
S. V. commander, S. H. Alexander; J. V. C, Fitch Smith; adjutant, E. J. Ab-
bott; Q. M., Samuel Johnson; chaplain, John Hutcbings; surgeon, James
Hoon; officer of the day, Wm. Roper; officer of the guard, Elmer Packard.
Tbe post is also owner of the burial lot in Fair View cemetery on which
the Kinsman monument stands, and also the part reserved for burial of old
soldiers free of cost.
THE WOMAN'S RELIEF CORPS, NO. 29.
Was organized in 1889 as an auxiliary to Abe Lincoln Post, G. A. R., by
Mrs. Hannah R. Primpton, a national officer.
The first officers were: President, Nettie Brown; secretary, Annie Camp-
bell; treasurer, Emma J. Clark; conductor, Flora A. Spera; assistant, Elizabeth
Ward; senior vice-president, Mary C. Hoon: junior. Mary F. Foster; chaplain,
Mary L. Irwin: guard, Hattie L. Cramer; assistant, Josephine Knight.
The corps is in a prosperous <• lition, -pending considerable amounts
yearly in donations to the Soldiers' Home at Marshalltown, the Memorial Uni-
versity at Mason City, Memorial Flag fund. Southern Memorial fund. Cali-
fornia sufferers, and our own post.
The present officers are as follows: President. Mattie E. Witter; senior
vice-president, MaryKelley; junior vice-president, Amy Reed; secretary, Eliza-
beth Ward; treasurer, Leona Brown; chaplain, Ella Liles; conductor, Augusta
Cook; guard, A. Pagenstecher ; assistant conductor. Amanda Mullen; assistant
guard, Martha Case; patriotic instructor, lluldab Steepy; press correspondent,
Carrie Bennett; musician, Ethel Thornton: color bearer No. 1, Stella Talbott;
color bearer No. 2, Favorett Weatherbee: color bearer No. 3, Mary Smith:
color bearer No. 4, Alice Rhodes.
THE NATIONAL UNION VETERAN LEGION. ENCAMPMENT NO. 8.
Was incorporated August '•». L886, with twenty-six charter members, and
consists of men who enlisted prior to July 1, 1863, and served not less than
two years continuously unless di-eharged on account of wounds received in
line of duty.
At first regular meeting John Fox was elected colonel ; lieutenant colonel.
D. B. Daily; major, J. R, Reed; officer of tin day. E. F. Holmes; adjutant.
C. H. Warren ; quartermaster, D. J. O'Neil ; officer of the guard, Henry Gen-
himer; chaplain, B. W. Hight.
The first death was that of A. Van Order. March 13, 1889. During the
eighteen years since, out of an enrollment of one hundred and ninety-three,
up to June, 1907, fifty-five deaths have occurred, and mil of said enrollment.
sixty-three were wounded.
The present number of members is seventy-five.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 161
LADIES' AUXILIARY TO UNION VETERAN LEGION.
The Ladies' Auxiliary to the Union Veteran Legion was organized Sep-
tember 23, 1891.
The first officers were as follows:
President, Mrs. Mary Crisp; senior vice president, Mrs. Blanch Loveland;
junior, Mrs. Etta Miller; secretary, Mary R. Anson; chaplain, Sarah Watts;
conductor, Mary Steigal; guard, Elizabeth Sherwood.
The society was reorganized August 4, 1903, and the following officers
elected and are serving at the present time (1907) :
President, Nellie Burrows; senior vice president, Bitha Bolton; junior,
Martha Hobbs; conductor, Ada Martin; chaplain, Addie Mitchell; secretary.
Theducia Williams; treasurer, Catharine Hess; guard, Nancy Cadwell; color
bearer, Clara Whitell.
The present membership is forty-two.
THE DODGE LIGHT GUARDS.
The first military company formed in Council Bluffs a- a part of the
Iowa National Guard, according to the records in the adjutant-general's
office was known as Company A, Fifth Regiment, and was mustered into the
state's service May 4, 1887, by Captain M. H. Byers of Company < '. who was
detailed for that service by the adjutant-general of Iowa. Captain Byers was
afterwards appointed adjutant-general of the state, and has been succeeded
in that office by Captain William H. Thrift, Company A, Fifty-third Regi-
ment.
In a reorganization of the Iowa National Guard, the Council Bluffs com-
pany became known as Company L of the Third Regiment and was known
by that name until the regiment was called into the service of the United
States in 1898.
The following is the roster of the original Company A of the Fifth Regi-
ment: Captain, Wm. S. Messner; first lieutenant. Charles Highsmith; sec-
ond lieutenant, Hugh W. Patterson, with thirty-one rank and file.
The Fifty-first Regiment, of which the Council Bluffs company was a
part, left Des Moines for San Francisco, June 5, 1898, arriving at Camp Mer-
ritt June 11. On July 29 they were removed to Camp Merrfam, remaining
there until November 3, 1898, when they left Camp Merriam and returned
to San Francisco and embarked on board the transport Pennsylvania. The
transport reached Honolulu November 16. -Arrived at Manila bay on Decem-
ber 6, 1898. After nearly a month in Uoilo bay, the transport departed for
Cavite, arriving at that place January 31, 1899, where the troops went into
quarters.
The Fifty-first Regiment participated in the occupation of San Roque,
February 29, 1899, and the various companies were in a number of engage-
ments during their stay in Cavite, losing in battle and by death a total of
forty-one men. The following is a list of engagements in which the com-
panies of the regiment participated: Guadaloupe Church, March 5, 1899;
162 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Quingus, April 23, 1899; East and West Pullian, April 24, 1899; Calumpit,
April 25; San Thomas, May 1; San Fernando, May 5, May 25, 26 and 31,
June 16, 22, 30 and July 4, 1899 ; Calulut and Angeles, July 9, 1899.
On September 6, the troops broke camp and moved to Manila prepara-
tory to returning to the United States and sailed on the transport Senator,
September 22, 1899.
Here the Fifty-first Regiment was mustered out of the service on Novem-
ber 2, 1899, and the various companies returned at once to their various sta-
tions.
The home-coming of the Fifty-first was the occasion of a great and
memorable celebration in Council Bluffs. The company, for a number of years,
made its headquarters in rented rooms until, through the generosity of Gen.
Dodge, it was provided with its present armory, located on the corner of Fifth
avenue and Pearl street. The armory was dedicated January 17, 1905, and
is one of the best in the state and the boys, as well as the citizens generally,
are proud of it. The present officers of the company are: Captain, S. A.
Green; first lieutenant, A. M. Peterson; second lieutenant, Percy Lamson;
first sergeant, S. A. Walters; quartermaster-sergeant, R. H. Lackley; sergeants,
N. V. Sanders, J. F. Norman ; cook, H. W. Snyder ; musicians, L. R. Kirk-
patrick and Eugene Marr.
On July 14, 1904, pursuant to an order from the adjutant-general, Dr.
Donald Macrae, major and surgeon, organized a hospital corps, which was
temporarily attached to the Fifty-sixth Regiment. Orders were sent out from
headquarters at the same time for the formation of three other detachments
of the corps to be stationed at different points in Iowa. The roster of the Council
Bluffs detachment upon its organization is as follows:
Dr. Donald Macrae, major and surgeon; first lieutenant, Dr. C. W. McDer-
mott, Spencer, Iowa; second lieutenant. Dr. John Middleton, Davenport J first-
■ class sergeant, Wm. Anderson: second-class sergeant, Arthur E. Lane; enlisted
men, Dan. P. Cowles, Jas. Macrae Jr., Ray B. Beardsley, Clement C Smith,
Harry B. Evans, Egbert D. Aylesworth, Harry B. Sackett, Merl F. Warner.
The corps has its headquarters in the armory of Company L, where all its
equipment is stored, the men being drilled once a week in their duties.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
The fire department of Council Bluffs had its beginning as far back as
1853, after the disastrous fire that consumed a large portion of the business
houses as well as the merchandise. This consisted of a hook and ladder com-
pany and a bucket brigade. The hook has been kept as a relic by the depart-
ment, but the rest of the apparatus, like its members, has passed away.
On July 12, 1868, at a meeting at Johnson and Orr's shop, the Rescue
Engine and Hose Company was organized, with a small hand engine and hose.
Competition now entered, and in August, 1868, the Bluff City No. 2
was organized, and a steamer and horse hose cart were ordered by the city. The
company was a strong one.
The Rescue had hoped to get this steamer but failed. They, however,
continued their organization and became a part of the departra
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 163
The old Bluff City steamer arrived here in September, 1868, in charge
of H. A. Sillsby, of the Sillsby Manufacturing Co., and was given a trial at
the Sixth street bridge over Indian creek, by W. Savage, an engineer from
the factory and who was retained in charge of the engine.
Bluff City Engine Company perfected its organization and was officered
as follows: Foreman, F. T. C. Johnson; first assistant, 0. P. Wickham; sec-
ond, Ben Miller; president, James McFee; secretary, R. B. Brown; engineer,
W. Savage; fireman, Thos. Homer. Heretofore the department had been inde-
pendent, but the city having purchased the steamer as well as the hose cart,
it appointed the officers of the department as follows: Chief engineer, F. T.
C. Johnson; first assistant, P. D. Mooniaw; second assistant, George Herbert.
In January, 1869, a large company was formed called the Protection
Hook and Ladder Company, and the same month the Confidence, afterwards
called the Phoenix Hook and Ladder Company, was organized, and being rec-
ognized by the city council, was placed in charge of the truck, and the Pro-
tection disbanded and became absorbed by the other companies.
The city built a brick engine house on the corner of Pierce street and
Glen avenue for the Bluff City, and Sam Morrison, an experienced stage driver,
given charge of the team, while an immense horse, weighing over 1,800
pounds was installed, with Neil Voorhis as bis driver of hose cart. This horse
was named Pat in honor of Chief Lacy, and for many years served the depart-
ment faithfully, outliving his driver and finally, in his old age, was degraded
to sewer work. He was a favorite with all the boys, and they gave him an
appropriate funeral when his labors were ended.
In the latter part of 1874 the city disposed of the old Rescue, and for
about nine months the company were without apparatus, but they retained
their organization, and on September 8, 1875, the department was increased
by the arrival of a new hand engine called the Rescue, which was given to
the Rescue company, as was also a hose cart that came at the same time.
This engine was used by the Rescue company until June, 1880, when it was
sold to the town of Griswold, Iowa.
The second steamer ever owned by the city arrived here in June, 1880.
and was given a trial on Upper Broadway and also at the Scott street bridge,
under the direction of G. F. Hawscotte, vice-president of the Ahrens Manu-
facturing Company, builders of the engine. The trial was entirely satisfactory,
and it was accepted by the city and named the Rescue, and during the same
month it was taken to the state tournament at Marshalltown, where it took the
first prize on time, throwing one hundred feet in five minutes eight and one-
half seconds from lighting the fire. The best time ever made by an engine
at a tournament in this state was made by the Rescue at Sioux City in 1877,
time three minutes and fifty seconds. Up to the time of completion of our
waterworks this engine sustained her tournament records in actual service.
On the 22d of February, 1869, the Rescue company gave the first firemen's
ball ever given in the city. It was largely attended, over two hundred couples
being present.
The first parade of the department was on May 13, 1869, the occasion
being a double one, the welcoming of the first train coming over the Rock
164 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Island Railroad, after which the ceremony of laying the corner stone of the
Ogden House was performed.
Following P. D. Muma as chief of department came Ralph Guennella,
fourth, R. D. Amy; fifth, P. Lacy; sixth, John L. Templeton. Mr. Temple-
ton was in at the close of the volunteer and inauguration of the pay depart-
ment. With the completion of the waterworks the old volunteer department,
with its many pleasing association, passed away, and while Mr. Johnson and
Mr. Muma, the two first chiefs, are still living, their successors, Guennella,
Amy, Oliver and Lacy, have passed away, as well as Engineers Savage and
Homer, and Drivers Morrison, Voorhis and Neely and many of the others,
officers and rank and file.
As chief in '84-85, C. D. Walters succeeded Templeton. In '86-7 Temple-
ton succeeded Walters and again in '88-89 Walters became chief, to be suc-
ceeded by F. R. Levin during '90 and '9-1. Charles Nicholson served as chief
during '92-93-94, after which John Templeton served during '95-96-97, to be
succeeded by John Bates during '98-99, when John Templeton was returned
and served during 1900-01-02-03. when Charles Nicholson was again appointed
and served two years, when R. W. Jones was appointed and served until 1907,
when Charles Nicholson received the appointment and at Ibis writing, 1907, is
serving in the capacity of chief.
This department has been noted for its efficiency, but in many instances
has been handicapped from failure of pressure, owing to mains being too small
at a distance from central part of city, also by the great extent of territory
and unpaved streets.
The department at this writing | L907), consists of chief. Charles Nichol-
son; superintendent of alarm, James Bradley, and twenty-two men stationed
as follows:
No. 1, South Main street and Eighth avenue, with four men, hose wagon
and team. A. Telfer, foreman.
No. 2, West Broadway and Twentieth street, four men, hose wagon and
team. Charles Matheson, foreman.
No. 3, intersection of North Main and Bryant, five men, combination hose
wagon, also chief's wagon. Frank Hitchcock, foreman.
No. 4, Upper Broadway, six men. hose wagon and hook and ladder truck.
Foreman, C. Hough.
No. 5, Eighth street and Nineteenth aveaue, three men, chemical engine
and team. Foreman, Charles Withrow.
It is doubtful if a more efficient department can be found in the state.
MUSIC IN THE BLUFFS.
Of music, previous to the" coming of the Mormons, nothing is known.
They, however, were a music-loving people and it entered largely into all their
entertainments. But as the most talented of their musicians followed the
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 165
great body to Utah, we find but few that stayed behind on the coming of the
Gentiles. Of these, Fred Lord, James Orton, Robert Russel, John Clark and
a Mr. Wagner, although not schooled, produced pretty fair music for the
social gatherings. The first named was killed in 1854, but the others did duty
as a quartette for some years : Jas. Orton as first violin ; Mr. Russel, second ;
Mr. Wagner, clarionet and Mr. Clark, bass. The following year, '55, D. W.
Griffey appeared, and although it is doubtful if he ever took a lesson, as a
performer on the flute or piccolo he was a phenomenon, but like many artists,
was of a roving disposition, of irregular habits, and died prematurely. In
185S C. C. Kuhn organized and instructed the first brass band. The members
of this band were "Up Town" men, and the rivalry between the two parts
that has been noticed elsewhere then existed, and another was organized the
following year, "Down Town." This also was taught by Prof. Kuhn. He
had brought it up until it could perform plain pieces creditably, when he was
taken sick and died. The band acted as pall bearers at his funeral. Some
years after, a brother came and wished to find the grave, and strange as it
may appear, not one could remember where he was buried. At that time
the ground was not platted. The old sexton was gone, and like the grave of
Moses, "No man knoweth the place thereof unto this day."
During '56 Miss Annie Van Arnam came among us. She was gifted with
a charming soprano voice, and captivated her audience every time. She also
captivated Judge W. C. James, and their eldest daughter inherited her mother's
talent and later achieved fame in opera.
Fanny Kellogg was another bright star of home growth, but left here for
a larger field.
After the death of Prof. Kuhn, the bands became demoralized for a
time. Finally a teacher named Minkler got the fragments of the two together
and for a time we had a tolerable band. About this time we received an
addition in the person of James Madden, a cornetist who made his home here
and became a reliable member for many years. Joseph Mueller appeared.
A more extended notice of him will be seen in another part of this history.
Prof. Powell came about '70; was a fine teacher and performer on the piano,
and for a time was associated with Mr. Mueller. W. H. Goff appeared about
'68 and getting the straggling musicians together, organized a pretty good
band that held together for two or three years. He located permanently here
and reared quite a family, among which was a son (Arthur) that from infancy
was a phenomenon, astonishing as well as captivating his audiences by his
marvelous performance on the cornet. Like many precocious children, he
died at twelve years of age and his father soon followed him.
Among the ladies of the early times, Miss Fanny Cook and Miss Julia
Hoffman were fine performers on the piano and later Miss Nealy Stevens,
also Miss Officer, both as teacher and performer.
During the winter of '56 H. H. Field formed a small orchestra that, with
an occasional change in its membership, lasted for more than twenty years.
This was reinforced during the '70s by Prof. Alex. Glenn, who has been
associated with music, either performing or selling, ever since. Prof. Albia
was another band and orchestra leader that reigned for a season and disap-
166 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
peared, to be followed by Prof. P. Olker, who succeeded in getting up a pretty-
good band and orchestra. About '82 the little Bavarian band made its appear-
ance, but dissolved after a year or two, leaving us only Jake Schmidt (the
tuba), but he fits in anywhere. During the 80's the venerable Prof. Batens
came among us. He is a teacher of the violin of the old school, contempo-
raneous with U. C. Hill and Joseph Tosso of Cincinnati, the latter of whom
was H. H. Field's teacher sixty years ago. Prof. Zerooski and Albin Huster
are also teachers of the violin as well as leaders of orchestras. Mrs. D. J. O'Neil
was for years a successful teacher of vocal music, and later Mrs. Dillon. Miss
Bella Robinson has achieved an enviable reputation as a pianist. Professor
Dalby appears to be another phenomenon, having organized and brought
bands to a high state of efficiency and composed and arranged many pieces
that have been favorably received by the best band*, while he has never taken
a lesson in music.
Among the ladies of modern times whose singing has always been in
request are Mrs. Mullis and the Merkel sisters. Hang Hollow or Glendale
seems to possess the right soil for cultivating music. Commencing at the upper
part we find the Oliver sisters and Mrs. Shepherd, nee Gerty Gleason; Mrs.
Wakefield, nee Ida Tostevin; Perry Badolet, cornetist and Frank, a flutist of
national reputation; Mrs. Merrick, nee Maud Cavin; the Tuleya family; Miss
Beebe and Max Baumeister, violinist from the Royal College of Music, Wurts-
burg, Germany. Mrs. A. R. Hypes ami Mrs. A. Covalt are also accomplished
vocalists.
Some of the ladies above namul are not in the Glen now, but having been
born and reared there, are still claimed by its people.
Coming down to the present time ( 1907) we find Govalt's band in the
lead, witli several of lesser note in this and other cities of the county, as is
also Whaley's orchestra. The Elks' quartette, composed of .1. R. Gerke, first
tenor; W. S. Rigdon, second tenor: Dr. C. P. Lewis, first, and C. S. Haverstock,
second bass, are drawing cards everywhere.
Besides Mr. Goff and his son, whose death was noticed. Mr. Fox. a mem-
ber of Covalt's band, has recently died.
It is next to impossible to keep a musical organization together in a small
place. The most proficient being in demand at places where better pay can
be had.
This, with the roving disposition peculiar to all arti.»t.<. leaves us only
such as have other business to hold them, while using the music as a side
line.
PARKS.
Council Bluffs is justly proud of its parks. Fairmount Park is rightly
named, as its highest point rises three hundred and twenty feet above the
Missouri. Grander views can be had from mountain tops, but for rare beauty
it is doubtful if the scenery from Prospect Point is excelled on this little globe
of ours.
Thousands of dollars are paid by lovers of art for a picture made by an
eminent painter when, without money, you can gaze on one such as man alone
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 167
is unable to produce. No pen of author or pencil of artist can fitly portray
this picture. Take a seat; it is free, and feast your eyes. The picture before
you is ninety miles long by ten wide. Most of the work was done thous-
ands of years ago by the Infinite Artist, while for sixty years civilized man
has been putting on the finishing touches. That great yellow ribbon winding
in graceful curves is more than four thousand miles long and we are near the
middle of it. It is very busy; it has a contract for filling the Gulf of Mexico
and is carrying down a thousand cubic yards of earth every hour to do it. Two
miles north more than a century ago is where Lewis and Clark held the coun-
cil with the Indians that gave us a name. Down in front of you is the west-
ern half of the city, itself almost a park. That locomotive that is running
and screaming is started for Chicago over the Illinois Central. This one that
is shooting out down below you is the Rock Island. That one creeping north
under the bluff is on the Northwestern. That one climbing the grade going
west is bound for San Francisco. This one pulling out below our left is
bound for St. Paul. This one creeping north close to the bluff is for Sioux
City. This one down in front yelling for dear life is for Burlington. That
one scooting southeast across the prairie is for St. Louis over the Wabash, while
this one that is cutting the foot of the bluff almost under you is on the Great
Western, and that one headed south is bound for St. Joe and Kansas City.
These, with the trolley cars, make a moving picture rarely to be seen.
But look off south four miles and Lake Manawa lias glistening in the sun,
while away beyond that point surmounted by a college the Platte joins the Mis-
souri : while five miles to the west looms up our young sister city, which is only
fifty-three years old but now larger than any city in the United States at the
time of the war of 1812.
Look away south again. Those farthest blue hills are back of Nebraska
City, fifty miles away. Although it costs but a nickel by way of carfare to view
it, it must not be inferred that it is a cheap copy of the work of some eminent
master. On the contrary it is the real thing. The greatest of all masters pre-
pared the groundwork, and during sixty years a hundred millions of dollars
has been spent in its completion. If satisfied with the picture stroll down
through the beautiful glens. Interview Graham's Pets, go through an eighty-
foot cut and find the soil just as fertile at the bottom as at the surface, and
you get. a pretty good impression of Fairmount Park, the original cost of
which, by good management, was but $1,600.
Lake View Park consists of what was once called Big lake and a consid-
erable body of land adjoining at the northern limit of the city. This was
secured through the efforts of Mr. Graham and Col. Sapp while he was a mem-
ber of congress.
Island Park, south of the city, in Lewis township, was obtained in like
manner at trifling cost, and like Lake View, is being held for future devel-
opment.
Cook Park, a pretty tract of three acres, and Graham Park, a six-acre
tract, both shaded by native trees, being reserved when the Morning Side addi-
tion was platted, came as donations to the city.
Prospect Park, next to Bayliss. is the oldest in the city. This, too. was
163 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
reserved in laying out the Galesburg addition, and although these last five are
not improved to any great extent, we have them and future generations will
appreciate them.
Bayliss and Cochran parks, both gifts to the city, have been treated in
another part of this history and speak for themselves.
To Mr. A. C. Graham, more than any other man, are we indebted for these
beauty spots that adorn our city. Since the memory of man runneth not back
the care of the parks has been a religion with him. He loves parks, even as
Carnegie loves libraries, as Col. Baker good roads.
With Mr. J. J. Brown and Mr. Peterson, his lieutenants, all men of enter-
prise and taste, their care is assured.
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
The free public library, as we now know it, has not always been known as
such.
The inception of a library for general reading was first had under dif-
ferent auspices and it has developed into its present form through various
organizations.
The first effort to form a library in Council Bluffs was made in March,
1866 under an organization called the Young Men's Library Association, with
D. C. Bloomer as chairman.
Several hundred books were collected and the library placed in the Empire
block, which, with all its contents, was destroyed by fire in June, 1867. Two
years later Prof. Armstrong, superintendent of the high school, feeling the
need of books to aid the pupils in the literary department of the school, organ-
ized with the help of Horace Everett the High School Library Association. It
was again incorporated in 1871 as the Public School Library, and in 1873,
through the efforts of A. W. Street, an active member of the Young Men's
Christian Association, a combination was formed between that body and the
Public School Library, by which the latter had the use of a room in the
Woodbury building free of rent, and W. T. Robinson of the Young Men's
Christian Association gave his services as librarian. This arrangement con-
tinued for five years, but as few books were added and the old ones were
wearing out, the library was in a fair way to die a natural death.
In 1878 the Council Bluffs Library Association was formed, and as there
was some difficulty in collecting money, the directors determined to call the
women to their aid, and at the following election of directors seven women and
two men were appointed. There were 1,900 volumes on the accession book
list, but not more than 1,400 could be found. The city council allowed $15.00
a month for rent and Mr. Everett gave the use of a room, so that the money
allowed might be used in the purchase of books. The women enlarged the
subscription list and collected money by various entertainments, increased the
number of books and made the reading room a pleasant place of resort.
In 1875 an effort was made to levy a tax but it was a failure.
Six years later the women decided to petition the council to submit the
proposition to a public vote, had their tickets printed, and carried the election
o
a
>
t-
i— (
m
w
o
o
c!
O
t- 1
02
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 171
by a large majority in favor of a free library, and in August, 1881, the first
tax was levied. All difficulties being removed and the success of the library
assured, all the book.*, cases and pictures were turned over to the city by an
instrument of donation signed by the trustees and all members of the associ-
ation.
On April 24, 1882, it was opened a* a free public library with between
two and three thousand books on the shelves, after which it outgrew its orig-
inal quarters, and in 1889 was installed in the Merriam block, where it con-
tinued to grow.
In compliance with petition of the trustees the mayor and city council in
August, 1902, made a tax levy of three mills for the purpose of enabling the
board of trustees to purchase suitable grounds on which to erect a library
building.
Likewise in 1903 a levy of one mill was made.
At a meeting of the trustees in July, 1903, the site known as the Pusey &
Pusey property was selected and the purchase effected, the price being $9,000,
and correspondence opened with Hon. Andrew Carnegie, which resulted in
the donation of $70,000, to be made in sums of $5,000 or $10,000, as the work
progressed.
On September 15, 1903, the board elected J. C. & W. Woodward, of
Council Bluffs, and Patton & Miller of Chicago as architects, and on approval
of plans submitted by them on March 8, 1904, the president and secretary were
authorized to receive bids for its construction, which resulted in awarding the
contract to Winchester & Cullen, of Rockford, 111., and Janesville, Wis., for
$55,822, leaving a balance to apply on other contracts of $14,178.
Early in June, 1904, Trustee Bender suggested that in commemoration of
the one hundredth anniversary of the landing of the Lewis and Clark expedi-
tion at Council Bluffs that during the six days carnival to take place, com-
mencing September 5, that being a holiday, the propriety of setting apart
one day for laying the corner stone of the library. The suggestion nut
the approval of the board and the 26th was designated. On the 28th of
June, 1904, ground was broken and work progressed so that the substructure
was prepared for the ceremony, which was conducted in the presence of
3,000 people. At 9:30 a. m. September *'>. the assembly was called to order
by President Rohrer, after which music, both vocal and instrumental, and
addresses by eloquent speakers were listened to. The stone was formally
laid by Exalted Ruler Searl of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
he using a silver cup and trowel in spreading the mortar. In a copper box
in a large cavity were deposited many articles for the edification of future
generations.
From this time on work progressed .satisfactorily until completion and
acceptance by the board. Formal delivery was made and possession taken
July 1, 1905, and 27,000 books were moved to their new quarters.
The selection of the site was most fortunate and the building a success
from an architectural point of view and the foundation being laid on concrete
piling, is sufficient to sustain one or two additional stories in case more room
should be needed in the future.
172
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
At this writing the board is constituted as follows : Trustees, Mrs. Mary
L. Everett, C. R. Tyler, John M. Galvin, W. S. Baird, Dr. J. H. Cleaver, J. J.
Stewart, M. F. Rohrer. II. W. Binder and Dr. W. F. Dean. President, John
M. Galvin ; secretary. Victor E. Bender.
Library Service— Librarian, Mrs. Mary E. Daily ; first assistant, Miss Mar-
garet E. Sherman; second assistant, Mrs. Bessie K. Black; third assistant, Miss
Gibbs.
THE POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY BAR.
On entering the average district court room if a trial is on we are impressed
with the striking resemblance existing among them all. The same judge
partially bald sitting on a comfortable arm chair which for a thousand years
has been called the "bench/' the same attorneys sitting by tables down in
front called the "bar," the same twelve good and lawful men sitting in the
most uncomfortable of chairs, called the "box." From three to four of these
are usually professional, while the others are from the country, taken from
their farms during the busiest season, to their great pecuniary disadvantage,
while they would have felt slighted it' they had not been summoned. The
same witness, having been sworn to tell the whole truth, and stopped by one
or the other of the attorneys if he attempts to, while the judge looks up at the
ceiling and appears wise, and if the answer i- calculated to shed any light
on the matter in controversy will sustain the objection. But if permitted to
answer it is in an inaudible voice to the attorney, instead of an audible voice to
the jury. The same bailiff ready to maintain the dignity of the court and
keep the inevitable pitcher filled, and a few young lawyer- are absorbing wis-
dom. It is not often that a clown gets onto the bench, but it happen- occa-
sionally, as in the case of Sloan, our first district judge, and later of Judge
McIIenry "f I>e- Moim-. As a sample of profound Legal instruction we submit
the charge to the jury by Judge Sloan in the cause entitled the state of Iowa
vs. Robert and Margaret Key-, charged with breaking into the store of C. 0.
Mynster and stealing therefrom some I ts and handkerchief-. It was a gem in
its way. as follow-:
"Gentlemen of the Jury: I wish to address you. I am weak and cannot
be expected to speak long. I do not wish to. You have taken it upon you to
try this ea-e and a true verdict give. It has been told y<>u. a pari of you
should come out of the .jury room and a part remain and the jury be discharged.
This i- to be the last resort. The laws of Iowa have been so framed a- to pre-
vent evasion. It is provided that if you do not find the charge sufficiently
proved in testimony but find a lower degree of the same nature of crime it is
for you to act thereon. You will not take into consideration anv act or any
evidence that i- not founded on fact, and is not satisfactory, and you will be
aware that much extraneous matter has been introduced, the more solid as well
by the prosecution as by the defense. The manner in which the case came up
I was satisfied what course would be taken. First the defendant tried to gel the
other bill dropped and have this one tried, and when they did not succeed they
took up the other and agreed to separate trials, and when the prosecution came
to prosecute the bill they again arose and demanded that this case be tried, and
HISTORY, OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 173
the prosecuting attorney withdrew the other bill and consented to try this, or
I should have held them to the other."
After these instructions the court cited the jury to such sections of the code
as he considered best for their guidance and after retiring the jury returned a
verdict, whereon the judge, reproving them, declared he would rather have
paid ten dollars out of his own pocket to have had it gone the other way.
The next judge to preside in this county was S. II. Riddle. Although
elected all right the canvassing board refused to give him a certificate of
election owing to the fact of his not being a lawyer. His opponent also was
refused a certificate, which left a vacancy in the office and Gov. Hempstead
out of regard to the wishes of the people appointed Kiddle to serve until the
next election, and in the meantime he was admitted to the bar, was re-elected
and held the office until 1858, when he was succeeded by Judge Sears. The
first bar was composed of attorneys of average ability. Among them were
Orson Hyde, Hadley D. Johnson, A. C. Ford and George Stiles. With the
gradual exodus of the Mormons and the incoming of the Gentiles the court
assumed more dignity, and although Judge Riddle off the bench was socially
inclined, and not averse to a quiet game of draw poker with friends, when sit-
ting as a magistrate it was a different matter, as W. C. James once discovered
while conducting a ease before him in the old courthouse on First street.
During the trial James, presuming upon his familiarity of the court, in
the heat of trial reflected upon a ruling of the court in terms unbecoming to the
dignity of that or any other court, whereupon the judge ordered him to be
imprisoned in the old cottonwood jail close by, which was promptly carried
into effect. When court adjourned for noon the judge in passing called to
James, saying, "Now, d you. if you will promise to behave, I will let you
out." To which James replied, "I'll be d if I will," but he changed his
mind, apologized and all was lovely again.
As at the dawn of Christianity wise men came from the east, so from time
to time they appeared here, though not impelled by the same motive.
Among the first were C. E. Stone, R. L. Douglas, Frank Street, D. W.
Price, J. P. Casady, J. D. Test, W. C. James, D. C. Bloomer. A. V. Larimer,
and later Caleb Baldwin, Samuel Clinton, W. F. Sapp, Geo. F. Wright, L. W.
Ross, C. R. Scott, Robert Percival, Finley Burke, Joseph Lyman and D. B.
Daily. All of these became prominent here and have passed to the highest of
all courts.
Of these the firms of Clinton and Sapp and Baldwin and Wright were the
strongest of their time. A. V. Larimer, D. B. Daily, Robert Percival, R. L.
Douglas and later Finley Burke were lawyers of more than average ability.
Continuing with us are W. A. Mynster, dean of the bar association, Hon.
Walter I. Smith, Geo. Carson, Flickinger Bros., J. J. Stewart, Spencer Smith,
John N. Baldwin, Mayne & Hazelton, N. M. Pusey. Harl & Tinley, D. L. Ross,
J. J. Hesse, E. E. Aylesworth, J. B. Sweet, W. S. Baird, Ballenger & Ballen-
ger, Fremont Benjamin, Frank Cappel, John D. Organ, John M. Galvin, R.
J. Organ, Reed & Robertson, C. S. Saunders, H. J. Chambers, Simms & Kill-
pack, S. B. Snyder, G. H. Scott, Clem F. Kimball, Stillman & Price, T. B.
Wadsworth, Emmet Tinley, Herman W. Schurz, Emil Schurz. John Lindt,
174 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Thos. Q. Harrison, H. 0. Ouren, Geo. S. Wright, G. W. Hewitt. W. H. Ware,
F. W. Miller and possibly others.
Of these many have achieved distinction aside from their practice in the
courts.
C. E. Stone became mayor of the city ; D. W. Price became mayor of the
city and also member of the state constitutional convention. Caleb Baldwin
became chief justice of the supreme court of Iowa and later mayor of Council
Bluffs, was also commissioner to award Alabama claims. Frank Street be-
came county judge and later mayor, as also did W. C. James; D. C. Bloomer
member of the legislature and mayor of the city ; J. H. Keattey mayor and later
judge of the United States court, district of Alaska; R. L. Douglas, judge of cir-
cuit court ; J. R. Reed, judge of circuit, district and supreme court of Iowa,
member of congress and judge of land claims; E. E. Aylesworth, Geo. H. Scott
and S. B. Snyder each judge of superior court; Geo. F. Wright state senator;
J. P. Casady county judge; Joseph Lyman member of congress; J. D. Test
member of legislature; W. S. Mayne U. S. commissioner; A. S. Hazelton state
senator and postmaster; II. J. Chambers county auditor; C. G. Saunders state
senator; W. F. Sapp member of congress; W. H. Ware representative to state
legislature; N. M. Pusey state senator; Geo. Carson judge of circuit and dis-
trict court, member of legislature, mayor of the city and justice of the peace;
Walter I. Smith judge of district court and member of congress; L. W. Ross
professor of law in the state university.
As a jury lawyer D. W. Price had few equals and no superiors anywhere.
But for an unfortunate dissipation there is no telling to what he might have
attained. To Col. Sapp and A. V. Larimer we are indebted for their able
services in the cause of the city to compel the U. P. Railroad Company to do us
justice, for which they made no charge.
Of our home grown boys several have already achieved an enviable repu-
tation and lucrative practice, but as their careers are not closed we will leave
the future historian to record their respective merits.
Hon. Caleb Baldwin was the largest man, being six feet six and weighing
over four hundred pounds; P. W. Price, the smallest, weighing but one hun-
dred and twenty pounds. Judge James and Col. Sapp were the best looking,
being each over six feet and weighing two hundred pounds.
The judges of the circuit court, now abolished, were R. L. Douglas, J. W.
McDill, F. R. Stockton, C. F. Loofborough, Joseph Lyman and Geo. Carson.
Those of the district court that have presided since Judge Sears, previously
named, were James G. Day. James M. McDill, Jos. R. Reed, C. F. Loofborough,
George Carson, Walter I. Smith, II. E. Deemer, A. B. Thornell, N. W. Macy,
W. K. Green and 0. D. Wheeler. The last four now occupy the bench and of
the others Judges Day. Reed and Deemer have served upon the bench of the
supreme court of Iowa.
THE COUNCIL BLUFFS COMMERCIAL CLUB.
This club was organized in January, 1903, and incorporation papers were
gotten out under date of January 28, 1903. Fifty of the most prominent
business men of the city being the incorporators.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 175
Of the original fifty four have removed and four are deceased.
Regarding the purpose for which the Commercial Club was organized,
article two of the corporation reads as follows: "The business of this corpora-
tion shall be to promote the extension and increase of the trades and industries
of the city of Council Bluffs and vicinity in all its commercial and material in-
terests; to work for the common good of all in matters touching the general
welfare of said city through the consultation and united efforts of the mem-
bers hereof; to secure the location of manufactories and other business enter-
prises in the city and vicinity; to promote c mercial progress and increase
trade and industry; to acquire and disseminate valuable commercial and eco-
nomic information and acquire and hold a commercial library; to increase ac-
quaintance, harmony and good fellowship among the business and professional
men of said city, and to secure the co-operation of all citizens in its develop-
ment, and to use all such means as may be best calculated to protect and
advance the interests and rights of its members as business men, tax payers
and citizens."
Article five provides that "the government of this corporation shall be
vested in a board of directors to consist of fifty members who shall have control
of the property and manage the affairs of the corporation, and who shall be
elected annually at the annual meeting of the members of this corporation.
The board of directors shall adopt such rules, regulations and by-laws as may be
deemed advisable for the government and proper business conduct of the club,
and for the guidance of its officers, committees and employes, and shall have
the power to name and define the duties of such officers as they may deem
necessary for the proper conduct of the business of the club by by-laws, and
shall generally do all such things as are calculated to benefit and improve
the usefulness of such corporation and to carry out the business of its forma-
tion."
The membership fee is $5.00 and the annual dues $12.00, payable quarter-
ly in advance.
The first officers of the Commercial Club were: President, Victor E. Ben-
der; vice-presidents, Chris Jensen and W. H. Kimball; secretary, M. F. Rohrer;
treasurer, E. E. Hart. The executive committee was composed of H. H. Van
Brunt, chairman, F. R, Davis, C. W. McDonald, H. A. Quinn and H. W.
Binder.
The present officers of the Commercial Club are : President, E. H. Mcr-
riam; vice-presidents, P. C. DeVol and EH. Doolittle; secretary, W. B. Reed;
treasurer, E. E. Hart, Present executive committee is Cbas. A. Beno, chair-
man, J. G. AVadsworth, Thos. Green, R. II. Bloomer and H. B. Jennings.
CEMETERIES.
Few cities have more beautiful spots for the repose of their departed
friends than Council Bluffs. Nature had already clothed them with native
trees, making them, in reality, parks, while the grass was sprinkled with
beautiful wild flowers.
176 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Fairview is rightly named, as its crest rises to a height of two hundred
and fifty feet, commanding a view second only to that obtained from Fair-
mount park, and sloping down each way forms delightful ravines. The first
settlers were quick to observe this and immediately appropriated it, while
yet it belonged to the government. Later, when a title was obtained, a com-
pany was formed, the ground surveyed and platted. Then beautiful and
costly monuments began to appear.
It seems that even here there is an aristocracy. In sight of the massive
granite and marble monuments of the wealthy departed arc hundreds of
modest graves, where just as loving hands have adorned them according to
their means, and undoubtedly their occupants rest as peacefully as the others.
It seems to be natural for people to select hills on which to bury their dead.
The first burial place found in the vicinity of Council Bluffs was mi a high
bluff near the Mynster Spring, where were the bones of hundreds of people
supposed to be of Indians, of all ages, and all mixed together, and covered
only tn a depth of from one to two feet. The next was established after the
advent of the white man, where the Pierce street school now stands. This
was also an Indian burying ground and established after the mission was
started among them, as shown by the Christian emblems found in the
graves when the remains were removed. What is now Fairview was next
and was started by the Mormon^. The ground at that time belonged to
the government and was appropriated by whoever saw fit, as before stated.
Later, a few bodies were buried around the little frame church that stood
on Pierce street in the rear of the Ogden House, but these were soon removed
many years ago. Fairview, being the oldest ami nearest, has as yet the greatest
number of graves, especially of the old settlers.
At the northern part, on the highest poinl is the soldiers' burial place,
in the center of which is the Kinsman monument, surrounded by the graves
of his comrades. This part is especially intended for such as had no lots
of their own, and many soldiers are buried on their family lots. Among
these are Dr. Henry Osborn, surgeon, Major Lyman, Dr. Alex Shoemaker,
Harmon Shoemaker, Colonel Addison Cochran, and many others. Sonic years
ago an attempt was made to enjoin the burial of more bodies here claiming
it would contaminate the water of the city, but since establishing the water-
works this objection is removed.
Walnut Hill in the northeastern pari of the city is another beautiful and
sightly spot, and really embraces four cemeteries, as on the same hill, on the
eastern slope is St. Joseph's (Catholic), Oak Hill (Jewish), besides Hillside
(public). Here again we meet the names of many who became prominent.
Among them Judge Caleb Baldwin and wife, Rev, Joseph Knotts, Colonel
Win. Orr, Win. Wyman and wife, J. M. Palmer and wife, Dr. Henry Hart,
Captain D. F. Eicher, Dr. P. J. McMahon, and many others; and crossing
into St. Joseph's we meet with as many more. There are comparatively few
as yet in Oak Hill, and fewer still in the public ground. The view from here
is almost as fine as from Fairview.
Just beyond the city limits going east situated on another hill is the
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 177
Clark cemetery, named in honor of D. B. Clark, a pioneer, whose farm was
near by, and where he and his wife and many of the neighbors are buried.
Besides these each township has one or more.
THE PRESS.
So little has been left of numerous papers that have risen, nourished for
a time under different managements, and died, that to give an authentic
history is a pretty ditlieult proposition.
It is generally conceded that the Frontier Guardian, edited by Orson
Hyde, a Mormon elder, and assisted by A. C. Ford, was the first newspaper
published in this county. Politically this was whig, religiously Mormon.
This had a life of some four years.
The next appears to have been the Bugle. Thi- was owned and con-
trolled by Alman W. Babbitt, was politically democratic, religiously Mormon.
After conducting it for a year or two he sold it to Joseph E. Johnson.
Shortly after, Dan Carpenter, a practical printer, purchased an interest
and for a time was run by them. During 1856 L. W. Babbitt bought out
this firm, but Johnson continued to edit the paper until 1857, when he trans-
ferred his activities to the rising town of Crescent and started a paper there
called the Oracle. This left L. W. Babbitt in full control of the paper, which
was issued as a daily after '63.
In 1864 Charles H. Babbitt took an interest and it was conducted by
Babbitt and son until 1866, when it was purchased by W. T. Giles, the elder
Babbitt retiring and the younger entering the army, and at the close of the
war located permanently in Washington city. During the life of the Bugle
it was intensely democratic, so much so that it was classed as a copperhead
sheet. But however much Mr. Babbitt differed with the party in power, his
integrity was never questioned and morally and socially no one stood higher
than he. With great opportunities for accumulating wealth in office, he
knew no such thing as "graft."
Mr. Giles also started a German paper called the Council Bluffs Press,
but soon sold it, and after passing through several hands it finally was pur-
chased by F. S. Pfeiffer, who came from Oregon with his family in 1879.
He continued to publish it until his death July 16, 1899. Alois Becker is
the present editor and proprietor.
During 1868 Alf Kierolf started a paper called the Democrat. He was
a disciple of Brick Pomeroy. In the fall of that year B. F. Montgomery
bought the concern and Kierolf continued to run it until October 31, when
it suspended, and on December 12 the press and material were sold to satisfy
a mortgage held by M. M. Pomeroy.
In 1871 the Globe .was established by S. W. Morehead. The following
year Jacob Williams became editor and in 1879 Mr. Morgan bought a half
interest and it continued under this management for some time.
During the early '80s the Evening Herald was launched, with S. T.
Walker as president, F. E. Spencer, secretary' and editor, and R. E. Ingram
as treasurer. This was a prohibition paper, and after a short run was sue-
178 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
ceeded by the Independent Republican from '85 to '88, and edited by H. W.
Linchard.
This was succeeded by the Eagle, with W, R. Yaughan, proprietor, who,
after a short trial here, took it to Omaha, where it was finally closed out by
the sheriff.
The Globe continued as the democratic organ under different manage-
ments until 1900, when it went into the hands of a receiver.
For a time the Inland Christian Advocate was published by Rev. Joseph
Knotts. This was a Methodist organ, but was of short duration.
AVith the birth of the republican party it became necessary to have an
organ, and as such the Nonpareil was launched more than a half century ago.
The first issue was on May 2, 1857, by Maynard and Long. These men were
brothers-in-law. The latter was a practical printer and the former was un-
doubtedly the ablest editor that has yet appeared here. The first home wa-
in what at that time was the Falmer block, on the northwest corner of Broad-
way and Scott streets.
After the death of Mr. Long, which occurred during the winter of '57-8,
Mr. Maynard conducted the paper alone until the spring of "ill, when he
sold out to W. S. Burke and A. J. Bell. Previous to this, on the 28th of
January, 1863, the first issue of the Daily Nonpareil appeared, bul after a
short trial wis suspended, but in July. L864, came oul a- a daily, tri-weekly
and weekly. After Mr. Maynard's retirement from the postmastership, John
W. Chapman became interested witli him, and were together in the business
until Mr. Maynard's death, February 26, 1876.
After the death of Mr. Maynard. Mr. Chapman took the editorial chair.
He soon became recognized a* one of the strong editorial writers of the state.
The following year Thos. 1'. Treynor, then postmaster, and John C.
Schermerhorn purchased the interest of Messrs. Gray and Mill, ami the
office was moved into the old two-story brick on the south side of Broadway
that was in an early day the banking house of Green, Ware A" Benton. The
next move was into the building between Main and Pearl streets, now occu-
pied and owned by the Metcalf Company. Ahoul this time the Nonpareil
Printing Company was incorporated, with Thos. P. Treynor. J. W. Chap-
man and Spencer Smith as stockholder.-, and the following year bought the
three-story brick at the corner of Broadway and Scotl street, and the Non-
pareil found itself back to its first home, though much enlarged and improved.
While here several changes in the ownership occurred. Mr. Treynor sold to
Spencer Smith, Mr. Chapman sold a part of his stock to C. Lefferts, and the
remainder to J. J. Steadman and Spencer Smith, who became president and
editor-in-chief.
Mr. Steadman and Mr. Lefferts sold to the Snyders, of Red Oak, and
Mr. Smith to General E. F. Test.
In the latter part of 1894 a company was organized under the name of
the New Nonpareil Company, which took over the entire plant, including the
Daily and Weekly Nonpareil and the building it occupied.
Ernest E. Hart became president, .T. II. Purcell, secretary and business
manager, and Victor E. Bender assumed editorial charge of the papers. Mr.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 179
Purcell remained with the paper but a few months, and was succeeded as
manager by Mr. Bender, a position he has ever since held. In 1900 removal
was made to the present quarters in the Odd Fellows' building.
For five years from 1897 to 1902 Howard Tillon was editor.
During this year Mr. Bender purchased the interest of E. E. Hart, and
is the present president of the company.
Other papers of the county arc noticed in the part, of this history relat-
ing to the cities and towns where they are published.
BELKNAP TOWNSHIP.
This township is composed of twenty-four sections and named in honor
of W. W. Belknap, an Iowa soldier, who became secretary of war during
Administration of President Grant. What it lacks in size it makes up in
fertility.
It was set off for organization by an order of the county board of super-
visors September 6, 1872, on the petition of W. Henry Mann, D. W. Hays,
Wm. Lyman, and twenty other citizens of Center township, out of which
the new township was carved.
As near as can be ascertained the first settler was Orin Belknap, who
came from Ohio in 1854, and settled on section 10, township 75, range 40,
•the same tract of land which he sold to Judge W. C. James.
G. A. Slocum was another early settler. He was born at Pompey,
Onondaga county, New York, on the 10th day of May. 1811, and became one of
the early settlers in Huron county. Ohio. Of a roving disposition, he re-
turned to New York, but in 1844 removed to Walworth county, Wisconsin.
In 1847 went to Marquette and from there emigrated to this county, settling
in what is now Belknap township, coming with an ox team.
His first residence was constructed by himself and was peculiar, being
partly under ground, partly log and partly sod, but was very comfortable,
being warm in winter and cool in summer.
The first white child born was Samuel George Slocum. son of G. A.
Slocum, November 7, 1854.
The first marriage was that of Sylvadoy Slocum and Maxilla Belknap.
The first postoffice in the township was established in 1854. George
Reed was appointed postmaster and while he held that position he was killed
by a kick from a horse, and was succeeded by Wm. Lyman, father of the
boy that tramped into the Bluffs when the war commenced, enlisted in Com-
pany B, Fourth Iowa (Dodge's) regiment, was promoted to adjutant of the
Twenty-ninth, became major, and after the war studied law with Clinton and
Sapp, became judge of circuit court and was elected to congress in 1884.
The first death was that of Michael Beard, August 29, 1854. The first
postoffice was located about a mile east of Oakland in Mr. Reed's dwelling,
and in 1863 was transferred to the residence of Wm. Lyman, a short dis-
tance from the west side of the river.
M. T. Palmer started a store about two miles north of Oakland at the
north end of the grove in 1860. He also practiced medicine. Although
180 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
not a regularly educated physician, he practiced for a time, until Dr. Tobey,
the first regular practitioner, arrived, the first one who settled in the town-
ship, being in 1856. His first stoi-e was in a building that had been used
as a schoolhouse. The first mail to these offices was carried by Jas. A. Sin-
clair on horseback, the route being from Macedonia to Newtown.
The first school taught in the township was by Wm. Lyman, Sr., and
was supported by voluntary contribution by the little community.
J. L. Fetter was the first school director, and let the contract for the
first schoolhouse for .$690. The house was finished in 1861, and when com-
pleted payment was made, all in silver, the contractor being Cyrus True, of
Newtown.
The first house in Big Grove, n<>\\ Oakland, was built in 1856 by Wm.
Walker for a store room.
The first bridge across the Botna was begun in December, 1855, and
finished in March, 1856. The abutments were timber cribs filled with earth. It
was one hundred and twenty feet long, roadway fourteen feet wide, and
consisted of three spans. Previous to this the settlors had to go to Macedonia,
the river not being fordable here.
No money was paid for building of this bridge. G. A. Slocum pro-
cured the settlers to sign a contracl to furnish material or labor, and in this
way it was built, G. A. Slocum, Samuel Dey and Orin Belknap, who were
mechanics, doing mos1 of the work.
One of the notable events of early days was the murder of Edward M.
Benlon by -lame- Vest in October, 1868. Benton was in the employ of
the Western Stage Company, who had a station at Big Grove. Vest was a
farm hand in the employ of W. M. West. The scene of the murder was a
little log cabin kept by three women of bad repute, and Vest boarded with
them. Benton called in the night and, being refused admittance, broke
down the door and made an attempt to get in, when Vest grabbed a hatchet
and struck Benton twice on the head with the blade and cut him so badly
that he died before morning. Vesl made his escape and no effort was made
to capture him, nor wa> any inquest held.
In I860 a young man named Albert Griffith was plowing in a field of
J. L. Fetter's with a yoke of oxen when one of them became entangled and
in trying to extricate him. lie was kicked to death. He was buried in Big
Grove cemetery in section 10. Other- buried then wire Peter S. Johns, one
of the soldiers drafted from .lame- township; Wm. Elliott, a soldier of the
civil war, who died while undergoing the amputation of a wounded leg;
an unknown emigrant of L857, who was drowned while bathing in the
Botna river: and the eldesl son of J. R. Cook. who. in trying to reach the
upper Botna bridge when the river was out of it- hank-, missed the bridge
and was drowned March 28, 1875.
Goods were sold on the present site of Oakland before the town was laid
out, Mr. Slocum had a store room and stock of groceries, when Jacob Cohn
came from Council Bluffs to start a general store at Big Grove, and the
groceries in stock were transferred from Slocum to Cohn. W. II. Freeman
put up a new building in the Grove and Cohn moved to that. He soon be-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 181
came a bankrupt. D. B. Freeman took charge of the assets and he and W.
H. Freeman opened up in the same place on their own account.
J. B. Matlack afterwards acquired W. H. Freeman's interest and again
that of D. B. Freeman, after which D. B. Freeman became sole owner by
purchase from Matlack. Through successive changes rapidly made the busi-
ness finally came into the hands of Potter and DeGratf.
The building of a branch railroad of the Rock Island Railroad down
the Botna valley from Avoca changed the character of the hamlet of Big
Grove, standing in the primeval forest, to an important town. The town
of Oakland was laid out by Thomas Tostevin and Samuel Denton, surveyors.
The first residence on the new site was erected by Dr. S. Stewart and the
first store building by J. C. Norton, J. M. Estes and E. H. Wineland in the
upper part of town.
The plat of the lower part of the town was made September 13, 1880,
on the lands of W. II. Freeman, David Freeman, John Bates, Ambrose
Bates and Thomas Tostevin. The next spring, 1881, Thomas Tostevin
platted a portion of the town in the upper part on the lands of John T.
Baldwin.
The town was incorporated under the laws of Eowa by the circuit court
of Pottawattamie county on the first of May, 1882. An election having
been held on the 26th of April at which W. H. Freeman was chosen mayor;
S. S. Rust, J. L. Caldwell, John McDonald, Austin Goff, L. F. Potter and
Charles Bryant, councilmen; E. G. Barley, recorder; B. F. Freeman, treas-
urer; D. H. Morrison, marshal, and W. W. Begler, city attorney. A news-
paper, the Acorn, was started by John C. McMannima and John G. Julian
May 1, 1881. The first issue was dated May •">. the same year. In August
following A. M. Lewis became editor and proprietor, and on the 1st of March,
1882, A. M. Lewis sold to A. T. Cox. It has been independent in politics,
working for the interest of the town and surrounding country, and its efforts
are appreciated by the business public.
Oakland Lodge No. 442 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was
established at Oakland on the 13th of January, 18S2. with the following
officers: T. C. Alexander, N. G. ; N. Young, V. G. ; A. M. Lewis, secretary;
W. D. Johnson, treasurer.
The Big Grove Grange of Patrons of Husbandry was instituted by General
William Duane Wilson, editor of the Iowa Homestead, in the spring of 1871.
The charter membership was twenty, and increased to sixty, while the grange
continued to act as such.
For the establishment of a Masonic lodge the first meeting for organiza-
tion was held at Big Grove in March, 1874, and the lodge instituted as Ark-
Lodge No. 335, under dispensation from the grand lodge, upon the recom-
mendation of Mt. Nebo Lodge of Avoca.
J. C. Chapman was grand master at that date. The dispensation is
dated 10th of June, 1874, A. L. 5874, the year of the grand lodge 32, and
is signed by J. C. Chapman as grand master and T. S. Parvin as grand
secretary, and evidenced by the seal of the Grand Lodge of Iowa.
The dispensation constituted Fletcher Dunham master of the lodge; W.
182 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
H. Freeman, senior warden; H. II. Gillette, junior warden. With these
the lodge was duly constituted, and at the ensuing meeting of the grand lodge
the subordinate lodge was properly and regularly clothed with power to work
under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Iowa.
The Big Grove Missionary Baptist Church of Jesus Christ was organized
August 11, 1881, with the following as members: Jacob Rust, Eda E. Rust,
Susan Huff, Margaret J. Reed, Eda McGee, M. T. Palmer and Caroline Palmer,
seven persons in all. The society was organized under the counsel of the
Rev. E. W. Hall, pastor of the Baptist church at Lewis, in Cass county,
and James W. Brown, clerk of the church at Lewis. The first meeting
was held in the dwelling which now constitutes the residence of John Bird,
the building then being used for a sehoolhouse. On the second Sunday in
November, 1861, George L. Reed ami Almas Huff were received as member-,
and in December Mr. Reed was baptized, and the sacrament of the Lord's
supper administered for the first time.
A preliminary meeting was held at Big Grove September 16, 1881, for
the purpose of organizing a Congregational church society.
The confession of faith as laid down in the authorized manual was
accepted, articles of faith and a constitution were drafted by a committee
composed of Messrs. Norton. Snyder, Shepard and DeGraff. The following
persons became . member- by signing the same: J. C. Norton, Susie Norton,
Sarah Lyman, H. C. Snyder, C. R. Johnson, Lottie Shepard. W. L. Nokes,
H. B. Shepard M. J. DeGraff, L 11. Shepard and Frank Shepard.
Rev. John Todd, of Tabor, preached to the congregation in the store
room of J. B. Estes on the 19th of October, 1880. The first officers were
H. C. Snyder, clerk; Mrs. Sarah Lyman, treasurer; A. Johnson, L. B.
Shepard and J. C. Norton, trustees, and .1. ( '. Norton, deacon.
Work was begun on a new church in September, 1881, and was so fat
completed as to be suitable for use in tin- winter of 1881. The cost was
$1,500, and the same was furnished and dedicated.
The peculiar situation of Oakland is favorable for building up a large
local business, being far enough from larger (owns to prevent local trade
from being drawn away to them, and being surrounded by as fine an agricul-
tural country as the world can show, the town has made steady progress,
and an old timer, on going there in this year of 1907 would look in vain
for the old land marks of the days when the western stage crossed the
Botna and wallowed through the mud bottom and wound around the south
end of the grove and up the hill to Reed's station, who also kept the post-
office.
On stepping from the cars now he finds himself on a well graded street
with cement walks and lined with up-to-date business houses, most of which
are of brick.
Among these are the three department stores that would be a credit to
any town of ten thousand inhabitants, one exclusive grocery store, one boot
and shoe store, two drug stores, two furniture stores, two millinery stores, one
hotel, two restaurants, two meat markets, three barber shops, three coal
yards, two cement block factories. There are two lumber yards carrying
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 183
heavy stocks, two elevators with one of which is connected a feed mill, three
livery stables, three agricultural implement houses. Among the trades are
three blacksmith shops, one wagon shop, one tailor shop, three harness shops.
In addition to the stores above named are two exclusive dry goods stores,
two billiard halls. The city has two banks. The religious element is repre-
sented by one Methodist, one Congregational and one Christian church.
In schools the city is constituted an independent district and is provided
with a graded school in charge of a superintendent and ten teachers. Four
doctors look after the health of city and surrounding country, while but
one attorney is required for to keep legal matters straight. This may be
owing to the fact that Oakland has no saloon. It has a very neat little opera
house, and a jail for rent. The city has its own waterworks, the supply
being supplied from wells and the pressure obtained from a standpipe.
In addition to other improvements it has miles of cement walks.
The fraternal organizations are represented by one Masonic lodge, one
of I. 0. 0. F., one of the K. of P., one of Woodmen of the World, and
one of Maccabees.
Mayor, L. S. White. Population one thousand two hundred. Persons
of school age in city according to the state census of 1905, three hundred and
six; township outside of city, one hundred and ninety-two; total, four
hundred and ninety-eight, of which two hundred and thirty-nine were males
and two hundred and sixty-four females. Directors: President, Frank
Zentmire; secretary, W. R. Frantz; treasurer, E. P. Denton.
Compensation, first-grade teachers, $40; second-grade, $35.
Township trustees: R. H. Carse, Clark Fickel and E. P. Denton.
Township clerk, F. A. Nash. Justices of the peace, W. C. Davis and W. B.
Butler. Constables, J. E. Forsythe and W. D. Ball. Assessor, M. H. Parks.
BOOMER TOWNSHIP.
The order to constitute Boomer was made June 8, 1858. It formerly
was a part of Rockford. It is a full congressional township, being bounded
on the north by Harrison county, east by Neola, south by Hazel Dell, and
west by Rockford townships.
The first election under the new organization was held on the 12th of
October, 1869, at the house of Samuel Bateman. and township officers were
chosen.' There were nineteen votes cast, of which eighteen were democratic
and one republican. This one was that of Z. Remmington, referred to in
part of history of Neola.
The first township officers chosen were Samuel Diggle, Wm. Fouts and
Joseph Mohat, as trustees; Henry Gittings, clerk, and Samuel Bateman, Sr.,
and Joseph Bardsley, justices of the peace. There is no record of constables
having been elected.
The first settler was Lee Bybee, a Mormon, who, with a number of fam-
ilies, established a camp and built cabins as was their custom during their
temporary sojourn while enroute from Nauvoo to Salt Lake. In two or three
184 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
years these moved on and their camping ground was later included in the
farms of L. S. Axtell and George Drake.
The names of the first births and deaths are not known, but the first
wedding was a double one, the parties in one being William McKeown and
Miss Eliza Jane Hall, and in the other, Ezekiel Cheeny and Miss Lucy
Hardy. This was in 1848. The latter couple subsequently went on to Utah
and were lost sight of.
The first school opened was in Bybee's camp in the winter of 1847-8.
J. L. Deforest was the teacher, who afterward died in Harrison county.
The persons most active in securing the organization were Judge Hall
and I. M. Sigler. The latter being the strongest kind of a democratic and
something of a wag proposed the name of Bloomer as a joke on D. C.
Bloomer, who was equally as strong a republican. But Judge Sherman
spoiled the fun by leaving out the "1," making it Boomer, which was adopted.
The first highway laid out was what is known as the Harris Grove and
Council Bluffs road, laid out by Edward Latham, as commissioner, in 1853,
and the first bridge a wooden one across tin- North Pigeon near William
McKeown's. Nearly all the first settlers were English and accustomed to
reaping with the sickle. Ike Sigler had the only grain cradle, which was
as much a wonder to them as the McCormick reaper to us a halt' century
ago.
The first fanning mill was owned by Robert Kent and lie charged his
neighbors toll for using it. I. M. Sigler was tor many years a prominent
citizen. He died about 1888 in Nebraska from the effects of a fall, and his
remains were brought home for interment. He was a soldier of the Mexican
war and a native of Indiana.
Mr. L. S. Axtell has always been a. highly useful eiitzen, was a ~ehool
teacher in Council Bluffs in the early days, where he married a Miss Wade;
has represented Pottawattamie county in the legislature and was for several
years county superintendent of schools.
Boomer has been at a disadvantage compared with her neighbors in
having neither a railroad nor town. It has as good soil, however, as the sun
shines upon, well adapted to grain or stock raising. It also has groves of
native timber that have been a wonderful help to the settlers.
The township officers at ilii- writing i L907) are C. M. Axtell, J H. Page
and G. H. Darrington. trustees; and Nels Christianson, clerk; J. M. Axtell
and Geo. H. Darrington. justices of the peace: C. L. Thomas, assessor; and
G. F. Page and Wm. Wright, constables.
The school board consisted of Joseph Mackland, president; secretary,
Geo. H. Darrington: treasurer, Lewis Peters. Pay of teachers; firs! grade.
*)•»: second, .$35 per month, respectively.
According to state census of 1905 there were four hundred of school age
in the township, of which two hundred and twenty were males and one
hundred and eighty were females.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 185
CRESCENT TOWNSHIP.
From February 12, 1853, Crescent township formed a part of Rockford.
At the latter date u petition, signed by A. J. Williams and thirty-seven other
citizens of the territory comprising Crescent township, asking that the terri-
tory be set off is a new township, and it was granted. This territory consisted
of congressional township 76, range 42, and township 76, range 43, also a
fractional part of township 76, range 44. This included its present territory
as well as that of Hazel Dell and part of Xorwalk. It was also ordered that
an election for township officers be held at Crescent City in April, 1857.
The first settlers were Mormon- that came with the great exodus that
halted at Council Bluffs and overflowed into the adjacent territory.
Some of these renounced allegiance to Brigham Young though still
adhering to the faith as expounded by Joseph Smith. These remained here
and have proved to be some of our best citizens.
Among the number were David Wilding, an Englishman, William
Strong, Robert Kirkwood, Scotch. II. A. Terry, S. M. Hough and Joseph
McCoid were natives of New York.
No citizen is better known that II. A. Terry. For years he has devoted
his time to demonstrating that fruit of all kinds adapted to this parallel of
latitude could be profitably grown here, and he has succeeded in proving it.
and in his old age is reaping the benefit of his earlier labor.-. He was among
the first to organize the first agricultural society of which L. M. Kline was
president; D. S. Jackson, vice-president; J. E. Johnson, treasurer; and H. A.
Terry, secretary. This was in 1856. For many years his seed business ex-
tended from St. Joseph, Mo., to Fort Pierre. Dakota.
Mr. Kirkwood was a plain farmer and desired no office, but the people
insisted on his representing them on the county board of supervisor-, to
which they elected him a number of terms, and. further, his party wished to
send him to the legislature, but he declined the honor.
The first highway opened was the road from Crescent City to Council
Bluffs through the valley of the Little Pigeon, and in the crossing of that
stream the first bridge was built.
The first schools were probably kept by the Mormons and taught at
some of the residences.
In September. 1855, Reuben Barton. David Dunkle. Win. McMullen,
Henry McMullen and Solomon McMullen met and organized the school town-
ship of Little Pigeon, district No. 7.
L. J. Goddard was elected president of the board, David Dunkle, secre-
tary, and Reuben Barton, treasurer. L. J. Goddard was employed by the
other members to teach at $30 per month until a schoolhouse could be built.
A log schoolhouse was soon built and fitted up near the line between
Crescent and Hazel Dell townships. The floor was of puncheons, smoothed
by an adz, with earth roof. The seats were slabs with flat side up, with
holes bored and pins put in for legs.
These are the germs from which the great universities, with their be-
186 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
quests of millions, have grown, and the foundation upon which the greatest
nation of earth was laid.
. The next summer Miss Sophronia E. Whitcomb, now the venerable wife
of Rev. Henry DeLong, was the teacher, and the house was crowded. For
several years this was the only scbool within a radius of seven miles.
The second building was erected on Pigeon creek, near the site of the
Parish mill. From this time on the interest increased with that of the popu-
lation until before the division by detaching Hazel Dell, Crescent contained
eleven subdistricts, all with comfortable houses.
In the division Crescent retained five of the houses, to which two had
been added previous to 1880. At this date ten teachers were employed, four
male and six female.
The first postoffice was at Ellisdale farm, two miles south of what was
destined to be Crescent City. Tins was in April, '56, and the first post-
master was L. J. Goddard. On Crescent City coming into being it was
moved to that place. It will be remembered that Crescent City is older than
the township, it having been organized in the spring of 1856.
The original proprietors were Joseph E. Johnson, H. A. Terry, S. M.
Hough, Samuel Eggleston, L. 0. Littlefield, L. J. Goddard, 0. H. Dutrow,
D. S. Jackson and R. \Y. Steele. Joseph E. Johnson erected the first business
house in 1856, and Mr. Johnson opened a general store the same year in
that building. Samuel Eggleston soon followed with another. The third
was built by a Mr. Piper, who built a large one but a short distance from
the other two. Business not requiring so large a building, it was converted
into a town hall. In 1857 few town- away from railroads presented greater
activity than Crescent City.
A little newspaper was started called the Rock Bottom, but was short
lived. Its principal business was to urge the bridging of the Missouri river
between tins place and Florence on the west side, five miles above Omaha.
The dream that haunted the people of both these towns was that there being
rock bottom here, it would be the only practical place to locate a bridge; that
the first railroad would come down the Pigeon valley, and that Crescent
would supersede Council Bluffs and Florence should do likewise to Omaha.
Crescent was laid out, platted, the streets named, a newspaper started
called the Crescent City Oracle. It was quite ably edited by Joseph E. John-
son.
Florence also made great strides. A newspaper was started there, and
also a bank, and for quite a while it looked as if there was something in it,
but in the fall of '57, when the great crash came, only the strongest of the
young cities (there w T ere no towns or villages) survived.
Many houses in Florence were moved to Omaha and out onto farms,
and from Crescent, both business houses and dwellings were moved to the
Bluffs as well as sold to farmers. Among these was that of G. F. Smith,
the father of Hon. Walter I. Smith, present member of congress. He had a
neat dwelling in Crescent which he brought down to Council Bluffs, and
after living in it some years, sold it to the late Colonel W. F. Sapp, who
finally died in it. So that little house had the honor of housing two mem-
BROADWAY, WEST OF GLEN AVENUE.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 189
bers of congress, and still at this writing is standing on Oakland avenue, but
it was while yet in Crescent City that the Hon. Walter I. Smith was born
in it.
It is a long reach from 1856 to 1907, during which time great cities
have risen and some of the embryo cities disappeared. In the meantime,
however, the little hamlet backed by the township has maintained its individ-
uality and, in fact, grown with the township, of which it is a part. At this
writing (1907) it has a graded school of four rooms, a neat two-story frame,
with Miss Mary Schrot as principal, with Margaret Johnson and Nettie
Hutchison, assistant-. The members of the board of education are J. R.
Lapworth, president; J. A. Pratt, secretary; and Warren Hougb, treasurer.
The Latter Day Saints have a neat church building; also the Methodists.
Rev. Mr. Baldwin is pastor of the latter.
The Odd Fellows have a lodge of over seventy members, of which Dr.
A. A. Robertson is noble grand. The Modern Woodmen also have a lodge
with G. B. Hampton as head consul.
Crescent City has two stores of general merchandise, two hotels, a lum-
ber yard, livery stable, and. besides the nursery of H. A. Terry, previously
mentioned, is an extensive one known as the Crescent City Nursery, owned
and operated by a joint stock company, of which T. G. Turner is president;
E. D. Menary, vice-president; R. D. M. Turner, secretary; and F. W. Menary,
treasurer. It has extensive salesrooms in Council Bluffs, with office at 3101
Avenue A.
It is interesting to a person who saw this beautiful country a half cen-
tury ago and revisits it to note the difference. In place of the rude cabin and
its equally rude outbuildings we see the comfortable house of the prosperous
farmer, with the box for reception of his daily mail at his front gate, and,
on entering, find the piano or organ, while the telephone is waiting your
bidding.
Occasionally we meet those whose life has spanned the long interval
that reaches from the little log schoolhouse nearly hid in the grove down to
the present time with all our modern conveniences and comforts.
An interesting case of this kind is to meet the following named per-
sons, now past middle age, viz. : J. A. Boren, Mrs. H. A. Terry, Warren
Hough and C. L. Barret and hear them tell of the time when, as little kids,
they were pupils of Miss Whitcomb, now Mrs. DeLong, in the little log school-
house a .half century ago, and we wonder if the next will show as much
progress. The little boys and girls must answer this, as we shall not be here.
The township officers at this writing (1907) are: Trustees, James R.
Lapworth, Fred Miller and P. J.iMoran; Walter Hough, clerk; justices of
the peace, J. A. Pratt and L. S. Jones; constable, James Kinney; assessor,
H. W. Miller; school board, president, J. R. Lapworth; secretary, J. A. Pratt;
treasurer, Warren Hough.
According to the state census there are three hundred and eighteen
children between five and twenty-one, being one hundred ami fifty-nine of
each sex.
190 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
CARSON TOWNSHIP.
The early history of Carson township is identical with that of Macedonia,
of which it was a part. The egg from which both the township and town
was hatched was Loshe's mill. With the opening up of the branch roads
from Hastings and Avoca both township and town rapidly gained importance.
The township is small, having but twenty-four sections, twelve of which were
detached from Macedonia and as many from Belknap. Both are named in
honor of a prominent railroad official. The township is of the same quality
that obtains all along the Botna valley, than which the world has no better.
The farmers are largely engaged in stock raising and becoming wealthy.
while the town is assuming the dignity of a city, although it has been twice
tried by fire.
The town was incorporated in 1881, and the first mayor was W. W.
Gardner, and the first council consisted of the following persons: Dr. F. S.
Thomas, Win. H. Graff, A. J. Anderson, Isaac Culberson, .lames Ellis and
S, P. Hardenbrook. The present city government is as follows: Mayor, E.
T. Osier; marshal, J. C. Bradley; recorder, Frank Galloway, city council,
F. A. Bigalow, W. M. Holtze, W. D. Landon, E. W. Rowe and Wm. B.
Bodyfeldt.
The city has five churches, Methodist. Christian, Presbyterian, Catho-
lic and Latter Day Saints. It also has a graded school with prin-
cipal and five teachers, three general stores carrying heavy stocks, two of
hardware and furniture, one lumber yard, two drug stores, two livery stables,
one flouring mill, part of which is the old Loshe to which an addition has
been made and steam power applied thereby furnishing power for the electric
light plant in addition to the manufacture of flour. It also furnishes power
for the water service in the business part of the city. It has also two barber
shops, four physicians, two lawyers, one machine shop, one blacksmith shop
employing a number of hand-, a printing office with weekly newspaper, the
Carson Critic, with F. G. Week editor and publisher; state Savings Bank,
J. R. Chaloupka, cashier and manager.
The fraternal orders are represented by one Masonic lodge, with Eastern
Star, one of Modern Woodmen, with Royal Neighbors.
During 1889 the town was visited by a destructive fire that -wept lie
entire north side ol Main street, and again in 1894 a second made a clean
sweep of the south side, which was followed by rebuilding with brick as
had already been done on the north side. The people here have been to
great pains and expense in constructing g 1 cement walk< that add much
to the appearance and to the comfori of the public.
In addition to the railroads the wagon roads of this part of the county
are in splendid condition, the road drag being much in evidence.
On coming here after years of absence one misses the kindly face- of
the old pioneers, both father- and mothers, but their work i- don.'. They
have opened up one of the mosl lovely -pot- on earth and are now resting
m a pretty little city of granite and marble on a lovely -pot overlooking the
Botna valley, about a mile from town.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 191
The township officers are as follows: Trustees, Claus Hartz, C. H. Coyl
and A. F. Stone; clerk, F. G. Weeks; assessor, T. W. Dungan; justices of
the peace, D. McMillan and Z. F. Linville; constables, A. A. Faley and Thos.
Brack.
According to the state census of 1905 there were in Carson township,
exclusive of city, one hundred and ninety-one persons of school age, of which
ninety-two were males and ninety-nine females. In town of Carson there
were one hundred and eighty-one, of which eighty were males and one
hundred and one females.
The school board consists of J. H. Galloway, president; C. Hartz, secre-
tary and P. F. Schoening, treasurer.
Pay of teachers, $40 and $35 for first and second grades respectively.
CENTER TOWNSHIP.
Center is a full congressional township, bounded on the north by Valley,
east by Wright, south by Grove and west by Belknap and Carson townships.
The main streams are Second, or Graybill, creek and Jordan. The earliest
settlers who came were Joshua C. Layton, who arrived April 2, 1852 ; Reuben
Maines came in 1855; Joseph Layton, Jacob Rust and Joseph Darnell in
1854; Louis Huff, Benjamin Palmer, Charles S. Robinson, Thomas Ephraim
and Wm. McKee in 1856.
Joshua C, or Captain Layton, as his friends called him, was born in
Clark county, Ohio, August 27, 1807.
The first justice of the peace in Center township was Jacob Rust. The
first birth was in the family of Joseph Darnell and his wife and the child
died. The first marriage was between James Morris and Lavinia Layton,
daughter of Joshua C. Layton, on the first day of July, 1856. Mr. Layton
was also the first assessor and made the assessment of the township in three
days. The first school was taught in a log cabin in the northeast quarter of
section 7. This was in the winter of 1858-9 and taught by Martin Luther
Ingoldsby.
The first mill established in the township was on Jordan creek for grind-
ing corn. It was simply a large coffee mill with a sack attached to receive
the meal. Its capacity was about one bushel per day. It was run by a
Mormon named Jordan, from whom the creek derived its name.
In 1856 three brothel's named McKee brought a portable sawmill into
the settlement and afterward sold it to Joseph Layton and Joseph Darnell,
who moved and set it up near the Botna bridge at Big Grove, and while in
use the boiler burst and totally destroyed it.
The first Fourth of July celebration ever held in this vicinity was in
1857 at a paper town laid out on the dividing line between Center and Valley
townships and named Iola. This was on the faith of a railroad being built
through here. The people came from all around and had a basket picnic,
but the railroad failed to come that way and the three houses constituting
the town were moved and Iola became a memory.
In 1861 a military organization was effected and called the Home Guards,
192 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
and J. C. Layton was made its captain. Its first duty was to go under General
Dodge to the southern border to repel a threatened invasion of Iowa by
Missouri rebels, but on arriving at the border they found the frontier already
prepared for defense by volunteers from the border counties and accordingly
returned to Council Bluffs, but were soon called upon to go to Sioux City, as
the Indians were becoming troublesome on the northern frontier, but, after
remaining there with a detachment of infantry and a battery of artillery and
the Indians becoming quiet, the alarm subsided and the expedition again
returned to the Bluffs and were disbanded.
There was no more loyal community during tbe time that tried men's
souls than that of Center township, of which Mr. Layton was an acknowledged
leader and in recognition of which a township has been named in his honor.
The people of this township have continued ever since to maintain their
character as a progressive, upright and industrious community, and while
it has no town of its own its interests seem identical with those of its next
neighbor, Belknap.
There are many names of the old pioneers that should be remembered,
among which are Jacob Rust, Joseph Darnell, Louis Huff, Benjamin Palmer,
and the noble women who braved the hardships and privations that have
resulted in transforming an uninhabited waste to one of the fairest spots on
earth.
The affairs of the township al the presenl time are entrusted to the
following named officers: Trustees, (J. W. Gage. T. R. Strong and W.
Storts; clerk, George II. Nash; assessor, Paul Beezley; justices of the peace,
Arthur Putnam; constable, Ashur Heckman.
The following named persons constitute the scl 1 board: President,
J. A. Goehring: secretary. F. D. Gould: treasurer, T. R Strong.
According to the state cen-us of ]0<)r> then' wnv two hundred and eight-
een persons of school age, of which one hundred and eight were male- and
one hundred and ten were female-.
Compensation of teachers is $40 and $35 for first and second class
respectively.
GARNER TOWNSHIP.
I emier township was settled by the Mormons at the same time that Kane,
Rockfonl and Crescent were. What made this point particularly inviting
was the abundance of timber for building their cabins and fuel, but even
more was the little old Indian mill, which had been built by the govern-
ment for the benefit of the Pottawattamie- ten years before, and was ran by
S. E. AVicks. He wa- the lasl governmenl agent to run it, and when that
tribe removed the old mill was left and Mr. Wicks remained and became
in full possession, making excellent flour to as late as 1SP>0. He had married
a squaw and they reared quite a large family, hut they became scattered
after the death of their parents.
Among the first settlers were Wm. Garner. Adam Rittcr, J. D. Hay-
wood, in 1S46, followed a little later by M. B. Follet, J. B. Dingman, George
and Simeon Graybill, George Scofield, John Child, J. J. Johnson and Wm.
Child.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 193
The.se all remained after the great body moved on to Utah and became
some of the most prosperous farmers in the county, but at this writing only
one or two are living. The township is named in honor of the first named,
who was known far and near as Uncle Billy Garner. He became wealthy,
secured a large quantity of land mostly in the Mosquito valley, and as fast
as one of his numerous family became of age or married, he would deed
them land for a farm. Although of limited education his judgment in nearly
all matters was considered infallible.
This township is of irregular shape, a large piece being reserved by Kane
from the southwest part, but this has been more than made up by a pan-
handle extending to the river along the south line of both Crescent and Hazel
Dell, making the north line nine miles long, so that it is bounded on the
north by Crescent and Hazel Dell, east by Hardin, south by Lewis and Kane,
and west by Kane and the Missouri river. The principal streams besides
the Missouri river are the Big and Little .Mosquito and Indian creeks. It
is strictly agricultural, there being no manufactories at present. Mr. dar-
ner built a woolen factory many years ago. but it was abandoned after a
trial of a few years. It is crossed by live railroads, the Rock Island and the
Milwaukee passing diagonally through the center, and the Great Western
cutting through the southeastern, while the Northwestern and also the Illinois
Central pass through the panhandle on the extreme west. Probably half
of it is timber land. Up to this writing, although a large and wealthy town-
ship, it has never had a railroad station or store. It had, however, for many
years a large hall, built by the Grange, where meetings, both political and
religious, were held, as well as elections, balh and all kind- of social gath-
erings.
Long before this was built, however, the little schoolhouse had crept into
the edges of the groves and were used for social neighborhood meetings.
In contemplating the habits of these early settlers, their industry, fru-
gality and honesty, one is tempted to ask whether civilization may not be
carried too far. If there was no church here, neither was there a saloon,
and their wants were simple; their industry provided all of the substantiala
and from the moment of their coming their condition was being improved.
The second mill built in the township was located about three miles
above the Wicks mill on the same stream. It was erected by Wm. Garner
in 1858, but after running a few years became unprofitable and was aban-
doned.
Any history of Garner township without reference to Uncle Billy would
be like the play of Hamlet with that character omitted. He was a typical
North Carolinian with just enough of the southern dialect to be interesting.
and of such integrity that he commanded the respect of the entire community,
and when his work was done, in addition to his neighbors, a special train
took friends from the city to follow his remains to the little cemetery named
after him and overlooking the home he had enjoyed for half a century. He
was of long lived stock, his father having passed the century mark and his
mother to nearly ninety. In 1846 he was married to Miss Sarah Workman,
and if ever one was appropriately named, it was she. While he was in the
194 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
army she conducted the farm, in addition to her manifold duties in the house,
with almost masculine ability.
While the man seems to be the subject of most history, there are
thousands of noble, patient women that have been real helpmeets and con-
tributed more than their half to the general welfare and there is something
wrong that they fail to receive credit for it. The only way seems for them
to become historians and speak for themselves, as we are so vain as to claim
all the credit ourselves.
The first school ever taught in Pottawattamie county is claimed to have
been held in the little Mormon suburb of Kanesville called Carterville. This
was in 1847. A Mr. Curtis was the teacher and he contracted to teach for
$12 per month, but at close of school was compelled to compromise for a
part. From this modest beginning the institution had grown by 1881 when
the school enrollment reached three hundred, with twelve schoolhouses.
At this writing (1907) the school board is organized as follows: F. S.
Childs, president; B. G. Davis, secretary; and W. S. Clay, treasurer; with
twelve subdistricts; with compensation, first-grade teachers $42.50, second-
grade $35, per month.
According to the state census of 1905, there were four hundred and fifty-
seven persons of school age.
The vicinity of the old Wicks mill has for more than half a century
played a conspicuous part in the early history of Pottawattamie county. It
was here where the immigrants obtained their first flour and corn meal, and
later, for many years, it was the place where the Latter Day Saints held their
yearly meetings, some coming for nearly one hundred miles. A beautiful
grove furnished an ideal camping ground, the Mosquito oreek, like the
Jordan, became famous for the number baptized in its waters, and alongside
of the road coming from under a bluff was an excellent spring capable of
supplying any number of worshippers. Nearby was a little schoolhouse
where young Kinsman taught and from where he used to write interesting
letters to the Nonpareil. Little did we think at that time of the noble part
he was soon to play and the fame he was soon to achieve by his heroic death
near Vicksburg. All honor to General Dodge and tin others that assisted
in recovering his remains and having a suitable monument erected to his
memory.
Later on this <,„,t witnessed one scene in a tragedy enacted in June, 1865.
At this time a highwayman made his appearance in this neighborhood. His
first victim was Mr. Jesse Smith. He was on his way to his home in Crescent
when he met the robber about two miles north of the city and was taken
down into n ravine on the east side of the road, relieved of his money and
held prisoner until towards night, and the teams had ceased to pass along
the road, when he told him to take the road, turning neither to the righl
or left, which he proceeded to do, but returned to town the next day ami
save the police his description. The next victim was a Mr. Kaywood, whom
he met on the Canning hill in east part of the city. This was just at dark,
and after taking his money permitted him to go on. Then were but three
or four police at that time and probably fifty men turned out and helped to-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 195
scour the brush around the city, but without success, and the very next day a
Mr. Perks, -while bringing in a load of wood, was halted on the hill in the south-
ern part of the city and made to deliver. It will be remembered that the old
Wicks mill had been replaced by a new one, built by George Parks and S.
S. Bayliss, and was known as Parks' mill, and was operated by him, he going
out mornings and returning evenings on horseback. The evening after the
third robbery, on coining in as he came within fifteen or twenty rods of the
spring by the roadside, a man rose from drinking and started on ahead. Mr.
Parks was in the habit of carrying money for buying grain, and as a con-
sequence always went armed, and seeing this man the conviction flashed
upon him that this was the robber, and that he was making for a little
thicket ahead, there to await him, and instantly resolved to take the initiative,
and quietly riding up ordered him to throw up his hands and keep them
there on pain of instant death for refusal. He then ordered him to walk
by the side of his horse's right shoulder, keeping his hands over his head,
until opposite the first house, being that of Mr. Yogle, whom ho called to come
out and disarm his prisoner. The weapons were two splendid revolvers, duly
loaded and ready for use. Just then a team came along with several men
and the man was brought into town where a committee was waiting to receive
him.
There being no jail at that time, he was taken to a room in the Hagg
block, now known as the blue front, and the following day he was fully
identified by his victims. The green goggles he wore when on duty were
found in his pockets. Sheriff Voorhis requested someone to file informa-
tion, but all refused, and the sheriff was calculating to get an order to com-
mit him to the nearest jail; but the next morning he was found dead hang-
ing to a willow tree in the yard where John Hammer kept his building
material. It appeared that he was from Kansas and on hearing of his fate
some one of his friends wrote to our mayor asking for particulars and say-
ing he was not considered a bad man at home, and that he had been a soldier
in the Union army. He was buried beside the other victims of vigilants
on the ridge above the Soldiers' cemetery. But to return to Garner town-
ship.
Another tragedy was enacted later wherein a young man named Charles
Grainwell was killed by Thomas Davis. It occurred at a threshing. The
young man was pitching the sheaves to Davis, who was feeding, and the
sheaves coming too fast Davis became angry, and after some words Davis
stabbed Grainwell with the big knife for cutting bands with fatal result.
Davis was tried, convicted and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary,
but after serving two years and a half was pardoned and left the country.
Still later a Chautauqua assembly was established here and conducted
for two or three seasons, but was not a success financially and was discon-
tinued.
The present township officers are as follows: Trustees, F. S. Childs,
Fred Janson and G. W. Shipley ; clerk, H. E. Tiarks ; justices of the peace,
Ed. Rozenberg and J. C. Begley. No constable seems to lie needed, as none
qualified after the last election.
196 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
GROVE TOWNSHIP.
Grove township derives its name from the fact that it has a number of
fine groves that if properly eared for will be sufficient for a dense population,
and what in the way of forest would have been considered indispensable fifty
years ago would now be objectionable. It has been demonstrated that it is
easier to make a farm from prairie and raise timber than to clear heavy
timber land and get it under cultivation. In Grove township we have a
happy medium; enough but not a surplus. Grove township was included in
Macedonia township until September 25, 1858, on which date, by authority
of the county judge, the territory consisting of congressional township 74
north, of range 30 west, was declared a civil township, and the same was
declared an election precinct, and it was ordered that an election be held
therein on the second Tuesday in October, 1858.
The election was held as ordered and the following persons elected:
George B. Otto, township clerk; E. W. Knapp, justice of the peace; Cornelius
Hurley, constable; David Watson, assessor; and Thomas Connor, A. J.
Field and S. M. B. Wheeler, trustees. It is a full congressional township,
and bounded on the north by ('enter. east by Waveland, west by Macedonia
and Carson townships, ami south by Montgomery county. It is watered by
Jordan, Farm and Indian creeks, all flowing south, and are fed by springs
that never dry.
Long before this township had been organized or a permanent settler
located trails were made by the Mori is while on their pilgrimage, and these
became the roads of the pioneers that followed.
In 1848 the following named men came in over the old .Mormon trail
from Illinois, viz.: James Watson, came with ox team-; George Owen,
drove both horses and oxen; George Taylor, came with ox teams. These
brought their families with them and were soon followed by many others.
The first sawmill in the town-hip was built and owned by John Smith
in 1853, and was located on Farm creek. This mill was washed away dur-
ing a freshet and was rebuilt in 1856 by C. Hurley, St., and again washed
away. The next mill was built by -1. S. Watson about two miles below. In
1859 S. M. B. Wheeler built a mill on Jordan creek. These were all saw-
mills, and the settlers were compelled to go to the old Indian mill near Council
Bluffs or to Meeks' mill on Rock creek in Missouri, and at times when the
roads were impassable they resorted to pounded corn. Roads were gradually
being opened and soon enterprising citizen- established mills. The first
bridge was over Jordan, on the Mormon trail. In 1850 the -ettlers became 30
numerous that they began to talk of schools, and they employed a Dr.
Williams to teach a school in one room in the residence of Jacob Anderson.
This proved so satisfactory that a second term was taught by a Mr. John Day
in a little log cabin near the residence of S. M. B. Wheeler. The first building
erected in the township for school purposes was located forty rods north of
the center of section 20. It was built of logs with puncheon floors and seats.
This was built in 1855 and used for a number of years. In 1865 the next
schoolhouse was built, being located in the .southeast corner of the southwest
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 197
quarter of section 21, and for a time was used by the children of the entire
township until 1868, when the township was divided into three subdistricts.
From this modest beginning the schools continued to grow until, in 1881,
when there were nine subdistricts with eight ungraded schools. Number of
months taught, five and one-half; teachers employed, male five, female ten;
compensation per month, males $30.86, females $29.70; pupils of school age,
males one hundred and seventy-five, females one hundred and sixty.
Many of these early settlers left Nauvoo intending to go to Utah, but
for one reason or another they paused here and finally concluded to remain
and few. if any, have had cause to regret it. The first to organize a religious
body in the township were the Latter Day Saint.-. E. W. Briggs and YV.
W. Blair were the organizers, and the original members were John Smith
and wife, E. W. Knapp and wife. A. J. Field and wife, James Otto and wife,
Levi Graybill and wife, John Winegar and wife, Joseph Smith and wife, and
Stephen Smith. John Smith was their first president and E. W. Knapp (lie
first clerk. Services were first held at residences of the different members
and later at schoolhouses, but the society becoming more numerous and
wealthy, in 1874 they erected a modest church building at a cost of *7:>:;.
The membership bad increased until in 1881 it had reached ninety and
maintained a regular Sabbath school.
The "Wheeler's Grove das,- of the M. 1'. church was organized in L865
by its original member-, among whom were Isaac Denton and wife, Jacob
Elsweck, Alexander Osier and Susan A. Stedman. In 1875 they erected a
church building at a cost of $1,300, and by 1881 their membership was sixty
and their Sunday school was thirty-five.
Pleasant Grove congregation of the C. P. church was organized by the
Rev. J. W. Carter July 1, 1876, was received under the care of the West
Iowa Presbytery of the C. P. church August 18, 1876, with Rev. J. W.
Carter the first pastor. In 1879 they erected a church building at a cost of
$1,400.
The Christian church was organized by Rev. Cephas Ellis and Samuel
Johnson. Their first pastor was the Rev. Samuel Johnson.
In 1881 they commenced building a church at a cost of $1,200. They
had at that time a Sunday school of sixty pupils.
The village of Eminence was laid out in 1875 by L. D. Woodmansie,
who also was the first resident and also the postmaster, and in addition
started a general merchandising business. And the next to locate was Dr.
A. J. Michael, and he was followed by Malcom McKenzie, a blacksmith,
and next came J. L. Harrell. He engaged in the manufacture and sale of
harness, and later a general store was opened by F. E. and N. Pershall,
brothers.
September 30, 1863, Mrs. Isaac Denton gave birth to boy triplets, which
were named, William, Wallace and Willard. They lived but a short time.
On August 17, 1864, the same lady gave birth to twins, but they lived but
four and six hours respectively.
The most terrible cyclone that ever visited western Iowa -pent its most
198 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
destructive force on the devoted heads of the people of this township in which
in less time than it takes to record it an entire family was killed and
thousands of dollars' worth of property was destroyed. The details have
been given by the press and are too well remembered by the citizens to re-
quire repetition, but simply to say that strong well built houses and barns
were reduced to kindling, farming implements and domestic animals blown
out of sight, even fowls stripped of their feathers in an instant. The saddest
feature was the instantaneous killing of the family of Mr. Osier, Mrs. Paist
and son.
Long since the damage, so far as money value is concerned, has been
repaired, but the loss of the friends who perished cannot be forgotten.
According to the state census of 1905 there were in the township two
hundred and forty-two persons of school age, of which one hundred and
twenty-nine were males and one hundred and thirteen females.
The school board is constituted as follows: President, James K. Osier;
secretary, John A. Knox; treasurer. G. M. Putnam. Teachers' salary, $38
and $33.
The township officers are as follows: Trustees, L. A. King, J. A.
Mitchell and A. C. Bissbe; clerk, Thomas Morgan; justices of the peace,
Harvey Bolton and E. V. Winans; assessor, John A. Knox. No one qualified
as constable.
HAZEL DELL TOWNSHIP.
Mention has already been made of the division of Crescent township by
which Hazel Dell was formed. It is a full congressional township. It lies
mostly on high rolling upland, sloping easterly toward Mosquito and westerly
towards Pigeon creeks. There are fine groves of timber in the ravines and the
soil is as good as any in the world. Most of the first settlers were Mormons,
lint the larger part went on witli the great movement to Utah. The first officers
of the new township were: J. P. Boulden and James Osborn, trustees. Nearly
all the early history of this township i- identical with that of Crescent, but
it has become famous as being the hirthpl ice of Indian creek. This is probably
the most active stream on earth of its size. It rises in some springs near Hazel
Dell church, drains twenty square miles before reaching the city, when it has
to be spanned by as many bridges. Engineers have grappled with it for forty
years and it seems to relish the fun. It has not been an unmixed evil though,
for it has been bringing down millions of yards of earth to fill the low ground
at the foot of the bluffs without which the beautiful ground where Bayliss
park, the courthouse, library and much of the best property in the city, would
new be a morass like it is a mile either way from these points.
We will probably hear more of this stream in connection with the city
of Council Bluffs.
Hazel Dell! What prettier name could be found for a township? It of
itself is suggestive of rural happiness. It was fortunate in its first settlers,
being as good people as could be found anywhere. The Valliers, Nixons,
Greggs, Coopers, Kings, Barretts. Rev. Cooper. O'Brien, Halls. Bouldens, Trip-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 199
lets. Springers, Osborns, McGraders, Frosts, Jenkins and many more of the
same sort; one would think they might be exempt from most of the troubles
with which other communities are afflicted, but it seems that the evil one
had long ago invaded a much happier though smaller one, and so this town-
ship, like most others in the county, must have its tragedies.
On the 26th of February, 1878, in the northwest corner of the town-
ship, the people were shocked by the killing of David Roberts by Jonathan
Jones. After a long and tedious trial Jones was acquitted on the plea of
emotional insanity caused by jealousy.
A long time previous to this an affair was pulled off that partook of the
nature of melodrama. There was a "fine old English gentleman" who was
a widower, had a farm in one of the beautiful dells, and a fine trotting horse
named Charley, of which he was very fond. He dressed well, was seventy,
and still was not happy. He longed for a companion, and he found one
about half his age, and all for a time went well. He was wont to extol her
many virtues to his friends in town when he met them. In fact he found her
superior to either of his former wives (this was the third) and one fine morn-
ing he started to go to look at some land at quite a distance, but promised
to return for supper, and she kissed him good-bye and put her arms around
Charley's glossy neck and kissed him.
Someone once said "Frailty, thy name is woman 1" When that old
gentleman returned he found his house a desolation! The finest of the bed-
ding, all of the silver, china and glassware that had been his former wife's,
had disappeared as effectually as if the earth had opened and swallowed them
up.
All his efforts to locate her were fruitless, but after some weeks it was
reported she was half way to Salt Lake with a younger man and former lover.
Another tragedy occurred more recently in the extreme southeastern
part of the township. It appeared that a store at Weston had been robbed.
Deputy-sheriff J. C." Baker was investigating the matter, and on questioning
a young man named George Matheson pretty closely, he became indignant
and shot Baker. He was indicted and tried for assault with intent to commit
murder and found guilty, but appealed and cause was sent back on error in
ruling. On rehearing he was convicted of assault with intent to inflict great
bodily injury. In a civil action Baker recovered a heavy judgment. It seems
but proper to make special mention of old Mrs. Nixon, the Spartan mother long-
since deceased, that sent three sons and three sons-in-law to the Union army.
During the winter of 1855-56 an old settler, Mr. Barrett, father of 0. L.
Barrett,' superintendent of the county infirmary, became lost and was frozen
to death, but his widow conducted the farm and reared the family. At this
time the people of Hazel Dell will compare favorably with those of any town-
ship in the county.
Its present officers are as follows: Trustees, Hans Henningson, R. M.
Hough and Geo. T. Ford; clerk, Wm. Nixon; justices of the peace, T. F.
Emmerson and R. T. Hanson; assessor, S. D. Hough; constable, Harry
Shroder; board of education, president, C. J. Christofferson ; secretary, Wm.
Nixon; treasurer, J. H. Gregg. According to state census of 1905 there are
200 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
three hundred and eighty-two of school age in the township, one hundred and
ninety-three males and one hundred and eighty-nine females in eight sub-
districts.
This township is only touched by railroad- on the extreme southeast
corner, where the Rock Island and Milwaukee running parallel strike the
village of Weston. This place has an elevator, lumber yard, general store,
one church (Catholic) and a graded school. The teachers receive $40 and
$35 respectively for first and second grades.
Mr. Jacob Hansen is entitled to special mention, bavin- served the public
faithfully as supervisor and later on the joint commission of Harrison and
Pottawattamie counties to assess the benefits to the land owners by reason of
the construction of the several ditches petitioned for and granted by the joint
boards of said counties.
HARDIN TOWNSHIP.
Hardin township was organized in 1869. Previous to this it was a part
of Kane. It is a full congressional township, and is mostly high rolling
prairie but has some groves of natural timber. This township is named in
honor of Richard Hardin. He came to Council Bluffs with his father, Davis
Hardin and family, in I .s:-»S w hen a boy. Thai being the first white family this
far up the Missouri. The Hardin.- were typical Kentuckians. Tall, heavy
boned, fond of hunting, generous and liberal in all their views. Davis, the
father was sen! to take charge of the Pottawattamies, as will be more fully
treated in the part of this history pertaining to Council Bluffs. Keg creek,
Little Keg and Little Silver creeks are the principal streams, and the town-
ship is watered by springs
The first permanent settler was Mr. Eteece D. Price, who came from
Wales in 1849 and settled with a number of .Mormon families. There were
one cluster of thirteen log huts in one camp and another of eleven. In the
summer of 1850 these went on to Utah and left the family of Mr. Price entirely
alone. The rich lands, of which none are better, s attracted settlers, and
by 1858 quite a number of first-class citizens had located here. A ng them
were Mrs. Perry and family. R. C. Thomas and family and Mr. W. K. Eames
from Vermont, in 1857. and from this time on they continued to arrive, and
soon a school was .-tailed. The first ever taught in the township was by Mr.
Lorenzo Burr in 1857. He was employe. 1 l.\ Mr. Reece D. Price, and the
school was in a log cabin belonging to him.
The first bridges built were over Keg creek at the Hardin stage station
and Weasel Run. Both are built of logs. The first road was the old stage road,
running from Des Moines to Council Bluffs, and the Western Stage Co. did a
great business until the coming of the railroads.
The Methodists organized a little society as early as L880, also quite a
large Sunday school. The first schoolhouse built by the township was on
section 18, near the residence of Mr. .lame- Wild. The first to teach in the
new building was an English priest by the name of Middleton.
From this modest beginning the schools had increased to the extent that
in 1881 there were five subdistricts. Number of teachers, male-, two. females.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 201
seven. Salary per month, both sexes, $30; number of pupils, males, one hun-
dred and two, females, eighty-two.
Schoolhouses, frame, four; brick, one; value $1,500.
Since 1881 these have increased to nine in 1905 with three hundred and
six persons, including those of the new town of McClelland, between the ages
of five and twenty-one tears. The Chicago & Great Western Railroad i j
the only one that passes through this township. It was completed in 1903,
and immediately the new town of McClelland sprang into existence and at
this writing there are a lumber yard, depot buildings, three general stores,
one drug store, one implement and hardware store, two saloons, a livery stable
and blacksmith shop and one elevator.
The Methodists have organized a church and erected a neat house of
worship.
Mr. Pete Cramer is engaged in buying and shipping stock.
The county infirmary is also located here under the superintendence of
O. L. Barrett.
Among those who, by industry and integrity, have made themselves prom-
inent are D. F. Dryden and Elias Quick, the former being a farmer and
large stock raiser. He was for a time a member of the board of supervisors,
and is an ex-soldier of the civil war. The latter started a store in 1883, and a
postofhce was established at his store in 1884, and named Quick postoffice.
Few merchants have been as fortunate as he. Starting in with a moderate
stock, every one of the twenty-three years showed an increase in bis business
and profits. This was due largely to his strict attention to business and partly
from the fact that no better class of people can be found than those with which
he is surrounded, and both these gentlemen have become wealthy and built
elegant homes in the city, where they now make their homes, letting their boys
continue the business.
There are two churches in the township, one being the Methodist, called
Mount Hope, the other being Presbyterian.
A Masonic lodge and Eastern Star were organized simultaneously in 1900,
and a lodge of Modern Brotherhood in 1808. also a lodge of Modern Woodmen
at Armour Grange in 1904.
No community, however well ordered, seems to be exempt from trouble.
It appears that a young man named John Emerine had married a daugh-
ter of Mr. W. K. Eames. Emerine became so dissipated that his wife obtained
a divorce and returned to her father's home. They had one child and Emerine
would insist on coming to see the child, and on being ordered away by the
father, shot him but only wounded him slightly. On coming again young
Eames shot him, only wounding him, after which he left, and was gone
some time and again returned, and being seen around the premises a younger
son of Mr. Eames shot him again, this time proving fatal. There was no
indictment.
The present township officers are: J. M. Underwood, Eugene Steepfell
and F. B. Chambers, township trustees and M. W. Davis, clerk; A. F. Mam-
men and A. K. Chambers, justices of the peace; J. O. Chambers, constable and
H. R. Smith, assessor.
202 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
The present board of education is composed as follows: President,
J. W. Wild; secretary, J. A. Price; treasurer, George Quick.
JAMES TOWNSHIP.
James township is bounded on the north by Pleasant, east by Valley,
south by Belknap and west by York townships.
The west half is drained by Big Silver and its tributaries and the east
half by the West Botna and its tributaries. The soil is of the best and
a crop has never failed since the settlement. It is named in honor of Stephen
James, a brother of Judge W. C. James, both of whom are now deceased. It
is destitute of natural groves of timber, but the early settlers went to work
to remedy this defect by planting artificial groves, which have made such growth
that the whole face of the country has been changed.
The first road in the township was the old Ballard road, which ran north-
easterly from Council Bluffs past the eight mile grove and through Newtown
and to the southern part of Audubon county, where Dr. Ballard had large
tracts of land.
Although it has no town of its own it is in close touch with Hancock,
Oakland, Minden or Avoca. There has been since its early settlement a large
German element in its population and the first church was that of the German
Methodist, who as early as 1873, had a flourishing organization, including
a large Sunday school, and at that day had creeled a parsonage at a cost of
$3,500. Since then another church has been established.
The nearest railroad is the Carson branch of the Rock Island at either
Hancock or Oakland, while it is not a long haul to Avoca, Minden or Neola.
The following is a list of the present township officers: Trustees, H. 0.
Bain, Henry Nicolai, and <;. S. Cutchall; clerk. ('. C. Smith; justices of the
peace, S. W. Rounds and Otto Zoeller; constable, Charles Butterbaugh; assessor,
Titus Fehr.
The school board is composed of the following named citizens: President,
S. D. Blakely ; secretary, M. F. Brown; treasurer. A. G. Simon.
According to the state census of 1905 there were two hundred and sixty
persons of school age, of which one hundred and thirty-four were males and
one hundred and twenty-five were females.
The salaries of teachers: $40 for first and $35 for second class.
Another prominent citizen is Henry Brandes, for years president of the
board of supervisors.
KEG CREEK TOWNSHIP.
The general history of this township is that of Silver Creek up to 1873,
when it was cut out of that township. This was done by order of the board
of supervisors, made October 14, 1873, and it was also ordered that the first
election should be held at the schoolhouse known as the Keg creek school-
house, near what is known as the Dick Hardin farm. This is one of the sons
of the Davis Hardin that came in '38 to look after the interests of the Pot-
tawattamies.
The name of Hardin has been made very popular. One son (Mart, as he
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 203
was always called) having held public offices of various kinds for years and now
his son Will is the present assessor of the city, and has been for many years and
likely to be many years more, being one of these democrats that can always
catch a lot of republican votes.
This township was named after its principal stream. This stream derives
its name from the circumstance that some early emigrants found several kegs
of whiskey that had been hidden in the willows on its bank.
Among the early settlers who have become prominent and contributed
largely to the development of this township were: Wooster Fay, A. W.
Wyman, S. G. Underwood and Col. Wm. Orr. Of these only Mr. Underwood
is living. He has one of the finest and well stocked farms in the county.
The first officers of the township were: A. W. Wyman, Wooster Fay
and Fredrick Miller, trustees and George Kirby, justice of the peace.
The first road laid out was what is known as the state road, established
by Judge J. P. Casady in 1860, and was known as the Council Bluffs and
Lewis road, and for many years it was the only road in the township.
The first school of which there is any record was taught in 1856 in an
old log cabin that had been moved out of Moffat's grove to the edge of the
prairie, and taught by Miss Catharine Buffington. The winter of '56 was so
cold that they did without school.
It seems but proper that we should retain and hand down the names of
the sturdy, patient men that first opened up this most glorious country, and
we take pleasure in doing so especially as there are few now remaining with
us, and we even wander if we have their equals with us to-day, and we will
mention a few more that came in the early times. Thomas Moffatt came in
1856 and a Mr. Breckinridge the same year, Mr. Grierson came in 1855 and
Henry Kams opened a farm at the same date. Mr. Grierson died in the fall
of the same year that he came. Mr. McNay and Wm. Campbell also came in
an early day and have been some of our best citizens.
The present township officers are: F. Heuwinkel, H. Kirchoff and A. L.
Ingram, trustees; Henry Heuwinkel, clerk: P. C. Frohardt and P. W. Basch,
justices of the peace. No constable qualified, which leaves a vacancy, but so
law-abiding are the people that the election of justices and constables is only
a form.
The school board consists of R. McKinzie, president; F. C. Frohardt, sec-
retary and H. F. Saar, treasurer. The township has nine schoolhouses and
according to the state census of 1905, there were two hundred and eighty-
eight persons of school age in the township, of which one hundred and forty-
five w T ere males and one hundred and forty-three females to fill them.
The township has two churches, that of the Methodists on section 19,
and German Lutheran on section 2.
No country in the world can raise better crops or people than this town-
ship.
KANE TOWNSHIP.
This, the once most important township, has been nearly absorbed by
the city of Council Bluffs. It still has an existence and is famous for its vine-
204 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
yards and pretty suburban homes. At one time its eastern boundary was
for some miles the Mosquito creek, the citizens having been anxious to have
the benefit of the public schools. In an early day a brick schoolhouse was
built in that neighborhood and a school maintained by the city called the Clark
school, but getting tired of paying city taxes, petitioned to be set off, and
accordingly the city boundary was drawn in for one mile in section 19, Gar-
ner township, to a few rods in section 5 in Lewis township, .so that it at present
consists of some fragments left after constituting the city of Council Bluffs,
containing about ninety adult persons and half as many children of school age.
Small and well ordered as it usually is, it was once the scene of the most
foul murder ever committed in this county, an account of which is given in
another part of this history.
The township officers are as follows: Trustees, J. E. Butler, John Halle
and H. J. Smith; clerk. A. Fellentreter; justices of the peace. J. K. Cooper
and S. A. Green ; constables, J. C. Baker and D. Maltby.
KNox TOWNSHIP AND AVOCA.
This U the most important township in the county after Kane, from the
fact that it contains the largest town after the city of Council Bluffs. It con-
sists of a full congressional township, a large part of it in the Nishnabotna
valley, one of the most fertile regions of the earth.
The first settler was Washington Lewin. who came in 1851 and -ettled
by a grove of timber about a mile and a half cast of where Avoca now stands,
and although he left it and moved away long ago, the grove retain- his name
until this day. William Henderson was the next settler. Be was a bachelor
and located in the grove in tin- fall of the same year, cleared a small piece in
the timber, lived on this land several years, was married there, and later died
in the township and his widow moved to Shelby county. Joshua Headier and
bis two -on- .Mine in 1852 and settled near Newtown. This was a little village
about two miles from Avoca and consisted of a few dwellings, a store, etc.
Joseph Headlee arrived in the fall of 1852, but afterwards moved to Valley
township.
George Headlee settled on the Sinclair farm oear Avoca, and his death
in 1854 was the first in Knox township.
Ira Baker and Thomas E. Davis arrived and made a settlement in 1853.
Baker discharged the duties of justice of the peace and also township clerk.
Josiah True, for a long time one of the leading cilizen< of the county, and
a candidate for the legislature, settled where Avoca is in November, 1857.
Cyrus True came during the same month. Jonathan Hall settled in Lewin
grove about the same time. He became justice of the peace and also prac-
ticed medicine. He later moved to Woodbury county.
John Krutzingcr bought the Joshua Headlee claim and l.tiilt a saw mill
on the west branch of the Nishnabotna. Tin- was the first improvement
of the kind made in Knox township, and he later added a .-mall grist mill
to it, He was killed in Glenwood, Mills county, in the fall of 1856. but history
does not say under what circumstances.
c
z
^
CS*
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 207
Joseph Lash came to the township in 1854. Jumped a claim where
Avoca now stands and built a cabin, but soon left, going down the river and
building Lash's mill.
Buck Townsend arrived in the fall of 1855 and laid out the town of
Wooster in section 21 in the winter of 1855-56, and opened a store on the
town site. Samuel Perrin of Council Bluffs was the surveyor who laid off the
town of Wooster for Townsend.
The original proprietors were Townsend, Samuel Knepper and Dr. S. M.
Ballard of Council Bluffs, none of whom are now living.
John Krutzinger laid a town just across the section line, and called
the site Newtown. This became the center of business for Knox township
until the advent of the railroad and consequent building of Avoca, when it
surrendered to the inevitable.
The first marriage in Knox township was between George White and
Miss Mary Townsend, daughter of Buck, who laid out Wooster.
The first birth was a son to Joseph Headlee and wife in 1853. The first
preaching was by Rev. Moses Shinn of the Methodist church, in a log cabin.
The second mill built was on the main branch of the Botna by Seth Hunt
and sons. This was the first regular flouring mill, but the machinery was
afterward taken out and made a part of the Centennial milk of Avoca.
Dr. S. M. Ballard laid out a state road from Iowa City to Council Bluffs
that passed through Newtown, and for many years it was known as the
Ballard state road.
The first wheat sown was in the spring of 1855, and the first threshed by
machine in the harvest of 1856.
In the present age, events move so rapidly that only those that have a
marked effect can be recorded in a work of this kind, and much as we regret
to leave our old friends we are compelled to, even as actors on the stage, hav-
ing played their part, retire to allow the others to perform their parts, and
as Knox township includes Avoca we must give some attention to this city.
It, like thousand* of other young and thriving cities, towns and villages,
owe their origin to railroads. It is not necessary to demonstrate this fact as
all are aware of it.
The original town plat of Avoca was made in 1869, when the railroad
reached that point. It was laid off by a town company consisting of John
P. Cook, his brother Ebenezer Cook, John F. Tracy of the Rock Island Rail-
road Company and B. F. Allen, banker of Des Moines.
The -first building erected was by Julius Priester in the winter of 1868-69.
The old settlers called the town Pacific. In April, '69, it was changed
to Botna. But an excursion party was viewing the site from a hill overlook-
ing the valley, when the name immortalized by Tom Moore was suggested,
and it seemed so poetical and appropriate that it was adopted.
The first general store opened in the place was by Norton and Jones in
July, 1869, and after a while located on the northwest corner of Elm and
High streets. A man by the name of Beedle started a meat market, but was
bought out by Abram Harris, who kept the first regular meat market in the
place. He was from Ottawa, Illinois ; a democrat in 1844 and voted for Polk
208 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
and Dallas, afterward the whig and republican and finally became a leading
greenbacker.
John Acker, the oldest settler, came in March. '69, before the track-
was finished to Council Bluffs. There was not lumber to be had here to build
him a house, so he had it shipped from Atlantic, and as soon as his building
could be completed, he went into the general hardware trade, his being the
first business house on Elm street.
The first mayor after the town was incorporated was Milo H. Adams.
Capt. C. V. Gardner and Thomas Ledwick opened the first lumber yard. Gard-
ner also commenced the publication of the Avoca Delta in 1870.
Shortly after the railroad commenced running regular trains, Stephen
Caldwell began buying and shipping grain. When the postoffice was estab-
lished Thomas Ledwick was made postmaster. Clarence M. Peterson was the
first child born where the city now is. on March 4, 1869. The first public
school building of the independent school district of Avoca, was a two-story
brick, thirty-six by eighty, in 1876. An addition of the same material and height
was added in 1880. The first meeting of the city council was held March 15,
1875. Milo Adams was mayor: G. Diedrich, recorder and H. 0. Leiffert. J.
M. Jones, C. H. Norton. W. T. Mead and Stephen Jackson, trustees; Orin E.
Beswick, marshal: E. W. Davis, treasurer, and John Cool, street commissioner.
In 1870 a schoolhouse was built by Hymn Bunnell, in which he taught
school until the new brick was completed. And all religious services includ-
ing Sunday school were held there until churches were built for thai purpose.
In 1877 a frame school building, twenty-four by forty feel was erected on the
south side of the railroad, for the use of the people of thai part of the town,
and this was enlarged in L882 by a two-storj addition twenty-four by sixty
feet.
In L876 a three-story brick building was put up by Consigny and YVath.
with tin- capacity of "T . < M m > bushels for a steam flouring mill, and later an
addition was made as a warehouse, making the capacity 1.2,000 bushels. This
is known as the Centennial mill, it having been built during centennial year.
The first religious services wen- held in July, L869, when the Rev. Charles
\V. Blodgetl of the Methodisl Episcopal circuit of Hi. , Grove and Harlan,
preached in the temporary depot of the Pock Island mad.
In the same year a Methodisl Episcopal Sunday school was established
with Mr. Fitch as superintendent.
The lov. George Carroll of the Presbyterian church, preached at Avoca
on the 24th of July. L870, and organized a society at thai date.
The first pastor was 1>V\. 1». M. Hughes, who also had charge of the
church at Atlantic and preached alternate Sundays at the latter place and
Avoca. In 1871 a building committee, consisting of Rev. Mr. Hughes, F.
Waterman, Thomas Ledwick. J. M. Ilalsled and C. V. Gardener, was
appointed. The church begun the same year, finished and dedicated in
July, 1872. The dedicatory -mnini wa> pleached by the Rev. Dr. Thompson
of Ja -town. New York.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 209
The Catholic church of Avoca was organized by the Rev. Father McMen-
oniy of Council Bluffs in 1876. It soon passed into the charge of Father
Edward Gault of Atlantic.
At the organizing of the church there were but six Catholic families in
the town, but by 1882 there were about three hundred persons in Avoca
and surrounding country receiving its ministrations.
The first Congregational church was organized June 12, 1870. This was
the first church organized in the place, with Rev. C. D. Wright the first min-
ister. A church was built in 1874-75 and dedicated May 23, 1875, and a
comfortable parsonage bought in 1880.
A union Sunday school was organized on the south side of the railroad
on the 16th of September, 1877 ; the first superintendent was J. T. Hazen. It
was organized under the auspices of J. S. Love, missionary of the American
Sunday School Union. In 1882 it had a class of ninety members, with J. T.
Nelson as superintendent.
Mount Nebo Masonic lodge was organized June 7, 1871, with P. B.
Hunt as master; Josiah True, senior warden; John Cool, junior warden;
Daniel Hunt, secretary and R. G. Barlow, treasurer.
There was also a Royal Arch chapter and an Eastern Star. The latter
was organized January 29, 1879, under the title of Queen Esther chapter, No.
50, with F. Waterman, W. P.; Mrs. D. Hunt, W. M. and Mrs. A. M. Gardner,
A.
Delta lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was organized
March 8, 1878. J. M. Jones was the first N. G. ; J. C. Hetzel, V. G. ; M. B.
Nelson, P. S. ; F. M. Hoops, R, S. and H. 0. Seiffert, treasurer.
Avoca lodge of the same order was instituted April 19, 1871, where the
work was conducted in English. Its place of meeting was the same as that
of Delta lodge. A. W. Coffman was the first N. G. ; Steven Jackson, the first
V. G. ; Dr. O. H. P. Shoemaker, the first secretary and J. H. Arnold, the first
treasurer.
The Avoca Delta, a republican weekly, was established by Thomas Led-
wick and C. V. Gardner, the first number appearing January 1, 1870. One
side was printed in Chicago and the other at the office of the Harlan Herald
at Harlan, Iowa.
August 1, 1870, it changed hands, becoming the property of J. C. Adams,
who fitted the office with new material and press. In 1873 the office was
destroyed by fire, but the citizens at once raised $550 and donated it to Mr.
Adams to enable him to resume the publication of his paper.
The paper was also enlarged from a six to a seven column folio, and in
fourteen days from the day of the fire it reappeared.
In January, 1882, it was again enlarged to a seven column quarto. It
continued republican in political matters, but made the interest and welfare
of the town its principal mission.
The Avoca Herald, a democratic weekly, nine column, neatly printed
journal, was established by A. P. Cramer in August, 1880, and like the Delta
it devoted itself to the interests of Avoca with commendable tenacity.
The society of the V. A. S. was organized on the 24th of May, 1880,
210 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
with ten charter members. The first were O. B. Nelson, rector; Charles Uhden,
vice rector; Dr. F. K. Dabney, scribe; H. B. Crofts, speculator and Rev. George
D. Wright, questor.
In November, 1880, a German musical society was formed with a mem-
bership of twenty persons and called the Avoca Mannerchor. Mayor Deidrich
was president, Charles Uhden, secretary and H. Hebbelm, treasurer.
A fire department was established, consisting of fifty-four members, called
the Red Jackets and having a good hand engine.
The Avoca brewery was established by Jacob Kampf in 1874, with a
capacity of eight hundred barrels per year. The cost of building and machin-
ery was $20,000.
A creamery was put in operation by a joint stock company in 1882, which
collected milk from a district of fifteen miles in extent.
The Harlan branch of tbe Rock Island mad was built in 1878, and the
Carson branch south was put in operation in 1879.
The Leading merchants up to 1882 carrying general stocks were: B.
Deidrich, O. B. Nelson, Charles Uhden and H. Stevens. Drugs, P. Weifi and
Maxwell and True; agricultral implement dealers, Hart and Co., T. O.
Meriditb and W. II. Van Brunt; Lumber, Ainsworth & Waterman and Seif-
ferl & Weis; hardware, II. C. Norton and harness. Wilson.
In 1870 the Rock Island Railroad Company built a large hotel and dining
hall al their station, which was managed by John Jones, formerly of the
Pacific House in Council Bluffs, until the company adopted the dining car
system.
Biographical .-ketches of all the men and women that have helped to build
ii]) this beautiful young city would make this volume too Large, but we will
endeavor to continue to record the nio-t prominent names and events as they
have transpired.
When a city grow- up within a township it naturally concentrates all
the business within itself, and as Avoca has outgrown Knox township it will
require more extended notice than the balance.
If some Rip Van Winkle should come along that used to travel the old
Ballard road, he would be surprised to sec a full fledged city of two thousand
inhabitants organized as follows: Mayor, John Fletcher; city attorney, A. L.
Preston; clerk. Nels C. Nelson; aldermen, Charles 1>. Schmidt. Albert Meitzen,
Charles Eckhart. Wm. Neumann. John II. Jenks and John Marxen. The
city marshal and his deputy constitute the only police force, the former serv-
ing on day and the latter on night duty.
On looking around he would find two banks, two newspaper offices, seven
churches of the following denominations: Methodist, Congregationalist, Eng-
lish, also one German of same denomination, one Presbyterian, German
Lutheran, Catholic and United Brethren.
The fraternal organizations are represented by one Masonic lodge, one
Odd Fellows, one Rebecca lodge and encampment, one of Knights of Pythias,
one of Modern Woodmen, one of Woodmen of the "World, one of the Mac-
cabees, Society of Danish Brotherhood, U. S. Grant post of G. A. R. There
are two general stores, one department -tore, two hardware and three drug
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 211
stores, one of clothing and shoes exclusively, one exclusive grocery store, two
bakeries and restaurants, four hotels, two livery stables, one foundry and
machine shop, one planing mill, one canning works, two blacksmith shops,
Centennial mill and elevator, one elevator and implement house, Fred Tankey,
manager, and one implement house exclusively, C. H. Norton, manager.
The city has its waterworks supplied from wells with standpipe pressure,
electric light plant, public library, courthouse and jail. There are also two
German singing societies, public graded school with superintendent and six
teachers. There is also an independent fire company, two lumber yards carry-
ing heavy stock, three barber shops, four doctors, three lawyers and live saloons.
It also had a brass band of twenty-one pieces. In t lie city, according to cen-
sus of 1905, there were of school age, five hundred and forty-seven, of which
two hundred and sixty were males and two hundred and eighty-seven females.
In Knox township outside of city there were two hundred and forty-two, being
one hundred and twenty-one of each sex. The board consists of H. P. Lassen,
president; H. V. Rock, secretary and Martin Plahn, treasurer. Compensation
of teachers, $40 and $35 for first and second grade teachers respectively.
The township officers are as follows: trustees, Henry Weis, Hugh Pritch-
ard and James Wilson; clerk, J. B. Crimson ; justice of the peace, Theodore
Rohlfs; constables, Jas. Trobaugh and Rickliff Plahn; assessor, 1.. <'. Ward.
We take pleasure in making special mention of Mr. .1. B. 1 Slake, per-
sonally known to the author for a half century, lie was a pioneer merchant
in the town of Crescent at its birth. In early life he was married to a Miss
Bennet, one of Pottawattamie's most lively daughters, and later came to Coun-
cil Bluffs, where he was universally respected. That his declining years may
be as peaceful as his earlier were honorable is the wish of the author.
LEWIS TOWNSHIP.
The earliest history of Lewis township is identical with that of Kane,
the latter for many years having included the former and also Garner town-
ship.
In 1875 Kane was subdivided, bringing the three to their present shape.
The present boundary is north by city of Council Bluffs and Garner town-
ship, east by Keg Creek township, south by Mills county and west by the
Missouri river. It is the largest township in the county. The east half is
high rolling prairie, and breaking into steep bluffs from two hundred to
two hundred and fifty feet high, where they meet the Missouri bottom, and
flat from there until it meets that stream.
There is no richer land on earth. Even those steep bluffs are rich soil
and will endure drought as well as the bottom lands, and they are well adapted
to raising fruit and especially grapes.
Some thirty years ago the river took a notion to make a change in its
course, and proceeded to remove two or three farms to help fill the Gulf of
Mexico, and in doing so unwittingly created a beautiful lake four miles south
of Councill Bluffs. This did not receive much notice for quite a number of
years, when it was discovered that on the south side there was a sandy beach
212 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
that for bathing purposes could not be excelled short of the sea shore. Mr.
E. H. Odel was one, if not the first to make this discovery, and steps were
immediately taken to utilize it. Home-made boats were first constructed and
temporary bath houses sprung up like mushrooms.
At first people flocked down in buggies, buses, carryalls and horseback.
The next season a large pavilion was built on the north side and "a track
built and dummy trains put on, trees set out and steam launches put on the
lake to take passengers to and from the beach. Each season the business
increased until at this writing it has become one of the most popular pleasure
resorts away from the sea coasts. Elegant electric cars run every five minutes,
a town has been built, boat, base ball and golf clubs formed, and, in fact, it
has become a baby Coney Island, and on a pleasant Sunday ten thousand is
no unusual attendance.
This township is named in honor of three Lewis brothers that settled here
in an early day.
The St. Joseph Railroad passes through this township going south, and
the Wabash going southeast, leaving it on section 25, and passing the south-
western corner of Keg Creek township, enters Mills county. Although it i-
generally thought Lewis has but two railroad?, it has in fact five, as the Rock
Island, Milwaukee and Great Western in making the curve to enter the city
pass through a few rods of it, but only enough to swear by.
The township officers are: F. G. Knowles, F. W. Reck and II. C. Jen-
kins, trustees; Peter Rief and Wm. Steele, justices of the peace; H. A. Eller-
beck, assessor; G. C. Plumer, clerk and Julius Schultz, constables. There are
two churches, St. Paul's Evangelical on the southeast corner of section 26,
and another at Dumfries station on the Wabash.
According to the state census of 1905 there were four hundred and seven-
teen of school age in the township, with ample school room. The pay of
teachers is, for first grade, $40, second grade, $35 per month. The board
of education is as follows: II. A. Ellerbeck, president; W. C. Van pelt, secre-
tary and Joseph Nansel, treasurer.
Although Lake Manawa has become a very popular resort, it has exacted
a pretty heavy toll in human life. In 1892 three young men were drowned
by being swamped while crossing in a storm, and later the same year, a
young man went down the toboggan slide into deep water and drowned before
he could be rescued. Three men were drowned in April, 1904, a young
woman in 1905 and six in 1906 by the breaking down of a wharf on the
south side during a rush.
The close proximity to the city natural 1 \ brings all the trade of the town-
ship to that center. The most prominent feature of this township is the state
school for the deaf, of which more will be said later on.
LAYTOX TOWNSHIP AND WALNUT.
Previous to L873 the territory embraced in Layton town-hip was a part
of Knox, but in that year on June 7 the petition of W. B. Cuppy, Thomas
Ledwick, <!. N. Robinson and forty other citizens of Knox township, was
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 213
presented to the county board of supervisors, asking that honorable body to
divide that township, and on the matter coming up, the following resolu-
tion granting their petition was adopted:
"Be it ordered that Township 76, Range 38 and Township 77, Range 38
be and is hereby organized into a civil township to be known as tbe Township
of Layton."
The first election was held in the town of Walnut on October 14, 1873.
Layton township was the last in the county to attract the land agent and
settler. The reason probably was owing to the distance from market. With
the construction of the railroad the conditions were changed and speedily
brought this great body of land into notice.
As now constituted it covers a full congressional township of thirty-six
sections of as good land as can be found outdoors, and capable of supporting
a population of five thousand people.
It is bounded on the north by Shelby county, on the east by Cass, south
by Lincoln township and west by Knox. It has but one stream of any
importance, that of Walnut creek, running from its source in Shelby county
nearly south until it finally empties into the Botna.
The first settlers were E. B. Hinckley and family, Oscar Lodge, Leander
Lodge and Henry Orcutt.
With the advent of the Rock Island Railroad, Mr. Hinckley became the
agent for its lands, opened an office and did a very successful business. The
settlers flocking in from all directions the settlement grew rapidly, wagon
roads began to be in evidence.
The original plat of the city of Walnut was surveyed and platted by
what was known as the Allen company. Several additions have been made
until it takes in the half of section 9.
The first settlers in the town were Dr. Plinny. D. Holcomb, D. Hison
and E. R. Hinckley.
The first store was opened by Leander Lodge, and the first postmaster
was E. R. Hinckley.
In 1877 Walnut received her charter as a city, and the first election
resulted in placing the city government in the hands of the following officers:
Mayor, W. H. Linfor ; recorder, J. B. Johnson ; marshal, Robert Gilbreath ;
city council, J. H. Henry, O. M. Bruce. Charles Lebeck, I. T. Spangler,
Wm. Hill and J. B. Johnson.
The. population and business increased rapidly in the city as well as
in the country and by 1800 there were in the city four dry goods stores, five
groceries, seven saloons, three drug stores, one jewelry store, one furniture
store, two millinery stores, one bank, three elevators, three agricultural imple-
ment stores, two blacksmith shops, one harness shop, two carriage shops, two
hotels, one barber shop, three lumber yards, two shoe shops, two lawyers,
three doctors, and one flouring mill. This was built in 1872 by Moses Thuns
and Co. It had a run of four buhrs and a capacity of fifty barrels of flour
per day.
The Walnut News was established in 1878 bv A. 0. Cramsr, and edited
214 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
by Dan Cramer, brother of proprietor. At this time (1880) there were two
churches, one Presbyterian and one Catholic. The first Sabbath school was
in the depot building of the railroad in 1873, under the auspices of the
Campbellites.
In 1875 there was erected, at a cost of $5,000, a handsome two-story pub-
lic school building. At the opening there were twenty-five pupils under the
charge of Miss Kate Williams. It was opened as a district school but in the
fall of same year was changed to a graded school with a principal and two
assistants. There were in 1881 two hundred and thirty pupils. The super-
intendent was Professor William Hubbard with three assistants.
The statistics for the year 1881 show the following in regard to the
township; Number of subdistricts, eight; number of ungraded, eight; num-
ber of months taught, nine; teachers employed, male, two, female, thirteen;
number of pupils, males, one hundred and two, females, ninety.
There were three secret societies, Walnut lodge No. 122, Legion of Honor,
was the first to organize. The first officers were: W. H. Linfor, president;
W. H. Bowman, vice-president ; J. C. Spangler, recording secretary ; J. H.
Henry, foreman; W. F. Moreshell, financier; J. B. Case, chaplain and W.
Gardiner, doorkeeper.
The second secret society organized was Moriah lodge No. :!27, I. 0. O. F..
on September 25, 1875.
The charter members were: J. W. Snyder, C. W. Merrill. G. C. Hunt.
0. M. Bruce, W. H. Brundridge, J. M. Turner and G. T. Mix. The first
officers were: Noble grand, J. W. Snyder; vice grand, G. T. Mix; recording
secretary, W. E. Turner; permanent secretary, James Ledwick and treasurer,
F. H. Green.
The third society to organize a lodge in Walnut was the A. 0. U. W.
Walnut lodge, No. 194, A. 0. U. W., was organized by charter granted June
25, 1879. This lodge in 1882 had a membership of forty-two and the officers
were: W. L. Williams, master workman; Win. Woodring, foreman: A. S.
Amcy, receiver; Wm. Gardiner, financier; Henry <>u. overseer; W. (>. Hub-
bard, past master workman; Robert Boat, guide; W. R. Spencer, inside watch-
man; J. C. Spangler, outside watchman and II. A. Cummings, secretary.
Although history is constantly being made, we at times neglect to record
it, being too busy, but it is proper that at least each generation should leave
data by which those thai succeed us can keep advised as to whether we are
advancing or retrograding. It has recently been claimed that in many coun-
ties of Iowa the last census shows a decrease in population. This seems unnat-
ural for so young a state as Iowa and one so highly endowed by nature. It
is possible that the high price of land here may have driven young men to
where it is cheaper, faster than its excellent quality has attracted strangers
to it, or again, for years there has been a gnat strife to show rapid gains in
population that in many instances resulted in padding the returns as appeared
in the case of our neighboring city, where the census of 1890 showed forty
thousand more than that of 1900. Be this as it may. we are not prepared
to believe that this township or Pottawattamie county ha- retrograded.
The town of Walnut at this time contains the following li.^t of institu-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 215
tions : Three banks, four general stores, two exclusive grocery stores, two drug
stores, four restaurants, three blacksmith shops, two wagon shops, two photo-
graph galleries, two elevators, two livery stables, one flouring mill, three
implement stores, one cement block factory, two lumber yards, two hardware
stores, three physicians, one meat market, one harness shop, one tailoring
establishment, three barber shops, one steam laundry, one millinery store,
one dentist, one newspaper, two real estate offices, four hotels, two billiard
halls, four saloons, one exclusive shoe store, one clothing store.
The religious organizations are represented by Catholic, Methodist, Pres-
byterian and Lutheran churches. The Masons, Odd Fellows, A. 0. U. W.,
M. W. A., W. 0. W., Knights of Pythias, G. A. R., Homesteaders and Ger-
man Verein each have organizations.
The city also has its waterworks and electric light plant and fire company.
Citizens claim a population of one thousand five hundred and for their banks
$1,000,000. The city has a graded school with superintendent and seven
teachers.
The city government is constituted as follows: Mayor, E. C. Thompson;
clerk, C. S. Spangler; city council, J. B. Johannasen. Dr. Morris Moore, Orris
Mosher, Jr., J. C. Vollsted, W. S. Sankey and N. H. Lewis.
The township officers arc a- follows: Trustees, G. W. Craney. Wm. H.
Jurgenson and Frank Ilanna: clerk. F. C. Hector; assessor, John Schmidt;
justices, E. C. Thompson and .1. B. Johannsen.
School board, H. F. Sievers, president; John Schmidt, secretary; J. \Y.
Craig, treasurer.
According to census of 1905 there were in Lay ton township, exclusive of
Walnut, two hundred of school age, of which one hundred and eight were
males and ninety-two females. In Walnut town there were three hundred
and four, of which one hundred and fifty-four were males and one hundred
and fifty were female-.
LINCOLN TOWNSHIP.
In traveling over Pottawattamie county one naturally wonders why the
great railroad lines crossing the state from east to west have avoided the best
tier of counties in the whole state. This applies more particularly to the
western part, where in going from Madison, Adair, Cass or eastern Pottawat-
tamie to Council Bluffs or Omaha a person must pass through Shelby or Mills.
However, Pottawattamie has managed to survive and grow in wealth and popu-
lation, and a person now passing where the roads were mere trails, following the
divides over miles of treeless prairies and now finds excellent roads running on
section lines and each farm with an artificial grove, he feels impressed with the
amount of progress that one generation has made, and although Lincoln,
like several of her sister townships, has no railroad or town of her own, it is
but a short drive to one in any direction. In fact a person can't get ten
miles from a railroad in Pottawattamie county. Farming, including stock
raising and fruit growing, must always be the business of the people and as
such, prosperity is certain to follow the active and prudent worker.
216 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
The present township officers are as follows: Trustees, Jacob Carbuhn,
Carl Rothwisch and Geo. Hardenburg; clerk, M. E. Reimer; justices of the
peace, Thos. Peterson and John Goetsch; assessor, H. P. Jacobson. No one
qualified as constable.
George Eichhorn, A. E. Young, B. Geiss and Fred Swengle are among
its prominent citizens.
According to state census of 1904, there were two hundred and thirty-
eight persons of school age, of which one hundred and twenty were males and
one hundred and eighteen were females.
The first election in Lincoln was on the same day of the general election '
in November, 1876.
W. A. Clapp was chosen township clerk, H. B. Jack, Samuel I. Pope and
Andrew McCormick, trustees and Joseph Battersley, justice of the peace.
This is a full congressional township of most excellent land, but desti-
tute of native timber except along the streams. Among the first settlers were:
Wm. H. Painter, Patrick Howard, H. B. Jack, W. A. Clapp. Samuel I. Pope,
John A. Frank, Elias Yeoman, Christ Dramyer, John A. Chipman, Wm.
Linkletter, Geo. Woods, Charles Mamfer, Geo. Roberts and R. M. Allen. By
the year 1N82 great progress had been made.
In the year 1872, when Mr. Painter came, there were neither church,
schoolhouse or store nor bridge, but so active were the people that by 1882
there were nine schoolhouses of uniform dimensions and costing $800 each.
There were also six bridges, built at cost of the county and cast from
$1,000 to $1,700 each. Three of these were over Big Walnut creek, two over
Little Walnut and over Graybill creeks.
MACEDONIA TOWNSHIP.
It will be remembered that on t lie 12th day of February, 1853, steps were
takeii to divide Pottawattamie county into three townships. This was done
at a special session of the county court, which was constituted of the county
judge, T. Burdick, who held the office at that date and made necessary order,
and S. T. Corg was the clerk of the court and made up the record of the
transaction. The record so made states in substance that the former division
of the county into election precincts be discontinued, and the county of Pot-
tawattamie divided into three townships, viz.. Macedonia, bounded on the
north by the north line of the county, east by the east county line, south
by the south county line and west by the meridian or range line running
north and south across the county between range 40 and 41. Tt will be
seen that this created Macedonia township with the same territory that now
constitutes the twelve easterly townships or fully two-fifths of the county, and
the history of the present Macedonia properly begins at that date, although
some incidents date previous to this.
The first settler was Thomas Jefferson King. He was born in Massa-
chusetts May 24, 1804. Came west and reached Louisiana, Missouri, in 1848,
and came overland from there, and arrived at old Macedonia May 1. 1848,
in time to raise a crop of corn that year.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 217
In 1850, when the emigration to Salt Lake was at its height, the Botna
was out of its banks for three months and caused great delay and suffering
to those who were on their way west. Mr. Ring had secured a lot of flour
from Council Bluffs before the river rose and this he divided with those on
the east side, and when this supply failed they were compelled to resort to
pounded corn.
The next settler after Mr. Bing was one by the name of Jacob Myers,
from Ohio, who built a saw mill and then a grist mill in connection with
one Haws at the old town of Macedonia. This mill was built in 1848 but
was washed out in the great flood that followed its construction, and after
this Mr. Myers went to Michigan, and was lost sight of. Previous to this,
however, J. B. Stutsman, one of the first merchants of Council Bluffs, had
bought a half interest in the mill and Wm. Martin the other half, and in
1851 they erected a saw mill and in 1853 a grist mill, which was managed by
Z. Losh, an experienced miller, for a year and by others until another flood
in 1861 which took the second mill out and the site was abandoned. But
for a long time before and after the place was called Macedonia it was called
Stutsman's Mill.
And it might be pleasant to the Macedonians to know that this same old
time, generous, enterprising gentleman is at this time living at Harlan and
that he carries his ninety years as lightly as most men of seventy. He also
opened the first store.
Another old timer that arrived about this time was a Mr. Tattle who
afterward went on to Utah.
In 1852 a Mr. Hanshalder bought the stock of Stutsman and conducted
the business in the same building. The first school in the township was
taught by Joseph Lyman, when but a boy of sixteen or seventeen, of which
we shall hear more, as he was one of the boys you can't lose. This school
was taught in a rented building, there being no way to have one built by
the public. A blacksmith named Henry Adams started a shop in 1852 'and
conducted it for two years and sold out to John McDermott.
The first postmaster was Calvin A. Beebe, who lived on the Tompkins
farm and it was kept here; and here the first election after the organization
of the township was ordered to be held. Fink and Walker had the contract
to carry the mail between Des Moines and Council Bluffs, and there was a
weekly service each way. As soon as events justified it, the Western Stage
Co. put daily coaches on the route by way of Big Grove and continued until
the Rock Island Railroad was built in 1869.
The first schoolhouse built at public expense was erected a little east of
the old town, A. M. Denton being the contractor. The finishing lumber was
brought from Boonville by wagon. J. Z. Losh came in as before stated and
conducted Stutsman's mill a year, but in 1856 he discovered a good mill site
a few miles above and there he erected what was known for many years as
Losh's mill. With the advent of the C. B. & Q. branch railroad, the new
town of Carson sprang into existence, which will be noted under another
head. That company commenced building a branch from Hastings on their
main line, and had it completed and trains running to a point three-quarters
218 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
of a mile east of the old town at the river on the Fourth of July, 1880. Here
a new town was laid out and also called Macedonia. This company con-
sisted of Hon. B. F. Clayton and R. H. Woodmancy of Macedonia, T. J.
Evans of Council Bluffs and T. J. Pattee, general manager of the C. B. & Q.
Railroad.
The first store erected in the new town was by R. II. Woodmancy, the
first carpenter shop by J. T. Bird, and the blacksmith shop by Henry Keeler
and Co., and a new schoolhouse was built the following season. The Cumber-
land Presbyterian church organized a society as early as 1871, under the
auspices of the Rev. J. W. Carter. From the. date of its organization until
1880, services were held in the schoolhouse in old Macedonia, but in the fall
of the latter year they erected a neat edifice in the new town at a cost of $2,000
without incurring any debt.
The Methodist society that was organized under the direction of Rev.
Thomas H. Smith was reorganized in 187:! under the supervision of Rev.
Henry De Long. When the new town was established they sold their house
and built a church costing $3,000.
The first child born in the new town was in September, 1880, to Mr.
and Mrs. William Dye, and the first death was that of Mrs. Emma Mitchell
in the same month. The first marriage ceremony was performed by Rev.
J. W. Carter in the marriage of Mr. Charles Beesley and Miss Ora Lowe in
August. 1881.
An Odd Fellows lodge was established on the fourth of February, 1881,
with W. Dye, E. L. Cook, A. M. Cole. E. A. Vanvranken, A. S. Staggers
and J. S. Rainbow as charter members, and the officers installed at the organi-
zation were: W. Dye, X. G. ; A. M. Cole. V. G. ; E. L. Cook, secretary and
E. A. Vanvranken, treasurer.
The first hotel was the Macedonia House and was opened by Geo. H.
Kaler.
The postotfice was removed from old to new Macedonia and Ohio Knox
was made postmaster and through his efforts it was declared a money order
office. In 1880 Meckeliverl & Young erected a -team elevator, and during
the first season managed two hundred and fifty thousand bushels and in 1881
over five hundred carloads of grain.
A new Howe truss bridge was erected across the Botna at the old town
in 1881.
A joint stock company was organized in 1880 to conduct a banking
business under the laws of Iowa, and known as the Macedonia bank, the
shareholders being George Meckelivert, Richard Meckelivert, D. L. Hin-
shimer, of Glenwood, and William Dye. of Macedonia.
The Masonic fraternity established themselves in the town shortly after
it was laid out. Ruba lodge being organized in the winter of 1881, with a
membership of seventeen. John Craig was made the first worshipful mas-
ter; .1 M. Kelley, the first senior warden; D. L. Bulla, the first, junior warden";
Ohio Knox, secretary: B. F. Clayton, treasurer: S. A. Jones, senior deacon:
I>. W. Bomff, junior deacon; J. W. Carter, chaplain, and A. B. Rayburn,
tvler.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 219
The most notable event in the early days was the grep.t fire, which, in
March, 1882, destroyed the main portion of the town, bnt the buildings de-
stroyed were rapidly replaced.
The terrible cyclone that wrought destruction in Grove township, passed
near old Macedonia, and was plainly seen from there as it passed on towards
Wheeler's Gr<jve.
Long before this an occurrence happened that should not be omitted. It
appears that in 1859, at a shooting match, into which whiskey entered
pretty largely, a young man named Alf. Pierce lost his life. At the time
a man, named Batchelor, kept a store where the old town still stands and
with his family lived in rooms in the real" of the store. The merchant sold
whiskey to the crowd during the match, but towards evening the boys, get-
ting boisterous, the merchant closed the store and retired to the back rooms
with his little family. After a while some of the young men wanted more whis-
key, and, the front being closed, they went around to the rear and entered,
at the same time demanding more liquor, and, on being refused, became
abusive, whereupon Batchelor took down his gun and shot one of them
named Alf. Pierce, dead. It caused great excitement, and during the trial
that followed, nearly the entire population of the township were present. Mr.
Batchelor was defended by Judge A. V. Larimer and D. W. Price. The
latter in the closing argument made the effort of his life and for nearly a
half century it has had no equal at the Pottawattamie county bar, and the
verdict was not guilty.
During the nearly half century that has intervened great changes have
occurred here as well as elsewhere. The railroad has invaded this quiet nook
— a young city as a natural result has sprung into existence, supplanting the
old village, while the almost boundless prairies have been transformed into
as fine farms as can be found anywhere.
So far the events related applied to the township, which has been re-
duced to twenty-four sections, by cutting off twelve in forming the township
of Carson.
The town of Macedonia was incorporated in 1892 with the following
officers: Mayor, J. M. Kelley; recorder, S. H. Hopkins; marshal and street
commissioner. Wm. Marshall; treasurer. T. I. Clark; council, E. E. Smith,
W. Dye, T. J. Young. E. H. Sempel, E. B. Lane and A. I. Mitchell, M. D.
At this writing it has one bank, one hotel, two general stores, one res-
taurant, one hardware and furniture store, two drag stores, one elevator, one
implement house, one livery stable, one lumber yard, one brick yard, one
meat market, two blacksmith shops.
The Methodists and Presbyterians each have churches. It has a graded
school with principal and four assistants. The fraternal orders are repre-
sented by one Masonic lodge, one of Odd Fellows, one of Modern Wood-
men and Royal Neighbors. It has also a neat opera house and a news-
paper, the Botna Valley News, one milliner and dressmaking establish-
ment and two barber shops.
The present city administration is as follows: Mayor, J. C. Rayburn;
220 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
recorder, H. K. Dye ; marshal, W. L. Hobson ; aldermen, A. M. Miller, Grant
Pilling, Milton Osier, H. A. Smith, J. M. Kelley and T. C. Nickey.
The town, according to the census of 1905, had one hundred and nine-
teen persons of school age, of which sixty-four were males and fifty-five
females.
The township, exclusive of town of Macedonia, had, males ninety-five,
females eighty-eight.
The board of directors are E. A. Seaberg, president; G. T. Clayton,
secretary, and W. J. Hamilton, treasurer.
The township officers are as follows: Trustees, N. L. Hobson, John R.
Maynes and A. C. Lewis; clerk, Thos. I. Clark; constables, W. L. Hobson
and Abe Branden; assessor, J. M. Coon-.
Although this is one of the smallest townships, it possesses as good soil
as can be found on earth, with streams that are utilized for power, fair
groves of timber and quarries of stone, and is occupied by as progressive
and up-to-date people as can be found anywhere.
MINDEN TOWNSHIP AND TOWN OF MINDEN.
Minden is the central township in the northern tier of the county. It is
a full congressional township, was formerly a part of that of Neola, until 1877,
when, in answer to a petition of Mr. James Crow and the requisite number of
signers, their petition was granted. The township took the name of the little
town already formed on the line of the Rock Island road. The first election
took place in October, 1877, in the schoolhouse in Minden. The judges were
Win. Spears, August Kaven and James Crow. The clerks were J. R. Crow
and J. Lake, and about one hundred votes were cast.
There is really no waste land in this township. It is gently rolling and
only occasionally a little broken land along the streams, the principal ones
bring Keg creek, running southwesterly with about two-fifths of the
territory on the east and three-fifths wesl of thai stream, and
the Mosquito, cutting a small portion off the northwest corner. It is
peculiarly fortunate in railroads, the Rock Island cutting it centrally in one
direction and the Great Western in another, while the Milwaukee clips off the
northwest corner after leaving Neola. There are no large natural groves of
timber, but the next generation will have plenty, for, being settled largely by
Germans, they will have trees and flowers, and are rapidly planting groves.
Mr. Casper Foster, of Davenport, Iowa, purchased 10,000 acres of the Rock
Island road, and a condition was thai the company should establish and
maintain a station on this property. This was complied with, hence the town
of Minden, named in memory of Minden back in the fatherland of most of
these industrious settlers. The first house built in the town was by Bugq
Prcster, Mr. Foster built the second and Peter Ehlers the third. G. Diederich
built the first store in 1875, and moved in a general stock of goods from Avoca.
J. O. Jeffries built the next business house and engaged in the grocerv trade,
with a restaurant attached. Messrs. Bartel & Co. became successors to Mr.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 221
Diederich by purchase and Mr. Diederich then erected another building,
which he subsequently sold to Stuhr Brothers.
The first carpenters of the town were Henry Urbahan, August Kaven and
Fred Kruganbery. The first blacksmith was a Mr. Rodecker. The first lum-
ber business was by Messrs. Pria & Ilornley, a Davenport firm. Peter Ehlers
was the first to begin the grain trade. Dr. McLeod was the first physician to
hang out his shingle in the little town and James Crow the first land agent.
Under the jurisdiction of Mr. James Crow a schoolhouse was built. Previous
to this time a school had been taught by a Mr. Kelsey in one room of Mr. Fos-
ter's residence. The same year that saw the new schoolhouse a prairie fire
came near destroying the town, but its approach was discovered in time to
enable the citizens to protect and save their homes.
The first board of trustees of Minden township met and organized January
26. 1 877. At their meeting the township was divided into five subdistricts for
school purposes.
No township in the county takes more active interest in their public
schools than Minden. The statistics for the year 1881 show the following:
Number of graded schools, 8 ; number of ungraded, 8 ; number of teachers em-
ployed, male, 5 ; female, 12 ; average pay per month, male, $35 ; female, $33.75 ;
number of persons between the ages of 5 and 21 years, 156 ; male, 123 ; total
average attendance, 95; value of schoolhouses, $3,530; value of apparatus,
$9.10.
Minden had a German day school, the only one in the county at that
date.
In 1878 a German Lutheran church was organized, with Rev. Julius Oeh-
lert as pastor. The original members were August Kaven, Adam Turk, John
Stuhr, Jr., Jacob AVasser, Deidrich Rohlfs, Peter Alleman, August Bock,
Wilhelm Bolte, Wilhelm Giese, John Stuhr, Sr.. August Giese and Carl
Leitzke.
A small church was completed and furnished. The lot on which it was
built was presented by Mr. Casper Foster. A Sunday school was organized
in 1876, with- James Crow as superintendent. At last reports Conrad Neil
was superintendent; John Crow, secretary; J. A. Yoder, treasurer, and E. 0.
Morgan, librarian, and an attendance of forty pupil.*.
The growth of Minden has not been so rapid as some of the other towns
of the county, but has always enjoyed a substantial progress, which makes
success. a foregone conclusion.
The following are the names of some of the principal business men up to
the year 1880: J. B. Norton, druggist; John Hammer and J. C. Garmong,
hardware; Peter Stuhr and J. C. Garmong, agricultural implement dealers;
Stuhr Brothers, J. W. Crow and J. H. Yoder, dry goods and grocery mer-
chants ; Seiffert and Weis, lumber dealers ; L. Harm, physician and surgeon ;
J. C. Garmong, harness dealer; Henry Rolfs and H. Peterson, blacksmiths,
and Adolph Winder, hotel proprietor.
On the 12th of June, 1881, a severe hailstorm struck Minden township
and inflicted damage to the extent of $20,000. The storm came in two divi-
222 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
sions and met near the residence of Mr. F. Bloomer, where the damage to
house, trees and grain amounted to $1,000.
Although quite a town had started soon after the advent of the Rock
Island road, it was not incorporated until 1890, since which time its growth
has been steady and healthy. At this time, 1907, it has two banks, the Ger-
man-American and Farmers' Savings ; general stores, Peiper & Mischler, George
Groneweg & Co., and W. L. Richardson ; hardware, Stuhr-Ehlers-Hood Com-
pany; drug store, Max Lehman; elevators, P. Ehlers & Stuhr; Reesy Grain
Company; lumber yard, Green Bay Lumber Company; livery barn, Louis
Ehlers; saloons, H. J. Hesly, August Kaven, Peter Schwensohn and Fred
Priest; blacksmiths, E. G. Krundel, Fred Schultz and G. H. Muhlstein; phy-
sician, Grant Augustine; one millinery store, one harness shop, one meat
market, three hotels, Mrs. Dorscher, Mrs. Schmidt and T. J. Groepper; one
church, Zion Congregational; Masonic Lodge, No. 575; one I. O. O. F., one
Woodmen of the World, German verein; graded school, with L. B. Pruitt,
principal, and five teachers; opera house, two pool halls, one wagon shop,
printing office, Times-Herald (weekly) : one tank manufactory, canning
works: building contractors, August Bostedt, Henry Schilling and Herman
With; two stock buyers, Henry Piper and Hesley Thompson; two barber
shops, two dray lines: city waterworks, from wells to tank fifty feet high, an
elevation of one hundred feet; Independent Fire Company and brass band of
twenty pieces, Julius Stuhr, leader. Population of town. 400; mayor, John
Geiger.
The township officers axe Benry Holzfoster, Joseph Holm ami Peter
Langer, trustees; Julius Stuhr. clerk; John W. Crow and John Geiger, justices
of the peace; G. A. Leitzke, constable and Gustave Baumsberger, assessor;
school board, Henry Blumcr. president; John Geiger, secretary, and Fred
Blumer, treasurer.
There arc nine subdistricts in the township. According to the census of
190.") there were in the township outside of town .if Mimleii three hundred
and thirty-one of school age. of which one hundred and seventy-one were
males and one hundred and sixty females.
In town of Minden there were one hundred and forty-seven, of which
sixty-six were males and eighty-one females.
The people are largely German and have brought the industry and thrift,
for which that nation is noted, and which so readily assimilates with the
American, and, as such, we welcome and congratulate them on their pros-
perity.
The present city officers are as follows: Mayor, John Geiger; clerk, Lewis
Rohlfs; council. A. E. Grueman. J. U. Reesy, Jacob Geiger, G. H. Muhlstein,
E. P. Otto and D. H. Auper.
NEOLA TOWNSHIP.
This is a full township of thirty-six sections. It is bounded on the north
by Harrison county, east by Minden, south by Norwalk and west by Boomer
townships.
MASONIC TEMPLE, COUNCIL BLUFFS.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 225
June 10, 1872, a petition, signed by H. G. Fisher, George Remington,
Fielding Steele and seventy-eight other citizens, was presented to the board of
supervisors, asking that honorable body to form a new civil township to com-
prise a part of the townships of York and Boomer. It was ordered by the
board of supervisors that township 77, range 41, and township 77, range 42, is
hereby organized into a civil township, to be known as the township of Neola.
It is broken only along the streams. It is doubtful if two per cent is uufit
for cultivation. Nearly the whole surface is rolling prairie and very produc-
tive and will raise all the staple crops in abundance.
The township is drained by Mosquito and Pigeon (.-reeks and their tribu-
taries, nearly all of which are fed by living springs.
G. W. Henderson claimed the honor of being the first permanent white
settler in the township. He came from VanBuren county, Iowa, in March,
1855, pre-empted the southeast quarter of section 12, and began at once to
build a shelter for his family and to break ground for a spring crop.
Mr. Henderson's first neighbor in Neola township was Mr. Norman Ab-
bott, who settled in section 19 during the latter part of the same month. Mr.
Abbott remained a resident of the township until 1865, when he sold his
farm to Thomas Cellars, who, in turn, sold it to a man named Hillsworth.
William Tidwell came to the new country and settled in section 18, near Mr.
Abbott. Joseph Balsley and Joseph Mecklin settled on Pigeon creek in 1855.
Mr. Balsley continued a resident of this township until his death. The next to
choose a home in the prairie now within the boundary of Neola township was
John O'Brien, who settled on section 23. Prominent among the early set-
tlers was Mr. Z. Remmington and family, who settled on section 33. Mr.
Remmington, however, did not become a resident of this township until 1858.
He lived on his place of first settlement until his death.
He was a striking figure, very large and very careless of his personal ap-
pearance and dress, but a very learned man, a surveyor by profession, a man
of strong connections, an uncompromising republican, and for a time the only
one, he claimed, in his township, and used to send himself down as a delegate
to conventions, and was always seated. Old Ike Sigler,"who was just as strong
a democrat, but a good, jolly fellow withall, used to say Mr. Remmington
might stay, but they would not admit any more republicans into the town-
ship. But both of them have long ago passed from view, but not from the
memory of us old-timers.
Neola township had no special attractions until 1869, when the Chicago,
Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was built and the town laid out on the lands
owned by Messrs. Withrow, Wright and Allen. The first house where the city
now stands was built by D. Little about 1868, who kept store in the building.
The second was put up by Mr. Kuhl, a harnessmaker. Mr. Norris was the first
blacksmith to open a shop in Neola, and it was in the loft of this shop that
Mrs. Doane taught the second term of school in the town. The first term was
taught in Neola in the winter of '69-70. Miss M. Webster was the teacher,
and the school was held in the building owned by David Tostevin.
The Neola. house was among the first buildings in the town, and was
erected by Charles Hamilton.
226 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
It was built for a hotel and has been used as such.
A postoffice building was erected in 1870 by Mr. Duncan, who was also
the first jiostmaster.
Daniel Flynn erected a building the same year and opened a saloon. Mr.
C. Dillin engaged in the grain trade as early as 1873, to which he added the
sale of coal and lumber, and built up an extensive trade in each of these com-
modities.
In 1878 Mr. Dillin built a grain elevator of a capacity of 10,000 bushels
per day, and was the first permanently located dealer, though Mr. Duncan was
the first to buy any grain marketed at Neola.
The first grain elevator was built by Mr. C. Hamilton. Both elevators,
however, were built in 1878, and their capacity was about the same. Mr.
Dillin began operating his October 1 and Mr. Hamilton began a month
earlier.
In 1882 the town received its charter and became a city, and elected the
following officers: J. P. Organ, mayor; C. M. Crippen, recorder; O. L. Davis,
marshal. The city council was composed of T. Rishton, W. Downs, J. W.
Butler and R. F. Lovell. The principal business at that day was done by the
following persons: Grain. C. Dillin and J. A. Hamilton; general merchan-
dise, H. Mendel, B. Rishton, J. W. Butler, F. Rishton, Eggleston Brothers and
Bradley & Burton; druggists, Vanness, C. F. Robbins and B. A. McKay; hard-
ware, Reichart Brothers, C. M. Witt and C. B. Stone; clothing, Remmington
Brothers and C. M. Crippen; stock buyer, G. W. Rogers: newspaper, Neola
Tribune. E. P. Innes, editor; real estate, IT. L. McWilliams and D. Tostevin;
hotels, Commercial, S. Burgess, proprietor; Neola house, McKinney, proprietor;
bank, Neola, Mr. Henry, president; Mr. Lodge, cashier: meat markets, Hag-
gerty & Reichart and Handbury & Sills; livery stable-. A. King and Downs &
\lott: insurance, II. L. McWilliams and Riley Clark: millinery, Mrs. F. M.
Gallup; arpenters, Purcell & Rogers, Eli Vickery, Win. Sehierbrook and Mr.
Pulgen; physicians, Drs. Barton, Vanness, 1 1 aney, Todd and Lawrence; attor-
neys, TT. L. McWilliams and .1. P. Organ: postmaster, G. W. Remmington.
The school statistics for the township for 1881, outside of the city, were:
Number of subdistricts, six.; ungraded schools, six: months taught, nine; teach-
ers employed, males eight: females, four: compensation per month, males,
$34.16; female-:. $33.75; number of school age. males, one hundred and
thirty-five; females, one hundred and sixteen : school house-:, frame, six; value,
$4.47." : apparatus, $1.85.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellow- was the first secret society to
organize 8 lodge in Neola.
Neola Lodge. No. lln. was organized on May 27. 1880. The first offi-
cers were: J. A. Hamilton. N. G. ; E. E. Harris. V. G.; J. C. Chapman, secre-
tary, and Jacob Brown, treasurer. There were forty-four members in 1881.
Irwin Lodge, No. 1 L8, Iowa Legion of Honor was the next secret society
to effect an organization in Neola. This was on August 15, 1881. The first
officers were : E. Reichart. W. P. ; John Watson. V. P. ; E. L. Eggleston, R. S. :
C. M. Witt, P. S..; J. Buchannan, C; C. B. Stone. T.; A. W. Loomis, D.; K.
Panning. S. ] S. N. Harvey. M. E. ; L. W. Todd. M. E.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 227
Agate Lodge, No. 423, A. F. and A. M., was organized in March, 1882.
The first officers were: A. S. Avery, W. M. ; S. L. Harvey, S. W. ; W. Harper,
J. W. ; H. Mendel, S. ; J. W. Butler, T. ; J. D. Garrison, S. D. ; W. Phillips,
.J. D.; N. W. Watson, tyler.
On the 22d of March, 1880, by authority of the Presbytery of Council
Bluffs, a church was organized by a committee consisting of Revs. G. M. Lodge,
F. H. Cleland and Elder J. S. Love.
The members were John Buchannan and Jessie, his wife, and their
children, Katie, Jennie, Kennedy and David, Lawrence Hunter and wife,
Mrs. Anna Remmington and Dr. Harvey and wife.
All members rose to their feet, made confession of faith, and the church
was pronounced fully and properly organized. John Buchannan was elected
a ruling elder and Lawrence Hunter a deacon.
A short time subsequent to the organization a fund was raised, which,
together with $500 contributed by the Presbyterian board of missions, they
were enabled to erect a church, which was completed in March, 1882, at a
cost of $1,500.
At this time Neola had two railroads, which afforded shipping facilities
not excelled by any place in the county, except Council Bluffs.
From 1882, the close of the above history, to 1907 is a long reach.
Kingdoms and empires have risen and fallen during this time. It is five
years longer than Rip Van Winkle slept in the Catskill mountains, and it
behooves us to leave something for future generations by which they may
know we have existed or be, like him, "too soon forgotten."
But if other people have been sleeping, those of Neola have not. We
now find a full-fledged city of 1,200 inhabitants, with its waterworks, elec-
tric lights and miles of cement walks.
At this date (1907) Neola has five stores of general merchandise as fol-
lows: One by G. L. Cooper, one by J. L. Wilber, one by Wm. McGuire, one
by Hamilton & Smith, one by M. O'Connor and one by E. M. Palmer & Co. ;
one large stock of clothing, shoes and hats by George N. Remmington, one
of shoes, exclusively of shoes, by Joseph Jacoby. two of drugs by Herman
Rolfes and Dr. J. T. Vanness, respectively; implements and hardware,
Schierbrook & O'Connor, and one by T. W. McDermott. two of hardware by
the Frank West Hardware Company and A. E. Pearce, respectively; two
millinery stores by the Haggerty Sisters and the Brandenberg Sisters; two
banks, the Neola State bank and the Farmers' and Merchants' State bank;
one newspaper, Neola Gazette-Reporter, L. G. Merrill, editor; two meat mar-
kets, Sexion & Shawgo and Sam Gaymen; Green Bay lumber yard, George
Menke, manager, and Rees-Gabel Lumber Company, John Maitsen, man-
ager; one wallpaper store, two elevators, the Wells-Hord Grain Com-
pany, John Hannan, manager, and the VanDorn Grain Company, H. H.
Pogge, manager; one graded public school, with principal and six assistants;
one parochial school, with two hundred pupils of both sexes, while the
Catholics have a large church, with congregation numbering nearly 1,000,
while the Methodists, Presbyterians and Lutherans each have churches. Of
hotels the city is provided with the New Clifton. Williams house and Haggerty
228 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
house, and three restaurants will feed any overflow from these. The
waterworks and electric plant are owned by the city. It has a volunteer
fire company that carries the state belt, having won for three years. The
city also has two livery stables and five saloons and a brass band of thirteen
pieces.
The fraternal organizations are represented by a Masonic lodge, one of
the Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Knights of Columbus.
The city government at this time is as follows: Mayor, Fred Foss; coun-
cil, Ed. Rattigan, George Remmington, N. B. Chrisman, A. Ransom, H. S.-
"Watkins and G. W. Giese; marshal, George Murphy, and James Hayes,
deputy. The police is limited to these two, the first doing day duty and the
latter at night.
The township officers are as follows: Trustees, J. D. Porter, John R.
Willmott and Frank Spencer; clerk, J. S. Hermsen; justices of the peace,
Riley Clark and Thomas Kennedy; constables, C. J. Maxfield and Ed. Rati-
gan ; assessor, W. C. Wilmott.
According to the state census of 1905, there are in the township, exclusive
of city, three hundred and thirty-two of school age, of which one hundred
and seventy-seven are males and one hundred and fifty-five are females.
In the city there are three hundred and fifty-four, of which one hundred
and seventy are males and one hundred and eighty-four females.
Board of education, K. Buchanan, president: G. M. Buchanan, secre-
tary, and August Sundell, treasurer. Teachers salaries, $40 and $35 for first
and second grades respectively..
NORWALK TOWNSHIP.
Norwalk township was organized June 6, 1873, and was named Norwalk
by Mr. R. Foote in honor of Norwalk, Conn., where he formerly lived.
It is bounded on t lie north by Neola, east by York, south by Hardin and
west by Hazel Dell townships. Three-fourths of its surface is drained by the
Mosquito, and the southeast fourth by Keg creeks. The first settlers were
Mormons, but finally they all went on with the last detachment to Utah. It
possesses the same rich soil as its neighboring townships, and might be said
to have no waste land.
The principal early settlers were Joseph Holman, Ezekiel Downs, Asa
Downs, William Cox. William Hendrix, Johnson Lane and William Yocum.
They all arrived and settled from 1845 to 1850. William Yocum was a wreck
physically. He came from Missouri and while there joined the mob at
Horn's mill against the Mormons. During the fight he received seven bul-
lets in his body, from the effects of which he never recovered. He died in
Pottawattamie county.
As early as 1847 Ezekiel Downs and A. Smith built saw and flouring
mills on Mosquito creek. They wore two-story buildings of hewed logs.
Both mills were run by water power furnished by a dam built in Mosquito
creek. Both mills did a good business until a flood in 1850, which demolished
the grist mill. The dam was injured as well as the saw mill, but were re-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 229
paired and finally sold to William Garner, who continued to run the saw-
mill for years. In the winter 1863-4 the first school was taught in Norwalk
township. It was in a log cabin built by the farmers. The first teacher was
Miss Jane Davis. From this little beginning the schools grew, until in 1881
there were six subdistricts ; graded schools, five ; months taught, seven ; num-
ber of teachers, males, six; females, five; average pay per month, males,
$32.41 ; females, $26.07 ; persons of school age, males, one hundred and sev-
enty-three; females, one hundred and thirty-eight. Total cost of school
houses, $3,350. In March, 1882, at Downs schoolhouse there was organ-
ized a Society of Friends, under the auspices of Revs. Lewis and William
Smith.
The following is a list of the original members. George F. Ward and
wife, Jane Ward, Archibald N. Ward, Mary Fleck, Catharine Whitney, her son
William Whitney, A. Mott and wife, Martha Mott, Ada Mott, Lena Yezy, Albert
Shaw, Lizzie Vezy, Drucilla Downs, Minerva Downs and Joseph Whitney.
It is crossed by three railroads — the Rock Island and the Milwaukee running
parallel with each other along the Mosquito creek, while the Great Western
cuts diagonally through the southeast quarter.
These furnish excellent facilities for shipping and, as a result, quite a
young city has grown up, which will require separate notice.
The town of Underwood was started simultaneous with the advent of
the Rock Island Railroad and has made steady growth since that time. At
this writing (1907) it has three general stores, one drug store, two hotels,
one restaurant, one meat market, one lumber yard, with large stock, one liv-
ery stable, one machine shop, one blacksmith shop, which, in addition,
handles farming implements; one harness shop, one shoe and harness repair
shop, one creamery, two elevators, one savings hank, two barber shops, one
cement block factory.
The town has two churches, German Lutheran and Latter Day Saints.
The Modern Woodmen and Royal Neighbors also have lodges here. The
town has a graded school, with one hundred and thirty pupils, of which sev-
enty-two are males and fifty-eight females.
Norwalk township, exclusive of Underwood, according to the state census
of 1905, has three hundred and seven of school age, of which one hundred and
sixty are males and one hundred and forty-seven females. Teachers receive
$40 and $35 per month for first and second grades respectively.
C. G. Reese is president of the board of education ; F. T. C. Johnson, sec-
retary .and K. W. Klopping, treasurer.
The following are the township officers: Trustees, K. W. Klopping,
Henry Bensen and William "Whitney; clerk, W. F. Schmaedicke; justices of
the peace, E. F. Schroeder and C. D. Langfeldt; constable, George Keso;
assessor, F. Lee Johnson.
Of F. T. C. Johnson, above named, special mention should be made. For
many years he was a prominent citizen of Council Bluffs. In his young
manhood he married the only daughter of L. W. Babbitt, one of Council
Bluff's best girls, was a democrat of the old school, was public spirited, was
president of the first fire company organized in the city, a large contractor, and
230 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
many of the best houses in the city of early times are of his workmanship,
among which was the old courthouse.
PLEASANT TOWNSHIP.
This township was organized by an order made April 7, 1873, on the
petition of L. G. Bennett, Hiram Stewart, S. T. Bender and forty-one others,
asking that a new civil township be created out of congressional township 77,
range 40. It is bounded on the north by Shelby county, on the cast by Knox
township, on the south by James township, and on the west by Minden town-
ship. The soil is all that could be desired. The land slopes gently to the
south and west. It was originally treeless, but the settlers have planted and
cultivated groves of oak, walnut and maple, which have grown until the face
of the country has been changed, not only that, but orchards have been
planted and fruit is being successfully raised. Two streams run through the
township from north to south, one called the Big Silver coursing through cen-
trally and the Middle Silver through the western part. These are clear and
fed by springs that never fail. There is not one per cent of worthless laud in
the township.
Among the first settlers were the following: Jacob and Franz Haas came
from Sauk county, Wisconsin, July 12, 1872, Joseph Frum, from Mononga-
hela county, West Virginia, and settled February -J."). 1872; A. M. Scott is an-
other pioneer. He came and bought land and commenced a farm in 1839.
He went into partnership with P. S. McCandless in opening up the farm.
When they married they dissolved, made a division, and each farmed his own
land. T. Goodwalter came into the township in 1872. The first road was
the Ballard State road, referred to in annals of other townships. Another
was located in 1870 from north to south in the west part, called the A. C.
Bennett road, and another was laid out from east to west named the Hiram
Stewart.
The first schoolhouse was built in 1871, called the No. "J. and is known
as the From school. The first school was taughl by Alonzo Bartnctt. No. 6
was the next one erected in 1874. No. 4 was also built in 1874, and John K.
Cooper, afterwards county superintendent, was the first teacher. He was a
resident of James township when first nominated on the democratic ticket
in 1879 for county superintendent, and elected by a handsome majority.
although the republicans carried the county by three hundred majority on
their state ticket. In 1881 he was again elected by about seven hundred ma-
jority, although the county went republican by over three hundred, his com-
petitor being Miss Ingeletta Smith, a sister of Hon. Walter I. Smith, member
of congress.
Mr. Cooper is a native of Maryland and served in the Union army in
Lockwood's brigade, Twelfth army corps, at the battle of Gettysburg.
No. 5 school house was built in 1877, and Miss Mary J. Trotter became
the first teacher, and No. 7, the same year, with Miss Plumer the first teacher,
and No. 8 in 1880, and Fremont Benjamin, now a lawyer in Council Bluffs.
the teacher.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 231
At the first election to organize the township, held October 14, 1873, there
were fifty-four votes polled and the following officers elected: S. H. Buck-
ley, C. H. Brown and T. T. Larkin, trustees; S. B. Frum, township clerk;
William Buckley and F. N. Keeney, justices of the peace; D. Gross and A. M.
Scott, constables; William A. Clark, assessor, and Hiram Stewart, road super-
visor.
On the evening of July 28, 1879, Jacob Maason was killed by Christian
Pittman. Maason accused Pittman of tramping down his corn by running
his reaper over it, their lands joining where it happened. There were no wit-
nesses to the tragedy, only Pittman was seen to run, with Maason in pursuit.
Pittman was arrested and tried, but the jury disagreed. The case was taken
to Mills county, but the indictment could not be found and the case was dis-
missed. The case was again brought before the grand jury of Pottawattamie
county and he was indicted, and again the case taken to Mills county, where
he was acquitted. In his defense Pittman claimed that Maason attacked him,
threatening to kill him, and that he cut him in self-defense, but not intend-
ing to kill him. The stab proved fatal, the knife having struck the heart.
In the fall of '75 T. T. Larkin borrowed a gun of Claus Horst to kill a hawk.
A report of the gun was heard and Larkin was found dead from a shot in the
breast, most likely an accident. Another death was that of Peter Doll, by
his team running away at Avoca.
On the 4th day of September, 1882, an unknown man was found dead
from exposure and intemperance a mile east of the Frum schoolhouse.
The early settlers were largely Germans and the first church organiza-
tion was the German Evangelical Association, organized and presided over by
Rev. Aaron Bassart for two years, was succeeded by Wilhelm Jones, and he, in
turn, by Flegler Aschenbrenner.
This township has no town within its borders, but is in easy communica-
tion with Minden, Shelby or Avoca. It had no railroad until 1903, when
the Great Western passed through the northwest corner.
The township officers at this time (1907) are as follows: Trustees,
George Haas, C. V. Rock and Henry Flemming; clerk, C. P. Wasser; justices
of the peace, Adolph Baustain and J. L. Buckley; assessor, E. A. Bergman;
constable, W. W. Frum.
Of the present board C. V. Rock is president; E. A. Bergman, secretary,
and D- Gross, treasurer. According to the state census of 1905 there were
two hundred and sixty-six persons of school age, of which one hundred and
twenty-nine were males and one hundred and thirty-seven females. Compen-
sation of teachers is $40 and $35 per month for first and second class re-
spectively.
ROCKFORD TOWNSHIP.
The first white settlers of this township were Mormons that came with
the great exodus of those people from Nauvoo. A large detachment halted
at Kanesville and filled the ravines surrounding that section, and, spreading
northward, nestled among the timber along the bluffs, and, although their
stay was to be but temporary, they built comfortable cabins and opened up
232 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
good farms. This was necessary, not only for themselves, but to maintain a
halting place for the pilgrims to rest and make repairs while on their two-
thousand-mile journey of untold hardship.
Joseph Hill was the first Gentile arrival in the township. He took pos-
session of a tract of land in section 11 on the Missouri river, near what- is
known as the old St. John landing, on which he made his permanent
home. He came from the vicinity of St. Joseph, Mo., in 1850, and was fol-
lowed the next year by Joseph Kirby and Arthur Mann.
Samuel Kirkland and Dr. Robert McGovern came the same year, and
the former lived in this township until his death in 1880, and the latter set-
tled just over the line in Harrison county and became one of its most re-
spected citizens.
One of the oldest and most prominent settlers was Basil Fox. He was
born in Putnam county, Indiana, came to this county in 1852. When the
Civil war broke out he enlisted in the Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry, com-
manded by Colonel Thomas H. Benton, and served until the expiration of
his term, has always been a strong republican, was a member of the board of
supervisors for two years. He finally moved to Missouri Valley.
Sherman Goss and his family arrived in 1851. Mr. Goss was shot dead
in a claim fight at Old Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, in 1854. and his widow and
children remained in the township many years. All three of his sons served
in the Union army.
To give a list of all tin- early settlers would make this history too lengthy,
so we must confine ourselves to those that hecame most prominent, without
any disrespect towards other equally good citizens. Hiram Bostwick,
witli his family, came with the Mormons, located on a large body of land on
the Missouri bottom near Honey Creek lake, and remained after exodus
of that people, built a large house that was always open to the public. He
and his good wife were noted for their hospitality. The upper part of his
big house was all in one room and was a favorite place for the young folks to
meet for miles around and have their dances, while the barns and sheds
would ho rilled with teams of the guests, and a bountiful supper would be
served. Sometimes things would get a little boisterous, which was owing to
bottles of something found in some of the sleigh-, but so goes the world.
Later Mr. Bostwick became justice of the peace, and while in that office
there was a shooting match at a sawmill near by and Nick Smith, a
tough character that always carried a rifle, no matter where he was going,
or what he was doing, was killed. It appeared that In- had some words with
a man named Fry. and knocked Fry down with the butt of his gun, and raised
it to strike him again while down, but just them a heavy quart bottle struck
Smith on the temple. He sat down on a log a few minutes and then startod
for home. Failing to reach there, a hunting party found him in a cornfield
dead. The question arose, who threw the bottle. There were perhaps twenty
in the crowd, and among them a brother of Fry's named Chris. He was
arretted and brought before Squire Bostwick, who believed in prompt en-
forcement of the law. and there heing a great crowd attracted, he ordered
the constable to summon a jury then and there to try the ease.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 233
The sheriff quietly whispered the court, and as many jurors as had
been summoned were discharged and the court proceeded to confine itself to
holding a preliminary examination.
The entire crowd was sworn as witnesses, but not one saw where the bot-
tle came from. After hearing the evidence, the court remarked: "This
looks a little dark, a man is killed in broad daylight with twenty men looking
on and nobody saw it. The prisoner is discharged." And all the people said
amen.
Although this township had some bad men, and a number of murders
were committed in the early days, the great majority of the pioneers were
sterling men, just such as open up the wilderness and break the ground for
a higher civilization. It has furnished two county judges, Hardin Jones and
Abraham Jackson. The latter was a democrat after the manner of his old
namesake, and when the war came he came out strongly for its prosecution,
and became a power in the northwestern part of the county, where there was
a large anti-war element, at that time called copperheads.
Fortunately there were cool heads on both sides enough to prevent vio-
lent clashing. Perry Reel was a sample of this kind. Although his political
sentiments were known by all men, he was elected sheriff two terms, then
county treasurer, then sheriff again, even when the county was republican.
There is no record of schools previous to 1855, probably owing to the
Mormons conducting what schools there were in the earlier times in their
dwellings. On that year one was opened in an old Mormon cabin located
on section 10 and Jacob Cox was the first teacher. From this start the inter-
est increased until by 1880 there were seven comfortable school houses filled
with pupils in full operation.
The first public bridge was built over Honey creek by Basil Fox, the first
road supervisor. In 1859 Wiley B. Hatcher built a small mill on Honey
creek, the mill work being done by Basil Fox and a man named Popps, but
the dam was washed away by flood in '70 and site abandoned.
In 1865-6 A. J. Bell and E. L;>veland built a mill on the Boyer, where
the town of Loveland now is, and by which the town gets its name. It aft-
erwards passed info the hands of John Hanthorne & Co.
An interesting old settler was Mr. Edward W. Bennett. He was born
in Nova Scotia in 1805. He was a democrat and the writer of these lines
was a strong republican. He had admonished the writer to never pass his
house without stopping and, after one experience of their hospitality, one
would hardly disregard the admonition.
After the horse was stabled, fed and bedded and yourself served with an
excellent supper, he would kindly say to his venerable wife: "Annie, please
leave some water in the tea kettle on the stove," and we would adjourn to the
best room, where a bright fire blazed in an old-fashioned fire place. On the side-
board were a can of choice smoking tobacco and a couple of decanters glitter-
ing in the fire and lamplight. And he would say : "Now we can leave poli-
tics out of doors and take comfort."
He had been all over the world as a sailor, had been captain of police in
Buffalo and his conversation was as instructive as interesting. In the mean-
234 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
time the quiet little wife would sit knitting, but they are gone, and we almost
wonder why it must be so.
In the winter of '71, the peoi^le were shocked to hear that John S. Goss
had shot and dangerously wounded his cousin, Sherman Brown. It appeared
that they had had difficulty during the summer, which was continued until it
culminated in tragedy. Brown lived about two weeks.
In the trial it appeared that Brown was the aggressor and the jury
brought in a verdict of not guilty.
Shortly after this an elderly man named Samuel Fickle was killed by
being shot. It was in his house after dark. Hearing a noise outside, he
went to the door and received a load of buckshot and was instantly killed.
There never was sufficient proof to warrant a conviction by a jury, but public-
opinion pointed to a step-son, between whom there had been bad feeling for
some time.
On the evening of the presidential election of 1872 at the store of Alfred
Frazier, a man named James McMillan got into an altercation, which re-
sulted in McMillan falling dead.
The first report was that Frazier. who was a powerful man, with one blow
of tlic fist felled him to the lloor. This was not proven at the trial, and he was
acquitted. Mr. Frazier regretted it, some of his friends say, to the extent
that it affected his whole life up to the time of his death in 190G.
In 185G a Baptist church was organized where Loveland now is. The
original membership was twelve persons, viz.: W. A. Reel and wife, John
Deil and wife. Hardin Jones and wife, Mary A. Frazier, Cynthia Mace, Ed-
ward Latham and Josiah Skelton. In 1880 they erected a church at a cost
of sl.MDil. and the membership had grown to seventy-five at that time. Rev.
John Case was the first pastor. It i- claimed to be the oldest Baptist society
west of the Des Moines river. From 1887, when the Chicago & North-
Western Railroad entered, that was the only one in the township until the
advent of the Illinois Central in 1899. This road established a station named
< liable. There is but one store there as yet. Loveland is the largest village
in the township. Population about two hundred and fifty: has two general
-lores, a lumber yard, elevator and feed mill.
Owing to the level condition of the Missouri bottoms, the streams com-
ing down from the upland subjected the former to overflow, much to the
damage of many of the residents. To remedy this an extensive system of
ditching was inaugurated in 1903, part of which was by joint action with
Harrison county. Considerable delay has occurred, but at the present writ-
ing it is being pushed rapidly, and it is believed by the promoters that many
thousands of acres that are comparatively worthless will be redeemed.
The present township officers are: Ed. Wilson. J. A. Currie and W. J.
Myers, trustees: ]). H. Bailey and M. C. Brocious, justices of the peace; J. R.
Hutchinson, constable: Oscar E. Copeland, assessor, and Orel Jones, clerk.
Charles P. O'Neal, of Loveland. is president of the school board; Bruce
W. Morehouse, secretary, and J. W. Frazier. treasurer.
According to the state census of 190.". there was a school population of
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 235
three hundred and twenty-five between the ages of five and twenty-one years,
and for which ten good schoolhouses are provided.
About two-thirds of this township is on the Missouri bottoms and the
soil is inexhaustible.
In the extreme northwest corner of this township is a beautiful lake
called Noble's lake, after a man of that name, who in early times had a saw-
mill near it, and, although he has long since died, the pretty lake perpetuates
his name, and is a favorite place for fishing parties.
SILVER CREEK TOWNSHIP.
This township was first settled by Mormons who were a part of the great
exodus from Nauvoo. They made claims and, after staying one year, nearly
all sold out to Gentiles, who came after them, or abandoned them.
The first man to open a stage station between. Wheeler's Grove and Coun-
cil Bluffs was a Mr. Gardner, and this was the only one between the two
points. He soon sold out to a Mr. Moore and moved on with the .Mormons
to Salt Lake. In 1854 John Bratton bought out Mr. Moore, and for three
years longer there was a stage route through here, though a postoffice that had
been kept here was discontinued when Mr. Moore removed from this point.
The first settler that came with the intention of staying was Pleasant
Taylor, but when the stage route was changed, he followed it and established
a station farther north on the same stream that has been known ever since
as Taylor Station.
John Bratton was the second permanent settler, a native of Pennsylvania.
but came from Ohio here. He was an excellent citizen, was for a time a
member of the first board of supervisors when that body superseded the
county judge in county affairs. He finally went to Silver City in Mills county.
The first schoolhouse was at this station, it being a log cabin with a turf
roof, and the first teacher was Miss Maggie Weirich, of Council Bluffs. This
was in 1857. In 1861 a frame schoolhouse was erected, also a church. In
1860 a Protestant Methodist church was organized with seven members, but
without any regular pastor. Jason Parker was the first justice of the peace.
The first marriage was between George E. Smith and Mrs. Clarrissa Wheeling.
The first child born in the township was a son to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Wells.
Mrs. Bratton attended the birth of the child. She followed the profession of
midwife for all that section of the country for years, and her husband that
of a preacher. The first death of an adult was that of Mrs. Margaret Piles in
August, 1857. An infant of hers died in July of the same year, and both were
buried near the station.
During the Pike's Peak excitement the station was a lively point, from
sixty to seventy teams would pass through daily. Tn 1858 five hundred Mor-
mon emigrants passed through on the stage road with hand carts, not a
single horse in the entire outfit. They seemed to feel happy and not to realize
the terrible journey before them.
A terrible tragedy occurred in this township in the summer of 1875.
Jordan Clark, a man nearly sixty years old, moved into the township some
236 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
years before and opened up a farm. From the same neighborhood in Illi-
nois came a man named Joab Stoves and his wife. During the winter of '74
and spring of '75 a clandestine correspondence sprang up between Clark and
Mrs. Stoves. Stoves intercepted an incriminating letter, and some effort was
made for reconciliation, but without effect. Stoves shot Clark, killing him
instantly. He was tried and acquitted on the plea of emotional insanity.
After this, Stoves and his wife became reconciled and lived together and re-
turned to Illinois.
The first schoolhouse was erected on section 32, near the residence of
John Vankirk. In 1882 one was completed at a cost of $1,200.
The first road was the stage road already mentioned. This was changed
to a line three miles further north. This mainly in the interest of the West-
ern Stage Company. The first county road was what was called the Living
Springs road, the bridge built mainly at private expense, the heavy timbers
being donated by Macedonia citizens, who wished to have the use of it.
The religious interests were mainly in one church organization. In 1878
YV. H. Hartman, of Glenwood, Mills county, organized a branch of the Chris-
tian church at schoolhouse No. 3. what is known as the Pontius schoolhouse,
but afterwards in 1881 it was changed to the Silver Center schoolhouse, as
the greater number of the members lived nearer to this point.
The settlement of this township was not as rapid as those reached by
railroad, still there was a constant influx of inhabitants, but not until 1905
did it have a town of its own. when the town of Treynor was incorporated.
Situated in the extreme northwest corner, it commands a large part of the
trade of not only Silver Creek, but also of Hardin. Keg Creek and Washing-
ton townships.
Among its business institutions are the Treynor Savings Bank, two gen-
eral stores, one furniture and implement house, one drug store, one livery
barn and two saloons. It has a full set of city officers, to-wit: Mayor, Ferdi-
nand Schoening; clerk, T. P. Carter; marshal, Fred Schrede, with six alder-
men. It also has two churches (German Lutheran | and an independent
public school, with an attendance of forty pupils.
The township organization is as follows: Trustees, Perry Kearney,
Julius Strohbehn and J. O. Moss; clerk. F. W. Ouren; justices of the peace,
Jurgen Jensen and Henry Parker; constables, none: assessor, C. E. Springer.
The subdistrict school directors are as follows: Pleasant Valley — Presi-
dent. F. M. Smith: secretary. Perry Kearney; treasurer, W. A. Allensworth.
Sucksdorf — President, F. H. Schultz; secretary, P. N. Sucksdorf; treasurer,
Jurgen Heesch. Silver Center — President. George A. Stevens; secretary, Her-
man Schnepel; treasurer, August Dammrow. Lone Star — President, John
Trede; secretary, John Clark; treasurer, G. W. Kauke. Valley — President,
.Tames T. Fox: secretary, I. H. Stevens: treasurer, J. G. Moss. Living
Springs — President. A. T. Rains; secretary. F. W. Ouren; treasurer. Henry
Anderson.
The school population, according to the state census of 190."i. exclusive of
town of Treynor, was two hundred and fourteen, of which one hundred and
sixteen were males and ninety-eight female-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 237
VALLEY TOWNSHIP AND HANCOCK.
The petition for organizing this township was signed by W. F. Travel'
and one hundred and sixty other legal voters, and, after a full hearing, it
was ordered that the township should comprise congressional township 76,
range 39.
The first election was held at what is known as the Acker schoolhouse on
the 8th of October, 1878, and one hundred and twenty-six votes were cast.
The elected officers were : Judges, W. C. Barton, James Livingston and H. C.
Hough; clerks, A. M. Battelle and W. H. Benjamin.
The trustees chosen were: W. C. Barton, S. Armstrong and S. D. Acker;
clerk, R. M. White; assessor, R. D. Ballard.
Among the oldest settlers was A. M. Battelle, who came in 1855, when he
crossed the state from Keokuk with a wagon, taking two weeks to make the
trip. His household goods were shipped by river from Wheeling, W. Va.,
around by St. Louis to Council Bluffs. The road from Keokuk led through
Ottumwa, Eddyville and Afton. Afton had been located, but not a house
had been built. He found three almost impassable sloughs about ten miles
south of Lewis and persuaded a man who was breaking prairie to help him.
He had to carry his wife and children across, as it was all the oxen could do
to get the wagon through. Winter set in early and snow fell to a great
depth and for weeks settlers were compelled to live on hominy and venison,
of which latter there was plenty, as deer were easy to capture, owing to the
deep snow.
At last an old trader went with two yoke of oxen to Council Bluffs for
food for the settlement, and was two weeks on the trip. He got stalled in a
drift within two miles of home, but settlers helped him out and he arrived
safely, and sold his flour for $6 per hundred. No mail could be had nearer
than the Bluffs.
Joseph Headley, another old settler, was born in Pennsylvania in 1826,
came to Iowa in 1841, and settled within the present limits of Valley town-
ship in 1852. He came in a wagon with his wife and made a log cabin his
first home. His nearest milling point was Glenwood, Mills county, forty
miles away.
The first winter or two were severe. Wages were but fifty cents per day
and corn $3 per bushel, the few settlers lived mostly on corn bread and game,
and when they did raise wheat and market it, after hauling it forty
miles, 'they were compelled to sell it for fifty cents per bushel. The religious
matters of the township have been liberally provided for. The Knox Pres-
byterian church was organized March 23, 1873, by Rev. N. C. Robinson, with
eight original members, consisting of Robinson and wife, Thomas Daal and
wife, James Sendee and wife, Mary Ray and Sarah Birney. The first pastor
was the Rev. Andrew Herron, of Atlantic. New Hope Baptist church was
constituted in 1875 by the Rev. E. Birch, who was the first pastor. There
were thirteen members. Many members having moved away, the church
was abandoned in 1879.
The United Brethren church was organized by Rev. Mr. Adams in 1875.
238 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
The M. P. church of Valley township was organized in 1879 by Rev. B. F.
Poorman. The society or order of A. H. T. A. was represented by lodge No.
95 and constituted in the spring of 1879. H. Cook was the worthy president ;
Emerson Smith, secretary, and Joseph Moore, treasurer.
The Carson branch of the Rock Island railroad was completed and put in
operation in the summer of 1880. The same summer F. H. Hancock, of
Davenport, who owned the land now constituting the townsite, laid out the
town. Samuel Armstrong built the fast house, beginning it in October, 1880,
and C. W. Newman opened a coal yard about the same date, and near that
time he established a blacksmith shop.
The first store was erected by B. F. Stevenson, in the grocery business,
but it was soon transferred to E. Kinney & Co. F. II. Hancock began buying
grain in December, 1880, and in two years l>nught and shipped 325,000 bush-
els of corn. His elevator was finished in June, with a capacity of 25.000
bushels.
The first lumber sold was by Seifferl A: Wiese to W. II. Benjamin, .June
3, 1881, the first day of opening their yard. G. Deidrich, mayor of Avoca.
started a general store in October, 1881. Battellc & Bavan opened a saloon
and also engaged in buying hogs. Whismand & Archer opened a general
store. The Anderson Bros, opened a saloon and restaurant, and A. A. Ander-
son opened a meat market, and Dr. C. Hardman and Brother a drug store,
and Samuel Armstrong opened a hotel. W. II. Patterson opened a law of-
lice, W. S. Williams was postmaster: I. <;. Carter, constable; Henry Carter,
drayman; J. Reed, carpenter; Paul Reed and Ira Cook, plasterers.
The town had at that time over "lie hundred persons.
The Methodist. Episcopal church was organized in 1874, bui was known
a- the Valley church. The pastor was Rev. William Armstrong, It had
seven original members, I. G. Carter and wife. W. II. Clements and wife, Mrs.
Martha Reed, Mrs. Ira Cook and Mrs. Andrew Carrier. They had also a
Sunday school of which W. W. Whipple was superintendent.
Valley Lodge, No. 439, I. O. O. V.. was instituted December 9, 1881.
The first officers were Samuel Bell, \. G.; A. II. Whittaker, V. G. : W. S.
Williams, permanent secretary; Fairfield Thayer, recording secretary, and
William Converse, treasurer.
At the present time the town of Hancock has three hundred inhabitants.
It has two elevators, the DesMoines, with -T. C. Lake, manager, and the South
Branch, with W. R. Stevenson, manager: three general stores, one hardware
and implement store, one furniture and one drug store, one hotel, one livery
stable, one bank, two blacksmith and machine shops, two churches, Methodist
and Presbyterian, graded scl 1. with principal and two assistants, one har-
ness shop, one jewelry store, barber shop, one machine shop, one meat market
that does its own killing, one opera house, two lumber yards, one cement block
works and one cannery.
The Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen each have a lodge.
The present township trustees are: L. C. Hannah. Th imas Green and
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 239
J. H. King; clerk, H. M. Eagers; justices of the peace, N. A. Lindsey and M.
H. Anderson ; assessor, R. J. Coe ; no constable qualified.
According to the state census of 1905, there were in Valley township,
exclusive of Hancock, two hundred and twenty-nine of school age, of which
one hundred and twenty were males, and one hundred and nine females. In
the town of Hancock there were ninety, of which forty-seven were males and
forty-three females.
The school board is as follows: President, S. R. Searle; secretary, Albert
Peterson ; treasurer, J. W. Warner.
On September 1, 1906, August Kruger, an elderly man. suddenly became
insane, and from his porch commenced shooting at passersby with a shotgun,
and it was not until several were wounded, as well as Kruger himself, thai
he could be subdued. He was at last overpowered, and. after his wounds
were dressed, taken to Avoca for further treatment.
WRIGHT TOWNSHIP.
Wright is a full congressional township, being township No. 7.",, range
38. It is drained by Walnut creek that bisects it running south. There is
but little native timber, except in the southeast corner on the East Botna.
The land is of the best quality, like that of (he adjoining townships. The
first house built was by a squatter named Campbell. He had a wife and two
daughters, and for a long time his house was the only stopping place on the
road to Wheeler's Grove.
The first death was that of a child of that family. It is thought they
finally went to Missouri.
Owing to its distance from water or railroad transportation the country
was slow in settling up. The first marriage was that of Henry Shank and
Sophronia Dean in April, 1858. The first birth, of which note is made, was
that of Jessie VanRipper (now Mrs. Wright) May 8. 1858.
Levi Mills built a house for a tavern on the northwest quarter of section
22, which was later kept by Mr. Whipple as a station for the Western Stage
Company on their route from DesMoines to Council Bluffs. To the west of
Whipple Station J. B. Deloy established a small store, and a postomce was
authorized at the same place, known as Whipple.
Alexander Evans bought a claim of land and its improvements in 1855
from Granville Pearson and thus became the second settler in the township.
Of the old settlers who came in '55, were Amos AVest, Edward Dean and Charles
Fenner; in '56, William VanRipper and Samuel Place, and in '57, L. A. Burn-
ham. Samuel Place settled on section 36. He enlisted in the Union army
and died in the service. Levi Milks was a native of Ohio, by vocation a hotel-
keeper. The house he built here was of native timber and the shingles were
rived and shaved. He went to California before '60 and died there. Amos
West was born in Bristol county, Mass.. and died in Wright township, April
30, 1880.
The religious interest was represented by the Whipple class, which wa^
240 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
organized by Rev. Mr. Adair in August, 1872, with the following members:
Heniy W. Rarey and wife and Mrs. S. J. Weaver. The following spring Mrs.
J. N. Bell, Mrs. Charles Mathews, Mrs. Sarah Mathews, James McGinnis, Mrs.
Nancy McGinnis, Mrs. M. P. Black, William Morford, Mrs. Susan Morford,
Mrs. Eli Clayton and Mrs. Helen Baxter joined the class.
The first school attended by the children of the township was taught by
Harriet Howard in a log cabin on the southeast quarter of section 2.
The first building erected for school purposes was in subdistrict No. 7
and was called the Dean schoolhouse. The lumber for this house was
wagoned from Boone on the Northwestern railroad in 1866. The desks
were made of native walnut. Georgianna Hardenberg was the first teacher
in the new building and later became the wife of Warren Dean.
Wright township, having no railroad or town of its own, and, conse-
quently, no saloons, there is but small material from which to make history.
But of one thing we are assured, its splendid soil produces the best kind of
men and women, as well as all the crops adapted to this latitude. Among
the men we might mention Mr. James Boiler, Mr. B. G. Auld, Mr. J. R.
Scofield as representative nun. as well as Mr. Allen Bullis, who, by the way,
is by far the best looking member of the honorable board of supervisors.
The present township officers consist of the following persons: C. W.
Forrestall, N. Sucksdorf and Jackson Lewis, trustees; M. L. Northrup. clerk;
Isaac Spiker and Cyrus Boiler, justices of the peace; H. W. Rarey, assessor.
No constable appears to be needed, as no one has qualified.
The school board is constituted as follows: President, George H.
Mathis; secretary, N. R. Graham; treasurer, F. A. Burnham.
According to the state census of 1905, there were two hundred and twen-
ty-eight persons in the township of school age, of which one hundred and
seven were males and one hundred and twenty-one were females.
Salary of teachers is $40 and $35 for first and second grades respectively.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
Washington township was organized as a civil township from the terri-
tory comprising congressional township 75, range 41, on petition of C. W.
Brown and others. It is situated east of Council Bluffs. Tlir name of
Washington was given at the instance of Jerome Turner, a tanner, and long
resident of the township. There were but sixteen votes cast at the first elec-
tion. The first road out after the township was organized was what was
known as the Wasson road, from Nishnabotna to a point near the old Parks
mill, three miles from Council Bluffs. The township is rolling prairie with
but little native timber. The old stage road used to run through it, and
its first station was at the house of Pleasant Taylor. He was the first settler.
He also built the first mill. The first schoolhouse was built by Jerome Turner
and the first teacher was Miss Pile.
Soon after the first schoolhouse was built a Sunday school was organized
at that point. The first sermon preached was by Elder Galliday. of Council
Bluffs.
O
>
O
>
o
o
el
o
03
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC L
ASTOB, I F
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 243
The next settler was F. A. Burke, an old time steamboatman from the
Monongahela country in Pennsylvania. He soon moved to Council Bluffs
where he reared a large family. He was elected justice of the peace, which
office held for two or three terms and for a great number of years was
city recorder. He was a prominent Odd Fellow and always was a man
of strictest integrity. His eldest son was the first to make the Council Bluffs
Nonpareil a daily. Another son went to California and became a journalist,
and the third, a lawyer, reached the head of his profession at the Potta-
wattamie county bar.
Jerome and Charles Turner came soon after, and for years these were
the only settlers. The settlement of this township was slow, there being
no railroad near.
The first settlers in their order were Pleasant Taylor, Jerome Turner,
Charles Turner, James A. Taylor, F. A. Burke, T. B. Mathews, J. B. Mathews
and A. F. Carter.
The first election was held October 11, 1870. P. B. Mathews, James
Taylor and B. M. Weak were chosen trustees; J. B. Mathews, clerk, and
B. M. Weak and W. L. Wassom, justices of the peace.
In December, 1877, after attending a religious meeting at the Taylor
Station schoolhouse, two young men named Geo. W. Briggs and Wm. Martin
got into a quarrel in which the latter stabbed Briggs through the heaxt,
instantly killing him. In the trial Martin claimed to be acting in self
defense and was found not guilty.
This township labors under the disadvantage of having no railroad
connection, and consequently no town of its own, but with the best of soil
and an enterprising set of farmers, it has made great progress. From the
little school first taught by Miss Piles in 1859 they have grown to nine
subdistricts, with good schoolhouses, and, according to the state census of
1905, there were two hundred and thirty-eight persons of school age, of
which one hundred and twenty-four were males and one hundred and four-
teen were females. The salary of teachers is $40 and $35 per month for
first and second class respectively.
The present board of directors is as follows: President, T. J. R. Turner;
secretary, J. H. Turner; treasurer, F. W. Pierce. This being strictly an
agricultural community without a railroad or town, there is but little for
the historian to record, but to one having visited this township forty years
ago, on returning now, would be struck with admiration by the changed
conditions.
The good farm houses, improved roads and fine artificial groves mark
the presence of an industrious and progressive people.
The present township officers are as follows: Trustees, C. W. For*
restall, N. Sucksdorf and Jackson Lewis; clerk, F. W. Pierce; justices of the
peace, W. F. Lyman and Zeph Thomas; constables, none qualified; assessor,
Harry Hoist.
Among other prominent citizens we might mention G. W. Killian, J. K.
Annis and J. H. Turner.
244 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
WAVELAND TOWNSHIP.
Waveland township is situated in the extreme southeastern part of the
county. It is bounded on the north by Wright township, east by Cass
county, south by Montgomery county, and west by Grove township, and
organized in 1856.
The petition for its organization by mistake was made to include what
is now Grove and Center townships, and at the election that year the mistake
was rectified in a proper application and duly approved by the county
authorities. It was originally called Walnut Creek, after the stream that
passes from north to south through it a little west of its center. It is well
watered by that stream, and by the Jordan, that passes through the north-
west corner, and the East Botna, that drains the eastern part of the town-
ship.
The first election was held in 1855, and the following officers were
elected: Ed. Dean, John Wilson and Wm. Mewhirter, trustees; Frederick
Mewhirter, justice of the peace; Frank Hostetter, constable, and Wm. Mc-
Cartney, assessor.
The first marriage was that of Levi Smith and Miss Sara Wilson in
the fall of '59. The first birth that of Wm. Black and the first death that
of Zolphis Williams in September, 1854.
The first mill of any kind was a sawmill, constructed by a man named
Davenport, who afterward moved off. The second sawmill was built on the
west bank of the river by Isaac Bobb on section 13 in 1867.
The first school was taught by a Mrs. W'arrin in her own house on
section 13 in 1857, and the second by Mary Ann Ilackin in an old log house
in the same section in 1859. The first public schoolhouse was erected in
1861.
From these have sprung, by the year 1901, eight good comfortable
schoolhouses in the township.
A postoffice was established at the Mewhirter bridge across the Botna,
but later was moved.
The first ten settlers who came to Waveland in '54, '55, '56 and '57
were Granville Pierson, Joseph Pierson, W. P. Black, Johnson Brandon,
Wm. and Frederick Mewhirter, all in 1S54. George Boyer, Peter Cocklin
and John Wilson in '55 and John Flint in 1857. These came over the
old Mormon trail and built log cabins with turf roofs until they could do
better. These settlers were compelled to go to Stutsman's mill or to Iranis-
tan in Cass county for their milling.
The first bridge built was over Walnut creek on the Walnut Creek and
Wheeler's Grove road, and the first road laid out was the one leading from
Lewis, Cass county, to Sidney, Fremont county.
A distressing tragedy was enacted in this township in August, 1876,
resulting in the death of Dr. J. H. Hatton, residing a few miles from Wave-
land postoffice in Cass county. Dr. Hatton had been the family physician
of Frederick Mewhirter and as such had attended on Mrs. Mewhirter
at childbirth, in which Mr. Mewhirter accused the doctor with malpractice,
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 245
resulting in permanent injury to that lady. A suit was brought in the
court of Cass county and the decision of the court was against the doctor.
An appeal was taken to the supreme court, and during the pending of its
decision Mewhirter waylaid the doctor while he was riding along the high-
way by shooting which proved fatal.
Mr. Mewhirter came to Council Bluffs and surrendered himself to
Sheriff Doughty and was admitted to bail. When death ensued he was
rearrested, and on a hearing had before Judge Reed was committed to jail on
a charge of murder in the first degree. The trial came on in the December
term of the district court at Council Bluffs. The ground of the defense
was emotional insanity from brooding over supposed wrongs done to his
wife by the deceased Dr. Hatton.
After a long and well contested trial he was found guilty of murder
in the first degree and sentence pronounced by Judge Reed, from which
appeal was taken to the supreme court in which the judgment of the court
below was affirmed. A civil action was also brought in which a judgment
for $5,500 was obtained.
This township, having no town within its borders, its trade is mostly
with Griswold. Farming is the principal business and the people are gen-
erally prosperous, stock raising being largely engaged in. Fruit raising
has received considerable attention with fair success. Artificial groves also re-
lieve the monotony of the prairie as well as "temper the wind to the shorn
lambs." There are two churches in the township, both Presbyterian. No trag-
edies have occurred since the sad occurrence of Dr. Hatton's death many years
ago. The innocent cause of this recovered and is living, while Mr. Mewhirter
died in prison some years ago.
Among prominent men of "the township might be named J. K. Murche-
son, John Christian, Mr. Miller McCoy and a host of others.
The old days of following trails along the divides has passed away
and good roads and bridges are the order now.
The present township officers are as follows: Trustees, L. C. Hannah,
Thos. Grover and J. H. King; clerk, H. M. Egers; assessor, J. H. Watson;
justices of the peace, Sol. Cederman and J. K. Murcheson. No constable
qualified.
According to state census of 1905 there were two hundred and thirty-
four persons of school age, of which one hundred and eighteen were males
and one hundred and sixteen females.
The school board was constituted as follows: President, N. S. Collins;
secretary, C. M. Potter; treasurer, John Flint.
Salaries of teachers, $38 and $33 for first and second grades respectively.
YORK TOWNSHIP.
York is a full congressional township, being, according to United States
survey, township 76 north, in range 41 west. It is bounded on the north
by Minden, east by James, south by Washington and west by Norwalk town-
ships. The eastern portion is drained by Middle Silver creek, the central
246 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
by Little Silver and the western by Keg creek and its tributaries. It is mostly
prairie of the same fertility as the adjoining townships, while the groves of
native timber are along the water courses and consisting of lime, wal-
nut, red elm, white elm, hickory, hackberry, burr oak and red oak. The
largest grove is on Keg creek and also the old state road, called the Ballard
road. In the early days no one ever thought to settle anywhere but in or
by a grove. In fact, it was compulsory. Now. since the railroads bring
coal the groves have a chance to grow, and in many places the farmers'
artificial groves furnish fuel sufficient for their use.
In the early times when wood was scarce and some fanners burned corn,
the writer asked one if it did not seem wicked to burn corn when so many
mouths needed it. He replied that it was just as uncomfortable to be cold
as to be hungry, and moreover, if I would bring him a load of coal, he
would give me one of corn, and further, he said he could raise a crop of
corn in a year, while it required ten or fifteen to raise a grove. There was
some logic in this at that time, but it is to be hoped the necessity for this
has passed.
The first settlers of York township were Elani Meekham, X. Holman,
Wm. Champlain, Alex Clough, Henry Rishton, Sr., D. T. Jones, Lewis
Beard, Ratford Dewey, Joel German, John Ingram and West Ingram.
These gentlemen -settled between and including the years of 1848 and 1857.
The name of Mr. Dewey recalls an incident in which he had a part
more than forty-two years ago. The occasion was the draft in November,
1864. If any one was present from the county or township to be drawn
upon he was invited to draw. York had to furnish one or two and Mr.
Dewey, being present, was invited and drew his own son.
The first schoolhouse was built by the settlers at their own expense.
It was a little log cabin twelve by fourteen feet, with two windows, had
good strong rafters, and on these was put fir brush so thick as to hold earth,
which was pul on to the depth of eight or ten inches. It hud a puncheon
floor and slab benches. The first term was taught by Miss Harriet Perry
in the winter of 1858-9, and the second term in the summer of '59 and
taught by Miss Adalaide Clough. It seems that at that early day school-
marms were in demand for more occupations than one, as Miss Perry was
married in '59 and Miss Clough in '60. If the memory of the writer is
correct it was not far from this time that Mr. Wm. Maxfield was married
to Miss Rishton.
By the year 1881 the schools had increased as follows: Number of
subdistricts, seven; ungraded schools, seven: months taught, eight; teachers
employed, male one, female seven ; pupils of school age, males one hundred
and thirty-six, females one hundred and twenty-four; schoolhouses, frame,
eight, value $4,800.
Joseph Champlain was the first white child born in the township.
Among the early settlers was Benjamin Minturn, a good citizen, and
possessed of a reasonable amount of property, but unfortunately became in-
volved in a lawsuit with a man named Pierson, who was similarly situated,
and, both being stubborn, managed to keep their case in court until both
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 247
estates were entirely consumed in court costs and lawyers' fees, Pierson finally
becoming a county charge. This is strange, but still abler men have ex-
hausted fortunes in the same way.
This township had no town or railroad connection until 1903, when
the Great Western cut through the northwest corner, but this being so
close to Bently it is hardly probable a town will be started here. However,
prosperity has favored the citizens here as elsewhere, and an old timer, on
returning, after an absence of twenty years would hardly recognize the
places once so familiar to him. The old settlers have mostly passed away,
but the world is better for their having lived, and now a part of their
children in turn are opening up other homes nearer the setting sun.
The schools have grown since 1881 from seven to nine, and accord-
ing to the state census of 1905 there were two hundred and fifty-eight per-
sons of school age, of which one hundred and thirty-seven were males and
one hundred and twenty-one were females.
The board of directors are : President, Godfrey Elsabush ; secretary, M.
Minehan; treasurer, George Kadel.
The township officers are as follows: Trustees, John Ring, II . J. Geise
and Calvin Maurer; clerk, Uriah McLean; justices of the peace, W. J. Miller
and Mike Minehan; constable, no one qualified, consequently office is vacant;
assessor, August Geise.
c^^£
BIOGRAPHICAL
GENERAL GRENVILLE MELLEN DODGE.
General Grenville Mellen Dodge, whose career of great usefulness in
services of a national character, covering more than a half century, has
attained the age of seventy-six years, yet is still a factor in the active affairs
of life. Few men have been for so long a time in the public eye and the
life record of none has been more varied in character, more far-reaching or
valuable in its effects. Constant in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless
in reputation, General Dodge has long been accorded classification with the
most distinguished citizens of the Empire country. While his business inter-
ests have covered a wide scope, extending into all parts of the Union, he
has, during the greater part of his life, maintained his home in Council
Bluffs and among his friends and neighbors — those who know his personal
character aside from his public connections — he is accorded the warmest
friendship and highest esteem.
A native of Massachusetts, General Dodge was born in Danvers on the
12th of April, 1831. His father, Sylvanus Dodge, was born in Rowly,
Massachusetts, in 1801, and died in Council Bluffs on the 23d of December,
1871. The family comes of English ancestry, although in its lineal and
collateral branches it has been distinctively American through many gen-
erations. The founder of the family in the new world was Richard Dodge,
a native of England, who in 1629 joined the Plymouth colony in company
with his brother William, General Dodge of this review being one of Rich-
ard's descendants in the ninth generation. In the maternal line he comes
from an old New England family, also of English lineage, established in
America in 1700. His mother, Julia Theresa Phillips, was born in New
England and in 1827 became the wife of Sylvanus Dodge. Three children
were born unto them: Grenville M., in 1831; Nathan Phillips, in 1837;
and Julia Mary, in 1843. The father followed merchandising and at one
time was postmaster of his town. His rather limited financial circumstances
enabled him to give his children but meager educational privileges, limited
to attendance at the common schools through the winter months. In the
251
252 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
summer season the sons worked on farms and also at times assisted the
father in the store. Ambitious to secure an education, however, Grenville
M. Dodge resolutely set to work to provide the means necessary and at the
age of fourteen he entered the academy at Durham, New Hampshire. He
applied himself diligently to the mastery of his studies and in the following
year entered the Norwich University of Vermont, a military college, where
he completed the scientific course and was graduated as a civil and military
engineer with the class of 1850. Further practical advantages were enjoyed
by General Dodge for a short period in field work in Captain Partridge's"
Military Academy in Vermont.
The great west with its limitless possibilities attracted him and he turned
his attention to the field of railroad building in which he has attained dis-
tinction. Arriving in Illinois, he took a position in an engineering party of
the Illinois Central Railroad running the line from La Salle to Dixon. On
completion of this survey he entered the employ of Peter A. Dey, afterward
railroad commissioner of Iowa, in building the Chicago & Rock Island Rail-
way, and was soon entrusted with the survey of the Rock Island road to
Peoria. While thus engaged ho prophesied the building of and to some
extent outlined the route for the first great transcontinental railroad, a work
with which he was later so closely and prominently connected. After fin-
ishing his Peoria survey he accompanied Mr. Dey to Iowa and took part
in the building of the Mississippi & Missouri River Railroad from Davenport
to Council Bluffs, now a part of the Chicago, Rock Island ec Pacific Railway
system.
As he had opportunity between the year.- of 1853 and 1861, he explored
the country west of the Missouri river and examined the Rocky Mountains
from north to south to find the best place to cross with a railroad. He not
only formulated in his mind but also explained in letters the route which
was afterward selected. Such a course is typical of General Dodge's entire
life. He has not only performed the work in hand but has ever looked
forward to the future, planning not only for the exigencies of the moment
but for the opportunities t<> come and in this way he has been one of the
promoters of the country's progress and greatness.
In 1854 General Dodge became a resident of Council Bluff-, where lie
became engaged in manifold interests, including banking, the real-estate
business and freighting across the plains, lie was one of the organizers of
the banking house of Baldwin & Dodge, the predecessor of the Council Bluffs
Savings Bank, of which his brother, N. P. Dodge, was president thirty-two
years. About this time he took the initial step in his military career in
organizing the Council Bluffs guards, the nucleus of his future great com-
mand, and was made its captain. He continued in his professional and
business interests at Council Bluffs until the outbreak of the Civil war. when
he entered upon the second eventful period of his life.
At the outbreak of hostilities be hastened to tender his services to the
state government with his command, which he had previously organized.
Being located on the frontier, the company was not accepted, but Mr. ]><m1uc
was sent by Governor Kirkwood to Washington, in the spring <>t' 1861, to
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 253
arrange for the equipment of the Iowa troops. The delegation in congress
had failed to do this but Mr. Dodge was successful and, furthermore, his
worth was instantly recognized by the war department, which offered him
a commission as captain in the regular army. He declined this, but imme-
diately upon recommendation of the war department, Governor Kirkwood
commissioned him colonel and authorized him to raise a regiment. Within
an incredibly short time he had organized the Fourth Iowa Infantry at
Council Bluffs and he also recruited a company of artillery known as the
Dodge Battery, which became the Second Iowa Battery. Within two weeks
time Colonel Dodge was leading his command against the rebels in northern
Missouri. He did not wait for the government to slowly clothe and equip
his men but pledged his own credit for the purpose. During his excursion
into northwestern Missouri he was successful in putting to flight the guerrillas
that infested the northwestern part of that state. He also checked the
rebel colonel, Poindexter, in his northward movement and forced him to
retreat to southern Missouri. With his command, Colonel Dodge was first
assigned to Rolla, Missouri, where he was placed in command of the post;
in the southwest campaign he commanded the First Brigade, Fourth Division
of that army. His regiment was the first that entered the city of Spring-
field, Missouri, and at the battle of Pea Ridge his brigade saved Curtis'
army from disaster, although he was wounded and had three horses killed,
while the fourth was wounded under him. He was under fire for three days,
March 6, 7 and 8, 1862, and remained at his post until the battle was
brought to a close. He lost one-third of his entire command, every Held
officer being either killed or wounded, for he would not retreat. His calmness
in the -face of danger, his understanding of the situation and his indomitable
courage constituted the strong elements in the achievement of the great
victory. His service immediately won recognition in promotion to the rank
of brigadier general and when he had recovered from his wounds he was
assigned to duty at Columbus, Kentucky, in command of the Central Divi-
sion, Army of the Tennessee, where his previous experience as a railroad
builder was brought into requisition in the reconstruction of the Mobile &
Ohio Railroad, which had been destroyed by the rebels and was much needed
in carrying supplies to the army. The road lay through a long stretch of
country where every mile had to be watched and every stream and bridge
guarded from guerrillas, but by the 26th of June, 1862, General Dodge had
trains running from Columbus to Corinth, Mississippi.
On the 15th of November, 1862, General Grant appointed General
Dodge to command of the Second Division, Army of the Tennessee, and
soon after to the district of Corinth, a position which required all kinds of
business talent, as he discharged his duties there of engineer, railroad mana-
ger, chief of the corps of observation, etc. At the same time both Grant's
army at Corinth and Rosecrans' army at Chattanooga relied on him for all
information as to the movements of the enemy. He built all railroads needed
in his department and destroyed those that could be of any use to the enemy.
He intercepted and defeated all raiding parties and quite effectually put
a stop to guerrilla warfare. At the same time he was of great assistance to
254 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Colonel Straite and other raiding parties of the Northern army, one of
which under his command destroyed many million dollars' worth of sup-
plies for Bragg's army.
About this time President Lincoln called General Dodge to Washington
to consult with him about the location of the eastern terminus of the Union
Pacific Railroad, the result of which it was located at Council Bluffs, Iowa.
In the campaigns of 1863 he defeated the rebel forces under Generals
Forrest, Roady, Ferguson and others and took a prominent part in the
movement against Grenada, Mississippi, that resulted in capturing fifty-five loco-
motives and one thousand cars — a valuable equipment for the Northern
army. He received appreciative recognition from General Grant on the
5th of July, 1863, the day after the fall of Vicksburg, being first on his
recommendations for promotion to rank of major-general and in appoint-
ment to the command of the left wing of the Sixteenth Army Corps, with
headquarters at Corinth. When General Grant succeeded General Rosecrans,
General Dodge's command was ordered to move with General Sherman to
Chattanooga, but before the latter reached Chattanooga, General Grant ordered
him to halt and rebuild the railroad from Decatur to Nashville, a work which
he accomplished in forty days.
At the opening of the Atlanta campaign he joined General Sherman
at Chattanooga on May 4, 1864, in command of the Sixteenth Army Corps
in the field and was entrusted with the advance of the Army of the Tennessee
in its famous flank movement, taking Ships Gap at midnight on the 5th of
May and Snake Creek Gap on the 8th of May, reaching Johnson's rear at
Resaca and forcing him to give up his almost impregnable position at Dal-
ton, Georgia.
General Dodge was successful in many brilliant engagements and espe-
cially distinguished himself in the greatest and most decisive battle of the
Atlanta campaign, July 22, 1864, in first meeting and checking and finally
defeating, with the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps, General Hood's desperate
and able movement to the rear of the Army of the Tennessee. While stand-
ing in a trench before Atlanta he was severely wounded in the head, August
19, 1864, and was sent north to recover. During his convalescence he visited
General Grant at City Point, Virginia, and saw the splendid armies of the
Potomac and James. On the restoration of his health he was assigned in
November to the command of the Department and Army of the Missouri.
The western country was overrun by guerrillas, and the army was in bad
condition. General Dodge proceeded at once to restore order, to introduce
discipline and demand obedience, and also quelled the general Indian out-
break which then threatened along the entire frontier, and opened the
overland mail routes to Denver, Salt Lake and California, which had been
closed three months by the Indians, at the same time making a vigorous war
on the guerrillas. General Jefferson Thompson's command, with eight thou-
sand officers and men, surrendered to him in Arkansas. At the close of the
war General Dodge's command was made to include all the Indian country
west of the Missouri river and north of Indian Territory, and for a year
thereafter he was in command of the Indian campaigns reaching from the
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 255
Arkansas to the Yellowstone rivers. Many Indian battles were fought by
his troops, which finally brought about a temporary peace with all the
plains tribes.
Feeling that his country no longer needed his aid, General Dodge
tendered his resignation, which was reluctantly accepted, May 30, 1866. He
had been placed by General Grant at the head of the list of major-generals
of volunteers whose services he desired to retain with that rank in the Regular.
Upon his retirement General Dodge directed his energies into other chan-
nels of usefulness. Undoubtedly he could have attained high political honors
had his ambition been in that direction. He was elected on the republican
ticket to represent his district in congress, his nomination coming to him
entirely unsolicited. He did not desire political preferment, but accepted
for one term and proved an able working member of the house, rendering
valuable aid in putting the army on a peace footing and also in solving the
questions pertaining to internal improvement in the west, including the
building of the transcontinental railway lines. He had already gained dis-
tinction as a civil engineer in railway building and his opinions were
regarded as most valuable. While in congress General Dodge continued his
work as chief engineer of the Union Pacific, which position he had accepted
upon leaving the army. This great transcontinental line owes its existence
largely to him. He had faith in its possibilities and with wonderful presc-
ience recognized what its worth might be to the country. Obstacles con-
fronted him on every hand and at one time when it appeared the entire
plan would fall through, General Dodge w-ent to New York and so demon-
strated the feasibility of the scheme to the financiers that the work was
undertaken with new heart and courage. Nearly every mile of the road had
to be built under military protection because of the hostile red men who
sacrificed to their blood-thirstiness many of the best men employed on the
work. The materials and supplies had to be brought from the east and
hauled hundreds of miles from the end of the track over wagon roads in
the poorest condition and the difficulties were almost insurmountable, but
the chief engineer possessed a faith and courage that knew no defeat. He
believed that his plan was the most practical solution of the question and
though criticisms were heaped upon him he had the satisfaction of complet-
ing his line and winning the approval of the government commissioners
appointed to examine it and of the engineers who made an examination for
the purpose of making changes that would better the line. The great under-
taking was completed May 10, 1869, at Promontory Point, Utah, ten hundred
and eighty-six miles from the starting point on the Missouri river, and it
was built in three years, five hundred and fifty-five miles of it being built
in one year, a feat that has not been equaled up to this time. This was
but the beginning of his great work as a railroad builder. In 1871 he was
chief engineer of and built the Texas & Pacific Railway from Shreveport to
Dallas, and Marshall to Sherman ; also located the line from San Diego, Cali-
fornia, constructing it from San Diego eastward. From 1880 until 1885 he
was engaged on the construction of the Texas & Pacific Railway from Fort
Worth to El Paso; the New Orleans & Pacific Railroad from Shreveport to
256 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
New Orleans; the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway; the International &
Great Northern Railway; the Mexican Oriental Railway in Mexico, and the
Fort Worth & Denver City Railway. From 1886 until 1890 he was engaged
on the construction of the Denver, Texas & Fort Worth, the Denver, Texas
& Gulf and other railway lines, and in 1894 he was chosen president of the
Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf Railroad. The railroad had been justly styled
the chief promoter of civilization and in this connection General Dodge,
has done a great work for his country in opening up the vast west with all
of its natural resources and possibilities. From 1874 until 1900 he spent a
portion of the time abroad, where his advice was sought by the builders
of the great Russian transcontinental line from St. Petersburg through Siberia
to the Pacific ocean. He was also consulted on other foreign enterprises and
was asked to take charge of a system of internal improvements in China but
the project failed at first on account of the death of Anson Burlingame,
former United States minister to China, who had this work in charge, and
when the work was undertaken again in 1886, although General Dodge was
once more asked to go to China in connection therewith, he found himself
unable to do so.
General Dodge since he was nineteen years old has been continuously
and actively connected with the railroad interests of the United States and
has taken an active part in all the questions affecting those interests. He
was one of the first to appreciate the necessity of national supervision of
the internal improvements of the country, and supported the president and
congress in the passage of all the national laws which have now proved so
beneficial to the companies ami the country, and at tbis time, 1907, is con-
nected with several railroads, more intimately the Colorado & Southern,
which line he commenced building in 1880. and which now reaches from
Galveston, TexaSj to Orin Junction, Wyoming, and needs only three hun-
dred and fifty miles to build to connect with the Lines north of the Yellow-
stone river, which will give a continuous line from Galveston to Edmonton,
Canada, a distance as far north and south along the east base of the Rocky
mountains as it is east and west from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the
transcontinental lines, and it has been one of the ambitions of his life to see
this north and south connection completed.
A republican from the organization of the party, General Dodge was
delegate-at-large from Iowa to the national conventions at Philadelphia, Chi-
cago and Cincinnati and has done much effective campaign work. His posi-
tion is never an equivocal one and he has a state-man's grasp of affairs,
studying closely the great problems which have confronted the country in
all of the campaigns since the election of Abraham Lincoln. That General
Dodge has never sought political honors or had aspirations in that direction
is indicated by the fact that in September, 1869, he declined an appoint-
ment to the position of secretary of war by General Grant and in January,
1876, the election of United States senator from Iowa. Civic and military
honors have been conferred upon him. The state of Iowa has honored him
by placing his equestrian statue upon the soldiers' monument at the state
capitol, and his statue in bold relief is upon the pedestal of the General John
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 257
A. Logan monument and in bas relief upon the pedestal of the statue of
General William T. Sherman in our national capital.
General Dodge's relations with his commanding officers during the Civil
war were very close. General Grant in his memoirs pays him the highest
tribute and General O. 0. Howard gives his relations with General Sherman
thus:
"General G. M. Dodge was Sherman's special favorite on account of his
work with the bridge making and railway construction on marches or in
battles. Dodge's capabilities and personality alike drew Sherman to him.
I never knew an officer who on all occasions could talk so freely and frankly
to Sherman as Dodge. One good reason for this was that Dodge's courage
was always calm and his equanimity contagious, no matter how great or
trying the disturbing cause."
President Roosevelt stated when the Panama Canal- was to be constructed
that if General Dodge was ten years younger he would be given the entire
control of the work, and in his speech at Indianapolis paid this tribute to
him :
"Iowa did its share in the work of building railroads when the business
was one that demanded men of the utmost daring and resourcefulness; men
like that gallant soldier and real captain of industry, Grenville M. Dodge;
men who ran risks and performed feats for which it was difficult to make
reward too high; men who staked everything on the chances of a business
which today happily involves no such hazards."
He has been deeply interested in the various military organizations which
are the outgrowth of the Civil war. lie assisted in founding the Loyal
Legion, was commander of the New York commandery for two years and
is now, 1907, commander-in-chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion
of the United States. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic,
and was elected president of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee upon
the death of General Sherman. He is vice-president of the Grant Monu-
ment Association and in 1897 was chosen as grand marshal at the inaugura-
tion of the tomb of his old-time friend and comrade, General Grant. He
is likewise president of the Grant Birthday Association, both of these societies
being New York Organizations. In April, 1898, he was appointed major
general of the United States volunteers of the Spanish war and in September
of the same year he was made president of the commission appointed by
President McKinley to investigate the conduct of the war department in its
relations to the war with Spain. He is a member of the Union League, the
Army and Navy Clubs of New York, and also of the National Geographical So-
ciety. He likewise holds membership in the Benevolent Protective Order of
Elks and in the Odd Fellows of Council Bluffs. He is president of the Nor-
wich University Alumni Association and the Iowa Society of New York.
General Dodge's career has been one succession of victories — victories
achieved because he has always had the courage of his convictions, has felt
that his position has been a correct one and because he has had the determina-
tion and loyalty to continue in the conflict until he brought it to a success-
ful termination. Such has been his course in business as well as in military
258 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
life. His projects have been so vast and of such far-reaching effect that they
have naturally awakened the opposition of many conservative men and of
those who for selfish, personal reasons have championed a different course.
Such opposition has been to him the call to battle, and in no instance of his en-
tire life has he ever been known to lower his colors or swerve in his loyalty.
No one has ever questioned the honesty of his intent or purpose and he stands
today among the great men of the nation by reason of the fact that his life has
been one of signal usefulness to his fellowmen.
WALTER INGLEWOOD SMITH.
Walter I. Smith, a prominent lawyer of Council Bluffs, was born in
this city on the 10th of July, 1862, a son of George Francis and Sarah H.
(Forrest) Smith, early settlers of Council Bluffs, where the father carried on
business as a contractor and builder for many years. During his boyhood
Walter I. Smith attended the public schools of this city, graduating from the
Council Bluffs high school in 1878, and for a part of the following year he was
a student at Park College in Missouri. He then taught school in Potta-
wattamie county from the spring of 1880 until the summer of 1881, when he
commenced the study of law in the office of Colonel D. B. Dailey and was
admitted to the bar in December, 1882. He began practice at once in partner-
ship with his former preceptor, Colonel Dailey, and this connection con-
tinued until May, 1885, after which he was alone for two years. In 1887 he
formed a partnership with Hon. J. E. F. McGee, a relation that was maintained
until Mr. McGee was elected superior judge of Council Bluffs in the spring
of 1890.
In July, 1890, he was united in marriage to Miss Effie Marie Moon, and
to them have been born four children, all of whom are still living, namely:
Howard Forrest, Barbara, Grace Marian and Malcolm Alan. Mr. Smith is
a member of various fraternal organizations. He has taken all of the York
rite degrees of Masonry; is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine; and a member of
the Order of the Eastern Star; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the
Knights of Pythias: the Royal Arcanum; the Ancient Order of United Work-
men; the Modern Woodmen of America: and the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks.
Recognizing his worth and ability. Mr. Smith has been called to various
official positions of honor and trust. He was elected judge of the fifteenth
judicial district of Iowa, composed of the counties of Shelby, Audubon, Pot-
tawattamie, Cass, Montgomery, Mills, Fremont and Page, to which Harrison
was subsequently added. He was re-elected in 1894 and 1898, but resigned
on the 1st of September, 1900, to accept the republican nomination for con-
gress in the ninth district of Iowa, composed of Harrison, Shelby, Audubon,
Guthrie, Pottawattamie. Cass, Adair, Mills and Montgomery counties.. He
was elected to fill a vacancy in the fifty-sixth congress and was elected a
member of the fifty-seventh, fifty-eighth, fifty-ninth and sixtieth congress.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 259
He has served on the committee to investigate hazing at the West Point Mili-
tary Academy; also the committee on banking and currency; on elections;
and is now in 1907 a member of the committee on appropriations.
C. H. READ, D. D. S.
Dr. C. H. Read, an active and successful member of the dental profes-
sion, practicing in Avoca, where he is also filling the position of postmaster,
was born in Ogden, Iowa, on the 20th of August, 1875. His parents were
Herbert R. and Cora (Ring) Read. The father was born in Utica, New
York, in 1842, and when eight years of age accompanied his parents on their
removal to Wales, that state, where he was reared, his early education being
supplemented by a course of study in the normal school. After winning
a state certificate he began his career as a teacher and followed that profes-
sion for a number of years. He afterward spent some time as a commercial
traveler and later engaged in mercantile business on his own account in
partnership with his brother, Elgene Read, in Wales, New York. After carry-
ing on the store for some time he sold his interest to his brother in 1872 and
came to Iowa, settling near Ogden, where he engaged in farming. He made
purchase of three hundred and twenty acres of good land, which he culti-
vated and improved, his time and energies being devoted to active farm labor
for fourteen years. In 1886 he took up his abode in Ogden, where he estab-
lished a lumber business, conducting the same with goodly success until
1900, when he retired from active commercial. life. Removing to Avoca, he
purchased a small farm of forty acres adjoining the town and has since given
his time here to the raising of Duroc Jersey hogs. This has proven a very
successful venture, as have his other business interests in life, and as the
years have gone by his labors have enabled him to enjoy many of the com-
forts and some of life's luxuries. A stalwart republican in politics, he has
never been an aspirant for public honors nor office, yet has held some minor
positions in the township, to which he has been called by his fellow townsmen,
while in the local councils of his party his opinions have proved an influ-
encing factor. An earnest and consistent Christian gentleman, he is an active
worker in the Methodist Episcopal church and for many years was super-
intendent of the Sunday school. For a long period he was also a member of
the official board of the church and his labors have been far-reaching and
effective in promoting its welfare and growth. Unto him and his wife have
been born three sons: Professor William B. Read, who fills the chair of
mathematics in Simpson College at Indian ola, Iowa; C. H., of this review;
and Dr. Ervin C. Read, a practicing dentist of Oakland, this county.
Dr. Read, of Avoca, was reared under the parental roof and in the public
schools of Ogden acquired his early education, which was supplemented by
study in Simpson College in the spring of 1893. He afterward attended the
World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and from that city went east to
Buffalo, New York, where he was employed in the mercantile store of his
260 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
uncle, E. W. Read & Company, for one year. On the expiration of that period
he returned to his native state and took up the study of dentistry, entering
the dental department of the University of Iowa in the fall of 1894. In the
fall of 1895 he became a student in the University of Pennsylvania at Phil-
adelphia, where he spent one term, after which he again came to Iowa and
for three years was engaged in the practice of his profession in Ogden. In
order to further perfect himself in his chosen field of labor, in the fall of
1899 he once more entered college as a student in the Northwestern Univer-
sity of Chicago, from which he was graduated in the class of 1900. He then
came to Avoca and on the 14th of May of that year opened his office for the'
practice of his profession. His skill soon gained him an extensive practice
and he has since conducted a business which is constantly growing in volume
and importance. His work is of a satisfactory character and he continued
in active charge thereof until his appointment to the position of postmaster
in September, 1906. Assuming the duties of this position, he placed his
office in charge of his cousin. Dr. H. E. Read.
On the 5th of January. 1898, Dr. C. H. Read was married to Miss Lilly
S. Williams, of Ogden, Iowa, and onto them have been born two children,
Cora Lilly and Florence Charlotte. Dr. Read is a republican and for two
years has served as clerk of Knox township, Pottawattamie county. He be-
longs to Mount Nebo lodge, No. 297, A. F. & A. M.. served for two years
as it- master, and in 1906 was junior grand deacon of the grand lodge of Iowa.
He likewise affiliates with Raboni chapter, R. A. M.. and with the Eastern
Star, of which lie lias boon worthy patron. He is also an Odd Fellow, holding
membership in Avoca lodge. No. J20. He is regarded as one of the repre-
sentative citizens of Avoca and in the position of postmaster is making a
record equally creditable with that which he has made as a member of the
dental fraternity
DONALD MACRAE, M . ]>
Dr. Donald Macrae. St., who passed away on the 14th of August, 1907,
- the most popular as well as one of the oldest physicians of Council
Bluffs, having been engaged in practice here for over forty years. His
early home was on the other side of the Atlantic, for he was born in Ross-
shire, Scotland, on the 3d of October, 1839. his parents being Rev. Donald
and Jessie (Russell) Macrae. His father was a minister of the Free church
of Scotland, and his maternal grandfather, Rev. James Russell, was also a
clergyman, living at Gairloch, Ross-shire, Scotland. The Doctor is survived
by three brothers and one sister: James R., of Council Bluffs; Rev. John
S of Melbourne, Australia; F. A., of London. England; and Mrs. Mary
Stewart, of Melbourne. Australia.
Dr. Macrae was reared and educated in his native land and was a
student at the University of Edinburgh, graduating from the medical de-
partment of that noted school in August, 1861. For a year and a half
lOu^JiMJ UJj^eyr&Jly
?\flV.\G
kHO
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 263
thereafter he was engaged in practice at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
and then accepted a position as surgeon for the Cunard Steamship Com-
pany, crossing the ocean seventy-five times during the four years spent in
their service.
On his last trip the Doctor landed in New York and was married in
that city in 1867 to Miss Charlotte Douchette, a native of Canada and a
daughter of Joseph Douchette, who was surveyor general of Canada and
died in 1881 at the age of eighty-six years. Dr. and Mrs. Macrae had one
son, Donald, Jr., who was born January 24, 1870, and is now successfully
engaged in the practice of medicine in Council Bluffs. The wife and
mother died on the 28th of March, 1904.
It was in March, 1867, that Dr. Macrae of this review took up his resi-
dence in Council Bluffs and opened an office. He was not long in building
up a good practice, which steadily increased as the years passed by, and he
was always regarded as one of the most popular and successful physicians
of his adopted city. The well established family physician obtains an in-
fluence in any community which is more far-reaching than that of any man
sustaining other relations to the public. Through his long practice Dr.
Macrae became widely known and was universally respected and esteemed.
For several years he was professor of the principles and practice of medi-
cine in the Omaha Medical College and also dean of the faculty, and was
president of the Iowa State Medical Society and of the Missouri Valley Medi-
cal Society. At the meeting of the International Medical Congress held
at Washington, D. O, he was vice president of the surgical section, and these
facts plainly indicate his standing with his professional brethren. Frater-
nally he was a member of the Elks, the Masons and the Woodmen of the
World, and religiously was connected with the Presbyterian church, while
his wife was a member of the Episcopal church. His political support was
given the democratic party, but he never took a very active part in public
affairs, though he served on the school board and as mayor of Council Bluffs
to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.
SOREN JENSEN MYRTUE.
Soren Jensen Myrtue, architect and building contractor, occupies a prom-
inent position in business circles of the city and his success is the public
acknowledgment of his skill and ability in his chosen field of labor. He was
born at Wester Hjermitslev, in the extreme northern part of Denmark. His
father, Jens C. Sorensen Myrtue, born in the same place, September 13, 1826,
still lives in his native country and has devoted his life to farming. The
mother, Karen Marie (Jensen) Myrtue, was born at Wester Hjermitslev,
June 23, 1832, and died in that country in June, 1881.
In the public schools of his native country Soren J. Myrtue pursued his
preliminary education and afterward took a three years' course in a technical
school in Denmark, completing courses in architecture and construction,
264 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
thus becoming well trained for his life work. Coming to America he settled
in Council Bluffs, February 12, 1890, and turned his attention to the business
in which he is now engaged. He is widely known and has gained a most
enviable reputation as an architect and contracting builder, and since 1894
he has been associated with his brother, J. J. Myrtue, their place of business
being No. 30 South Fourth street. They employ on an average twenty men,
with a payroll of three hundred and fifty dollars a week, their business having
constantly increased in volume and importance until it is scarcely equalled by
any in their line in the city. Many of the fine structures of the city are
monuments to their skill and handiwork, and the firm bears an unassailable
reputation for fidelity and reliability.
On the 22d of July, 1904, Mr. Myrtue was united in marriage to Miss
Ella Smith, of Council Bluffs, who was born near Macomb, Illinois, in 1867.
Her father died when she was quite young and her mother died in Council
Bluffs, in September, 1906. Both Mr. and Mrs. Myrtue have a wide acquaint-
ance and the friendship of many with whom they have been brought in
contact. He is a member of the Danish Brotherhood and is a stockholder in
the building owned by that society. He lives at No. 384 Harrison street,
where he owns a pleasant residence, and in addition to his business property
he has an interest in several properties elsewhere in the city, from which
he derives a good income. Throughout his life he has made good use of his
opportunities, seeking in the field of unremitting diligence the chance for
advancement, and his business rectitude, combined with his technical skill
and practical methods, has brought him a goodly measure of prosperity.
JOHN BENO.
John Beno, deceased, was for many years prominently identified with the
business interests of Council Bluffs, being at the head of the largest department
store in the city. His early home was on the other side of the Atlantic, for he
was born in Alsace, France, now a part of Germany, January 11, 1843, but
was only seven years of age when he was brought to this country by his
parents. The mother, however, died soon after coming to America.
The family home being established in St. Louis, the son there worked at
anything he could find to do for about six years. He then spent three years in
St. Joseph, Missouri, where be was also variously employed, and in 1861 came
to Council Bluffs. During tlie first year after his arrival here he made his home
with a brother, who removed from the city on the expiration of that time and
he then went to work for Mrs. W. D. Turner, at whose home he stayed. He
had only been able to attend school at short intervals up to this time, and
feeling the need of a better education, he entered night school. Through per-
sistent and untiring effort he acquired a good practical education, which well
fitted him for a business career in later years. In 1863 Mr. Beno made his
home with H. C. McNutt and worked in a local express office. Later he entered
the store of Johnson, Spratlan & Company, as salesman, and remained with
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 265
that firm until July, 1866. For a short time he was in the employ of Fore-
man & Warner. The former eventually withdrew his interests from the
firm and Mr. Beno resigned his position and formed a partnership with
Mr. Foreman, conducting business under the firm style of Foreman & Beno.
In August, 1879, Mr. Beno withdrew from the business and went to Port-
land, Oregon, to visit his father, brothers and sisters, but in the fall of 1880
he returned to Council Bluffs and opened a general store at No. 18 Main
street and 17 Pearl street. Success attended his efforts from the start and
to meet the growing demands of his trade he was obliged to move to larger
quarters opposite the Grand Hotel, where he occupied five adjoining stores,
three stories in height. In 1900 he purchased the building erected by
Eiseman & Company, which is still occupied by his nephew T s, who are hia
successors in business. In 1901 the business was incorporated under the
name of The John Beno Company and in 1902 Mr. Beno sold his interest
to his nephews, the business being conducted under the original firm style.
Of excellent business ability and sound judgment, Mr. Beno succeeded in
establishing the largest department store in this section of the state, carry-
ing an extensive stock of dry goods, clothing, millinery, etc., for which he
found a ready market. Owing to ill health he retired from the business
about four years prior to his death, but it is still carried on under his name,
the present directors being Adolph F. Beno, Charles A. Beno, Lincoln R.
Hypes, F. L. Ellis and W. F. Hypes, the last named being a resident of
Chicago. In addition to an extensive wholesale and retail trade, they do a
large mail order business and their stock is unexcelled by any similar estab-
lishment in this part of the country.
On the 4th of June, 1872, Mr. Beno was united in marriage to Miss
Elizabeth M. Robertson, of Little Sioux, Iowa, who had previously been a
resident of Council Bluffs, and after her marriage her parents, William H.
and Catherine Robertson, returned to this city, making their home with
Mr. and Mrs. Beno throughout the remainder of their lives, Mr. Robertson
having retired from business. Unto our subject and his wife were born
five children, who are still living, namely: John, Donald, Grover, Eliza-
beth and Catherine, and with the family also resided Mr. Beno's two
nephews, Charles A. and Adolph Beno.
After disposing of his interest in the store Mr. Beno practically lived
retired though he gave his personal supervision to his property, but owing
to a cancer he was forced to spend considerable time in the hospital. Death
finally released him from his sufferings on the 13th of June, 1907, and the
community mourned the loss of one of its most valued and useful citizens.
He was a member of the Elks lodge but was not identified with any political
organization, holding himself free to support the men whom he believed best
qualified for office regardless of party lines. His business affairs were always
conducted along the strictest principles of honor and integrity and through
his own unaided efforts he worked his way upward to a position of affluence,
but the most envious could not grudge him his success, so worthily was it
achieved. His business associates always spoke of him in terms of the
highest praise. He was loyal in friendship and in his home was a loving
266 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
and indulgent husband and father. Mrs. Beno is an earnest member of the
Presbyterian church and a most estimable lady, who resides with her children
at a beautiful home at No. 120 Frank street.
ALFRED A. LENOCKER.
Alfred A. Lenocker, with varied business interests, is accounted one
of the most alert, energetic and prominent citizens of Oakland, where he
owns and conducts a drug store. As the growth and prosperity of any com-
munity depends upon its business men, it is easily seen that Mr. Lenocker
may well be termed one of the foremont resident of Oakland.
He was born in Holmes county, Ohio, in 1861, a son of Jacob Lenocker,
a native of Switzerland, who is now living in Dexter. Iowa, at the age of
seventy-five years. He was broughl to the United States at the age of seven
by his parents, who located on a farm in Holmes county, Ohio, and he was
reared to agricultural life, which he chose for an occupation when he started
out in business on his own account. For many year- he carried on farming
but is now living retired in Dexter. lie dates his arrival in Iowa from
1869, at which time he took up his abode in Madison county, where he
carried on the tilling of the soil and became prosperous. He was also a
large cattle raiser and shipper and owned a farm of four hundred and forty
acres, which is one of the finest in the state. He belongs to the Odd Fellows
society and gives his political allegiance to tin democracy. He married
Barbara Drushal. who \\a- born in Pennsylvania and died in 1879 at the
age of thirty-eight year-. She was a member of the German Lutheran
church. Their family numbered seven children, of whom four survive:
Henry D., who follows farming at Fort Morgan, Colorado; Alfred A.: Mary
E., the wife of J. J. Larky, a farmer of Oxford, Nebraska; and Carolyn S.,
the wife of R. II. Rankin, a stock raiser and buyer of Cambridge, Nebraska.
Alfred A. Lenocker was reared to farm life and attended the country
schools. In 1881, abandoning agricultural pursuits, lie turned his atten-
tion to the dmg business, entering a store in Dexter, in which he acquainted
himself with pharmacy. In 1885 he removed to Oakland, where he estab-
lished a store of his own and hns since been successfully engaged in its con-
duct, his modern business methods and his well known reliability securing
him a liberal patronage. He is. moreover, a >toekholder and director of the
Oakland Savings Bank and was the builder of the Lenocker Rural Telephone
lines, which he built in 1901. He is likewise a stockholder in the Council
Bluffs telephone exchange and the Harlan and Avoca exchanges and has
acted as manager of the Oakland exchange. His property holdings embrace
four hundred acres of land in Furnas county, Nebraska, and two hundred
and forty acres in Yuma county, Colorado. His business interests are thu-
varied and extensive but the ability which enables him to readily solve in-
tricate business problems qualifies him for the successful control of all these
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 267
interests and he is justly accounted a representative citizen of Pottawattamie
county.
Mr. Lenocker was married in 1883 to Miss Erne L. Frantz, who was
born in Ohio in 1862, a daughter of William and Margaret Frantz, the
former a fanner by occupation. He came to Iowa in 1870, settling in Mills
county, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits. Mr. and Mrs.
Lenocker have one son, Ivan, who was born in 1888 at Oakland and is now
with his father in the drug store.
The parents are members of the Congregational church and Mr.
Lenocker is an Odd Fellow and a Woodman. His political allegiance is
given to the democracy and he has served as treasurer and clerk of the town.
Aside from any official service he has done active work for the community
in support of its progressive public measures and the good qualities which
he has manifested as a citizen, as a business man and in private life well
entitle him to the regard in which he is so uniformly held.
STEPHEN T. MILLER, D. V. S.
Dr. Stephen T. Miller, who is city meat and fruit inspector for Council
Bluffs, was born on a farm in Powcsheik county, Iowa, on the 23d of August,
1864, and is a representative of one of the old families of this state, his
parents having located here at an early period of Iowa's development. The
father, Jacob S. Miller, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in 1812,
and after his removal to the middle west continued his residence in Iowa
until his death, which occurred in Montezuma in 1877. He married Armilda
Edmonds and they became the parents of a large family "of seventeen children,
fourteen of whom are yet living. The mother still survives and makes her
home in Montezuma.
Dr. Miller of this review spent the first fifteen years of his life in the
county of his nativity and during most of that period was a pupil of the
public schools near his father's home. In 1879 his mother removed to
Norton, Kansas, where he lived on a homestead until 1892, and there he
completed his education in a sod schoolhouse, such as was common upon the
plains of the Sunflower state, where it was difficult to obtain building mate-
rials. Considering his education completed at the age of twenty-one, he started
in life "on his own account. About that time he was elected a school director
and served for three years. He went to school, however, for nine months
after he was elected to office, and, as he expresses it, "hired his own teacher,"
and says that he learned more in that period than he had done in all of his
previous attendance at schools. In 1891 he became a student in a veterinary
college at Des Moines, Iowa, and was graduated in 1893. He then located
at Shelby, Iowa, as a veterinary, and in 1898 he pursued a post-graduate
course in the Kansas City Veterinary College. In 1905 he located for prac-
tice in Council Bluffs, where he has since remained, and he has here secured
a liberal patronage as a member of the profession. In 1906 he was made
268 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
meat and fruit inspector, which position he is still filling, and in 1907 he
was appointed by Governor Cummings assistant state veterinary.
Dr. Miller was married in 1891, in Kansas, to Miss Ida Roys, and they
have three children: Russell T., Miss Marvel D. and Bernard C. Dr. Miller
belongs to the Yeomen and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
is also connected w'ith the Methodist Episcopal church. Although he was
denied in youth many advantages which most boys enjoy, owing to the fact
that he lived upon the frontier, he has nevertheless made use of his opportuni-
ties and he has now attained to a position of prominence in his profession
owing to the skill which he has acquired therein.
JOHN B. BURKEY.
John B. Burkey belongs to one of the pioneer families of Iowa, honored,
esteemed and successful. The name has been closely associated with the
county and its progress for a number of years. John 1'.. Burkey was born in
Clinton county, Iowa, on the 14th of December, L870, and is the eldest in
the family of three children, whose parent.- were David and Catherine
(Burgin) Burkey. The father, a native of Indiana, came to Iowa at an
early date when a boy with his parent-, the family home being established
in Jack- hi county. There he was reared amid pioneer environment and
after attaining his majority he was married to Mi-- Catherine Burgin, being
at that time about twenty-three years of age. During the two succeeding
years be followed fanning in Clinton county. Iowa, and in 1872 came to
Pottawattamie county and purchased eighty acres on the southeast quarter
of section 27, Layton township. Not long afterward he bought the oiler
eighty-acre tract on thai quarter section and upon his farm resided until
about 1898, when he retired from active business life and removed to Atlantic.
Iowa, where he has since made his home.
John B. Burkey is the eldest of three children, the others being William
H., now a resident fanner of Layton township, and Mary, the wife of William
Berry, of Cass county, Iowa. The children spent their youth under the
parental roof and were educated in the common schools. When not busy
with hi< text-books John B. Burkey assisted in the work of field and meadow
and on attaining his majority started out in life on hi* own account. For
two years lie engaged in farming as a renter and in 1893 he purchased his
present farm of one hundred and sixty acres constituting the northeast
quarter of section 27, Layton township, adjoining the old homestead farm
on the north. Here he has since resided, and the excellent and well-kept
appearance of the place indicate.- his careful supervision. In addition to
tilling the -=oil and rawing the crops best adapted to climatic conditions he
has also made a specialty of raising shorthorn cattle and during the past
two year* he has also been feeding cattle, finding this branch of his business
very profitable.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 269
On the 22d of February, 1893, Mr. Burkey was married to Miss Cordelia
Berry, of Marna, Cass county, Iowa, a daughter of John W. Berry, a prom-
inent farmer and one of the early settlers of that county. Unto Mr. and
Mrs. Burkey have been born two children, Roy Evan and Mildred Myrtice.
The parents are widely known in this locality and occupy an enviable posi-
tion in social circles, the hospitality of the best homes being cordially ex-
tended them. Mr. Burkey is a democrat in his political views but is with-
out aspiration for office, his entire time and attention being concentrated
upon his business affairs, in which he has met with creditable success.
He has spent almost his entire life in this county where the family has lived
from pioneer times to the present, and throughout the years the name of
Burkey has ever stood as a synonym for progress and improvement.
SAMUEL B. WADSWORTH.
The subject of this review is actively connected with a profession which
has important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section
or community, and one which has long been considered as conserving the
public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual
rights. For twenty years he has been a resident of Council Bluffs and has
successfully engaged in the practice of law here since 1895.
A native of Illinois, Mr. Wadsworth was born in Grand de Tour town-
ship, Ogle county, February 22, 1851, and is a son of Christopher and Matilda
(Feaster) Wadsworth, who were born in Maryland and were of English
descent. Our subject began his education in the country schools of that
county. In 1868 he entered Dixon Seminary at Dixon, Illinois, where he
was a student for one year, and in 1873-4 attended the Illinois State Normal
University at Normal, Illinois. In 1875 he was appointed secretary of the
State Scientific Society of Illinois, in which capacity he served for two years,
at the same time being superintendent of the schools of Heyworth, that state,
to which position he was appointed in 1874. He was next superintendent of
the city schools of Oregon, Illinois, for twelve consecutive years and in 1886
was elected president of the Northern Illinois Teachers Association and also
county superintendent of schools of Ogle county.
Resigning these positions in 1887, Mr. Wadsworth came to Council
Bluffs and embarked in the abstract business, becoming general manager of
the Union Abstract & Trust Company upon its formation, but retired from
that position several years ago. From 1889 until 1893 he was secretary of
the Council Bluffs Board of Trade. Taking up the study of law, he was
admitted to the bar in 1895 and has since engaged in the active practice of
his profession with marked success.
Since coming to Council Bluffs, Mr. Wadsworth has taken a very active
and prominent part in public affairs, being elected a member of the park
commission in 1888. He was chairman of the democratic central committee
o"f Pottawattamie county from 1889 to 1893 and was then selected as chairman
270 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
of the democratic committee of the ninth congressional district, of which he
is still a member. In 1893 he was elected a member of the board of county
commissioners of Pottawattamie county and during that year was chairman
of the board. In 1897 he was elected city solicitor of Council Bluffs, in which
capacity he served until 1901, and in the fall of 1900 was the democratic can-
didate for congress from the ninth congressional district but was defeated. He
was a delegate at large to the democratic national convention in 1904 and is a
recognized leader in the ranks of his party in this section of the state. Such in
brief is the life history of Mr. Wadsworth. In whatever relation of life we find
. him — in the government service, in political circles, in business or social
relations — he is always the same honorable and honored gentleman, whose
worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly given him.
HON. JOSEPH PEA REED.
Joseph Rea Reed was born in Ashland county, Ohio, on the 12th of
March, 1835, his parents being William and Rosanna L. (Lyle) Reed, both
of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. He is a lineal descendant of Joseph
Reed, who became a resident nf Pennsylvania in an early day, settling in
Chanceford, York county. He was a member of the convention of the colony
of Pennsylvania at its session in Carpenter's hall at the time of the convention
which formulated the Declaration of Independence was in session in Independ-
ence hall. He subsequently served as a colonel in the Revolutionary war and
was still later a member of the legislative assembly, where he introduced and
secured the passage of a bill for the manumission of slaves in the Keystone
state. This was adopted about 1793-4. In his private business interests he
was a farmer, landowner and miller, and his wife, who was a worthy and reso-
lute woman, during her husband's absence in the army, operated a mill and
ground flour to feed the soldiers. Colonel Reed and his wife were Presby-
terians in religious faith. They reared a large family, including James Reed,
who removed to Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in farm-
ing. He wedded Elizabeth Reed, a distanl relative, and their family of four
sons and two daughters included William Reed, the father of Hon. Joseph R.
Reed. William Reed married Rosanna Lyle, daughter of Robert Lyle, a sol-
dier in the Continental army in the Revolutionary war. In 1829 he removed
to what is now Ashland county, Ohio, where he secured a farm and both he
and his wife remained residents of that locality until death. Their family num-
bered three sons and three daughters, who reached adult age: James R., a
farmer in his youth and later a teacher, died on his farm in St. Landry parish,
Louisiana. Sarah J. resides with her brother Joseph in Council Bluffs. Eliza-
beth is the wife of the Rev. D. A. Newell. William is a merchant, of Loudon-
ville, Ohio, and Rosanna is the wife of Jesse R. Hissem, also of Loudonville.
Upon the home farm in the county of his nativity Joseph Rea Reed
spent the days of his boyhood and youth, remaining at home until eighteen
years of age, after which time he attended school and taught alternately, meet-
JeorfX </£ 4L«l..
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 273
iiig the expense of his academic course by the money earned in teaching. After
completing his studies at Hayesville Academy in Ohio he became a student in
the law office of the firm of Dodge & Boyle, at Adel, Iowa, to which city he
had removed when twenty-one years of age, and there he was admitted to the
bar in 1859. He then practiced his profession in Adel until after the out-
break of the Civil war in 1861, when he offered his services to the government,
enlisting in the Second Iowa Battery of Light Artillery, of which he was com-
missioned first lieutenant. He commanded the battery in all of its engage-
ments after the 1st of December, 1862, but was not mustered in as captain
until the 1st of October, 1864. The battery was engaged against New Madrid,
Island No. 10, and in Halleck's advance on Corinth, in which were fought the
two battles of Farmington. With his command he was also in the engage-
ments at Iuka, Corinth, Jackson and the siege of Yicksburg, where the flag of
the Second Iowa Battery was for many days the colors nearest to the Confeder-
ate works. Later came the battles of Tupelo, Hurricane Creek, Abbeville,
Nashville and the siege and capture of Mobile.
Captain Reed was mustered out of service in June, 1865, and returned
to Adel to resume the practice of his profession. His ability won recognition
and led to his selection for political as well as professional honors. In 1866 he
was elected to the state senate for a term of two years. In 1869 he removed to
Council Bluffs, where he practiced law for a year as a member of the firm of
Montgomery, Reed & James, after which the withdrawal of the senior partner
left the firm of Reed & James. No dreary novitiate awaited Mr. Reed in Coun-
cil Bluffs. On the contrary he won almost immediate success and in 1872 he
was appointed to fill the vacancy on the bench of the third judicial district.
The ability with which he discharged his duties as judge led to his election at
three successive terms and his continuance upon the bench as district judge
until 1884. He was then elected to the supreme bench of Iowa and his record
of appeals was in harmony with his record as a man and lawyer, being dis-
tinguished by the utmost fidelity to duty as well as by a masterful grasp of
every question which was presented for solution. After five years' service as
a member of the supreme court, Judge Reed was elected to congress from the
ninth Iowa district and further political honors awaited him on the expira-
tion of his term in Washington, for in 1891 he was appointed chief justice of
the court of private land claims by President Harrison. This court had juris-
diction of claims of lands received under grants from Spain and Mexico in
the territory acquired by the United States from Mexico under the Guadalupe
Hidalgo treaty of 1848 and the Gadsden purchase in 1853. Upon his retire-
ment from that office Judge Reed resumed the private practice of law in Coun-
cil Bluffs and is numbered among the most successful and distinguished mem-
bers of the Iowa bar. In 1901 he was elected president of the Commercial
Bank of Council Bluffs.
On the 1st of November, 1865, was celebrated the marriage of Judge Reed
and Miss Jeanette E. Dinsmore, of Ashland county, Ohio, who died on the
27th of July, 1887, and on the 8th of February, 1893, he was again married,
his second union being with Edith M. Evans, of Malvern, Ohio. There is one
daughter of this union.
274 HISTOEY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Judge Reed is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is interested in the
social as well as the political life of his home city. His record is another proof
of the fact that the path to public honor is the road to public usefulness. His
official service has been characterized by the utmost devotion to the general
good and has won him high encomiums, commanding for him the respect of
people of all parties. Earnest effort, close application and the exercise of his
native talents have won him prestige as a lawyer and judge at a bar which has
numbered many distinguished men and Council Bluffs is proud to number him
among her citizens.
ISAAC T. VAN NESS, M. D.
Isaac T. Van Ness, a physician and surgeon of Neola, dates his residence
in this county from September, 1880. He was born October 23, 1845, in Stand-
ingstone township, Bradford county, Pennsylvania. His father, Isaac Hankin-
son Van Ness, was a native of Newark, New Jersey, and a descendant of Hol-
land Dutch ancestry. When a young man he went with his parents to Brad-
ford county, Pennsylvania, where he learned and followed the blacksmith's
trade. In that state he married Rachel Whipple, a native of Wilkesbarre,
Pennsylvania, where her father had extensive coal interests. After his marriage
Isaac H. Van Ness engaged in lumbering and farming, owning and operating
two large sawmills. He continued a resident of Bradford county and one of
its prominent business men up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1881,
when he was seventy-seven years of age. . His wife had passed away long years
before, dying in 1852 at the age of thirty-five years, when her son Isaac was a
lad of seven. There were six children in the family, three of whom still sur-
vive.
Dr. Van Ness was the third in order of birth and is the eldest of the sur-
vivors. He was reared on a small farm and aided with its development in con-
nection with the work of the lumber camp prior to the age of eighteen years,
when he began clerking in a drag store at Towanda, Pennsylvania, for Dr.
Porter, under whose direction he also read medicine for five years. On (he
expiration of that period he went to Philadelphia and attended medical lectures
at the Eclectic College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1871.
Thinking to find a better field of labor in the middle west, he removed to
Dixon, Illinois, where he located for practice, remaining there for several
years.
While there Dr. Van Ness was married, on the 24th of June, 1875, to Miss
Helen Gertrude Fletcher, a native of Lee county, Illinois, and a daughter of
James Fletcher, a capitalist of Dixon who owned the electric light and water
plant there and a large estate in that locality. Following his marriage Dr.
Van Ness removed to Burrton, Harvey county, Kansas, where he practiced for
two and a half years and also homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of gov-
ernment land. He then went to Colorado, where he remained for a brief
period, but the rarified condition of the air proved detrimental to him and in
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 275
consequence he came to Iowa in 1880, locating at Minden, Pottawattamie
county. A year later he removed to Neola, where he purchased a tract of land
and built a drug store and residence. Three times he has suffered loss by fire,
once at Dixon and twice in Neola. He carries a large and well selected line of
drugs. At the same time he is an active practitioner of medicine and surgery
and for twenty-three years he has been surgeon for the Chicago, Milwaukee &
St. Paul Railroad Company. For two years he practiced his profession in
Council Bluffs, living there at the time. For twenty-seven years he has resided
in this county and is now the oldest practitioner in Neola. As his financial re-
sources have increased he has made judicious investments in property and has
now large landed interests in Huron, South Dakota.
Dr. and Mrs. Van Ness are the parents of three children but they lost
their first born, Robert, at the age of one year. The others are Helen Ger-
trude, the wife of T. A. Mitchell, of Neola, who is engaged in the insurance
business and is local manager for the Hawkeye Insurance Company; and
Henry George, who is in the drug business with his father. He is a graduate
of the Neola high school and is attending college at Ames, pursuing a scientific
course. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have two children— Mary Elizabeth, a daughter
of Mr. Mitchell's first marriage, and Myron Thomas, born of the present mar-
riage.
Dr. Van Ness has been a life-long republican but without aspiration for
office. He belongs to the Masonic lodge at Neola. In professional life he is
connected with the Pottawattamie County Medical Society and the Iowa State
Medical Society. In his profession he has made continuous advancement by
his broad research and study, keeping in touch with the onward march of
progress made by the medical fraternity. As a merchant and physician he has
made a most creditable record, not only for success but also by reason of the
straightforward business principles he has followed and by his close conformity
to a high standard of professional ethics. Wherever known, and his ac-
quaintance is a wide one, he has the high esteem of those with whom he has
been brought in contact.
WILLIAM WELCH.
William Welch, conducting a transfer business in Council Bluffs, has
spent hjs entire life in the middle west. He was born in Champion county,
Michigan, in 1866, and in 1869 was brought to Council Bluffs by his parents.
The family is of Irish descent and was founded in America by the grandfather
of our subject. William Welch, the father of our subject, was born in County
Sligo, Ireland, in 1837, and when the family came to the new world in 1842
establishing a home at Toronto, Canada, he became a pupil of the public
schools of that city and resided there for about twenty-one years, or until his
removal to Michigan in 1863. He was connected with the copper mines of
that state and there remained until 1869, when he brought his family to
Council Bluffs. He had been married in Michigan, in 1864, to Miss Mary
276 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Connelly, and subsequent to their arrival in Council Bluffs he started out sell-
ing goods with a pack. Later he bought a wagon with which to make his
trips and as the years passed he prospered in his undertakings so that after a
decade or more he was enabled to open a grocery store and coal yard. Thus he
became a prominent factor in the business life of the city, receiving a liberal
patronage, which brought to him a goodly measure of success. Unto Mr. and
Mrs. Welch were born eight children of whom six reached maturity and are yet
living: William, of this review; Joseph H.; Margaret, the wife of Herman
Peeper; Elizabeth, the wife of James Glenn; Thomas; and Edward. The
mother still survives and is now living with her eldest son in Council Bluffs.
Brought to this city when only three years of age, William Welch, when a
little lad of six years, entered the public schools and was here educated. He
left school at the age of eighteen and entered the grocery .store of his father,
with whom he continued until the hitter's death in 1887. He then disposed of
the store but has conducted the coal yard up to the present time and has a
large patronage in this line. Just before his father's death he had established
a transfer business, which William Welch has since carried on. He has suc-
ceeded well in this undertaking and in connection with teaming he also con-
ducts a storage warehouse. The various branches of his business are now
bringing to him a merited success.
Mr. Welch is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and belongs to
the Catholic church. He is not actively interested in politics, preferring to
give his undivided attention to his business, and by reason of his close applica-
tion and unfaltering diligence he has progressed to a point where he now
stands in advance of the great majority, being classed among the successful
residents of Council Bluffs.
JOHN F. GARNER.
No history of Pottawattamie county would be complete without mention
of John F. Garner and the family of which he is a representative. He was
born in the township which bears the family name, being so called in honor
of his father, who was its first settler, and of whom mention is made on an-
other page of this work. The birth of John F. Garner there occurred on the
27th of February, 1849, and amid the wild scenes and environments of pioneer
life lie was reared, early becoming familiar with the arduous toil incident to
the development of a new farm. He attended the public schools as opportunity
"Hi rod and worked upon the old homestead until the time of his marriage,
which was celebrated in October, 1868, the lady of his choice being (diss Mary
Elizabeth Dial. Her father, William H. Dial, was one of the early settlers of
the county, arriving here during the period of the Civil war. Unto Mr. and
Mrs. Garner have been born six children: Lillie, now the wife of Joseph
Young; Halcyon, deceased; John, who resides in Garner township; James, who
bas also departed this life; Maude, the wife of Eli Jones, of Harrison county;
and Edna, at home.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 277
At the time of his marriage John F. Garner began farming on one of his
father's properties, for William -Garner was one of the largest landowners in
the township at the time of his demise. The subject of this review improved a
part of the land on which he located and later built a good house and barns
there. He lived upon that place for about thirty-two years, transforming it
from wild prairie into richly cultivated fields and then, retiring from active
agricultural pursuits, removed to Council Bluffs about 1901. There he lived
for three years and in 1904 returned to farm life, taking up his abode on sec-
tion 17, Garner township, where he now makes his home. He owns three hun-
dred and twenty-five acres of rich and productive land in this township and
formerly his possessions were more extensive, for in the summer of 1906 he
sold one hundred and twenty-five acres. He now has about fifty acres in his
home place. Great indeed have been the changes which have occurred during
the period of his residence here. He can remember a day when there were
many deer and some bears in this locality but owing to the severity of the
winter of 1856-7 the deer mostly perished. Indians still visited the neighbor-
hood to some extent and wild animals roamed at will over the prairie or sought
shelter in the timber which bordered the streams. Only here and there had a
habitation been placed, showing that the seeds of modern civilization were be-
ing planted on the western frontier. In his boyhood and youth Mr. Garner
bore his full share in the work of reclaiming wild land for the purposes of
civilization and as the years have gone by he has continued to carry on agri-
cultural pursuits with excellent results, being now one of the substantial farm-
ers of his community.
CAPTAIN JOHN P. WILLIAMS.
Captain John P. Williams is an honored veteran of the Civil war, who at
one time was associated with the building interests of Council Bluffs as a con-
tractor and builder but is now living retired. His natal day was January 2,
1825, and the place of his birth Windsor county, Vermont. His father, Henry
Williams, was born in Springfield, Vermont, and died in 1832 at the compara-
tively early age of twenty-eight years. His wife bore the maiden name of
Abigail C. Cram, and was born in the Green Mountain state in 1806. There
she gave her hand in marriage to Henry Williams in 1824.
Their son John was but seven years of age at the time of the father's
death. He was feared, however, in Vermont, where he lived to the age of
thirty years, and in the common schools he acquired his education, the little
log schoolhouses affording him the privileges he enjoyed for the mastery of
different branches of English learning. He was on the farm for a few years,
early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the
agriculturist, and when twenty years of age he established a sawmill and feed
business in Perkinsville, Vermont, where he remained for three years. On
the expiration of that period he went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he drove
a coach for the Eastern Railroad Company for two years. After returning
278 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
to his native county he again engaged in farming for five years and subse-
quently turned his attention to the business of shipping poultry, eagerly em-
bracing every opportunity that offered for his business advancement and that
contributed to his success.
In 1854 Captain Williams came to Council Bluffs, which was then a town
upon the western frontier, giving little promise of future development and
yet containing large possibilities in that direction. Soon after his arrival here
he took up a claim in Washington county, Nebraska, where he engaged in
raising grain. In 1855 he again came to Council Bluffs and turned his atten-
tion to carpentering. Since that time he has been more or less closely
associated with building interests but his business life has been interrupted
by official and military service. In 1860 he was elected sheriff of Potta-
wattamie county on the republican ticket and filled the office for two years.
He then responded to the country's call for aid and raised Company A of
the Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteers, of which he was elected captain. Going
to the front he served for eighteen months, after which he was discharged on
account of physical disability.
Following his return to Council Bluffs, Captain Williams was engaged
in the meat business for two years and then resumed work at the carpenter's
trade. In 1872 he went to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he engaged in min-
ing and building for two years, and on the expiration of that period he con-
tinued his journey down the Pacific coast, spending about four years on the
seaport at different places. Once more he came to Council Bluffs, where he
entered the registered mail service under Postmaster Phil Armour, serving
until the close of the latter's term. On the expiration of that period Captain
Williams entered the office of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, doing
night transfer service for two years. Once more he took up carpentering
and continued actively in building operations until the early '90s. Since
then he has devoted only a portion of his time to that work, largely living
retired. His life has been an active and useful one and in all of his business
operations he has been found honorable and trustworthy.
On the 14th of May, 1851, Captain Williams was married to Miss Hannah
Dewey, a relative of Admiral Dewey. She was born April 1, 1833, in Lebanon,
New Hampshire, and acquired her education in the common schools there.
She was a granddaughter of one of the heroes of the Revolutionary war and her
father served his country in the war of 1812. Unto Captain and Mrs. Wil-
liams have been born the following named: Mrs. Harriet Gray is the widow
of Henry Gray. She was born in Hartford, Vermont, in 1852 and now lives
in San Francisco, California, being a teacher in the public schools of that
city. She is a member of the Daughters of the Revolution and of the Order
of the Eastern Star. For more than thirty yen- she has made her home in
San Francisco and she was very fortunate in escaping all loss during the earth-
quake and fire disaster, her home being just outside the destroyed dis-
trict, John P. Williams, Jr., the second of the family, born in
1854, died in 1855. Mrs. Kate Spangler, born in 1856, is living in Walnut,
Pottawattamie county, and is a member of the Daughters of the American
Revolution. Ida, born in 1858, departed this life in 1863. Edmund Otis,
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 279
born in 1860, died in 1863, only a few days after his sister's death. Charles,
whose birth occurred in 1864, passed away in 1873. Fred O, born in 1866,
is living at Florence, Colorado, where he is engaged in the cigar and tobacco
business. Nellie, born in 1875, died when only a few months old.
Captain Williams is a member of the Masonic lodge, having affiliated
with the order since 1856. He is likewise a member of Abe Lincoln post,
No. 29, G. A. R., and his wife holds membership in the First Presbyterian
church of this city. He owns several rental properties and a comfortable home
at No. 605 West Washington street. He had the honor of erecting the first
building in Omaha and has been to a greater or less extent associated with
building operations in Council Bluffs for many years. He came to this city
more than a half century ago and although his residence here has not been
continuous he has spent the greater part of his time here and has been an
interested witness of the changes which have been wrought, making this one
of the leading cities of the great west. He has passed the eighty-second mile-
stone on life's journey and his life has been fraught with many good deeds
and actuated by many kindly purposes that have made him a most respected
and honored man.
DRAYTON W. BUSHNELL.
On the roll of Council Bluffs successful and enterprising citizens appears
the name of Drayton W. Bushnell, a bookseller and stationer, carrying a large
and well selected line of goods. His wide acquaintance and the favorable
regard in which he is universally held renders his life history a matter of
interest to the community, and it is therefore with pleasure that we present
to our readers this record of his career. He was born in Ashtabula county,
Ohio, December 22, 1844, the family home being in the little town of Cherry
Valley. His ancestors had .long resided in the Buckeye state. His paternal
grandfather was Alexander Bushnell, a native of Connecticut, who, on remov-
ing to the middle west, settled in Trumbull county, Ohio. He died during the
period of the Civil war, when about sixty-five years of age. His son Luman
J. Bushnell was born in Hartford, Ohio, in 1820, and was a country merchant.
He was married in 1842 to Miss Eliza McFarland, who died in 1859.
Drayton W. Bushnell, their only child, remained a resident of Cherry
Valley, Ohio, to the age of sixteen years and then came to Boone county,
Iowa, where for a year he remained upon a farm. He watched with interest
the progress of events in the south brought about by the momentous questions
that involved the country in civil war. After the outbreak of hostilities he
watched the course of the war and on the 24th of January, 1862, he offered
his services to the government in defense of the Union, enlisting as a private
in Company B, Fifteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out
at Newberne, North Carolina, on the 17th of March, 1865, after having par-
ticipated in the battle of Shiloh, the advance on Corinth, the Atlanta campaign
from Big Shanty until after the fall of Atlanta, subsequent to which time
280 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
he was sent to Tunnel Hill, where he did garrison duty until February 2, 1865.
He then went to Newbeme, North Carolina, and then out to Kingston, North
Carolina; was in the battle there March 14 and 15, and then back to New-
beme, where he was mustered out, having for more than three years done his
full duty as a soldier who is ever loyal to the cause he espouses.
When his military experiences were ended Mr. Bushnell returned to
Boone, Iowa, and for one season worked at farm labor. He afterward attended
school at Mount Vernon, Iowa, for one term, and in 1866 was graduated from
Eastman Business College, at Chicago. Being thus equipped for a successful
commercial career he again returned to Boone county, and for two years was
deputy treasurer there. He then turned his attention to the stationery busi-
ness in Boonesboro, Iowa, becoming a member of the firm of Moffatt & Bush-
nell, which relation was maintained from 1868 until 1872. In the latter
year Mr. Bushnell sold his interest, removed to Council Bluffs and became
a partner in the Postoniee Bookstore under the name of Bushnell & Brackett.
These gentlemen remained as partners until 1877, when Mr. Bushnell again
sold out, spending the succeeding year in the Black Hills, in Colorado and
in California. He then went again to Boone, Iowa, where he became inter-
ested in the drug business as a partner in the firm of Bushnell & Townsend.
A year later he disposed of his share in the business and went to Chicago.
In the last named city Mr. Bushnell was married on the 24th of Decem-
ber, 1879, to Miss Sophie \Y. Eyndshaw and in the spring of 1880 he came
back to Council Bluffs, where he bought out the interest in the bookstore
in which he had previously been a partner, the firm again becoming Bushnell
& Brackett and so continuing until the partnership was dissolved in 1884, Mr.
Bushnell taking one of the two stores as his share of the business. Here he
is yet engaged in the stationery trade and keeps a complete stock of the leading
lines of stationery as put upon the market by the large manufacturers of the
country. Everything in the way of stationery can be found in his store, and
as his price- air reasonable and his business methods honorable, he has secured
a liberal patronage. He belongs to the Elks lodge and is a republican in poli-
tics but takes no active part in political affairs, preferring to concentrate his
time and energies upon hi- commercial interests, in which he is meeting with
signal success.
GEORGE KEELINE.
George Keeline was a well-to-do and prominent citizen of Council Bluffs,
who dated his residence from 1868 and here made his home until he was
called to his final rest. He engaged in the stock business and also in loaning
money but lived practically retired while in Pottawattamie county. He was
born near Frankfort, Germany, on the 3d of March, 1825, a son of Conrad
and Louisa (Gemmer) Keeline, both of whom were natives of Germany. They
came to America in 1839, settling at Wheeling, West Virginia.
VOK&
MRS. GEORGE KEELINE
-V/v/y//- , /f/r//y/r
-
\
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 285
In the common schools of the fatherland George Keeline acquired his edu-
cation. He was just fourteen years of age when he came with his parents to
America and he resided with his father and mother in Wheeling, AVest Vir-
ginia, until he attained his majority, when he started in business on his own
account. Crossing the river from Wheeling, he settled at Bridgeport, Ohio,
where he turned his attention to milling pursuits and operating sawmills, plan-
ing mills, and wood mills of all kinds. He employed a large number of work-
men and engaged in the manufacture of lumber and various kinds of wood
work. Their product was all hauled to Ohio, for there were no railroads at
that time to provide means of shipment. However, he found a ready sale for
all of his products. His business steadily increased, bringing him a gratifying
income, his success resulting from his close application, his earnest purpose and
the capability which he manifested in placing his output upon the market.
While living in Wheeling, West Virginia, Mr. Keeline was married to
Miss Sophia Heneca, also a native of Germany, born May 4, 1827, and a
daughter of Albert and Adaline (Hartwig) Heneca, who came from Germany
to America in 1830. They, too, took up their abode in Wheeling, West Vir-
ginia, where Mr. Heneca engaged in the manufacture of brick during the
greater part of his life, he and his wife remaining residents of that city until
called to their final home. Mr. and Mrs. Keeline became the parents of nine
children, six of whom are now living : Mrs. Spencer Smith, whose husband is
an attorney of Council Bluffs; George A.; Oscar; William S. ; and Harry W.
All four of the sons are married and reside in Council Bluffs. Cora, the sixth
member of the family, is the wife of Corydon L. Felt, manager and one of the
stockholders of the Western Steel & Iron Company, of Woodbine, Iowa, with
office at No. 5 Everett block in Council Bluffs. Mr. and Mrs. Felt and their
two children, Ruth and Dorothy, reside with her mother, Mrs. Keeline. The
members of the Keeline family who are deceased are Louise, Amelia and
Frank.
While engaged in the milling business in Bridgeport, Ohio, Mr. Keeline
came to western Iowa in 1854 and bought several thousand acres of land in
this part of the state, some as low as eighty-six cents per acre. He did not lo-
cate in the city, however, until 1868, when he disposed of his sawmills and
other business interests at Bridgeport for the purpose of looking after his in-
terests here. His family followed in 1869, locating in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Although he established his home in Council Bluffs he began to improve his
farm land, which he had previously purchased. He engaged also in loaning
money until 1873, for indolence and idleness were utterly foreign to his nature
and he could not content himself without some business affairs to occupy his
time and attention. In the year mentioned, however, the firm of George Kee-
line & Son was organized to conduct a cattle range and stock-growers' business
in Colorado. The son, George A. Keeline, had entire charge of the business
and in 1877 moved their stock to Wyoming, where he purchased land that had
water upon it. This gave them a range of over a million acres and at the time
of the father's death they had about twenty-five thousand cattle. In all of his
commercial transactions George Keeline displayed sound judgment and keen
executive force — a combination of qualities which rarely fails to bring the de-
286 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
sired reward in the business world. He was a director and stockholder in the
Council Bluffs Savings Bank. In all of his business affairs he was conservative
and never signed a note in his life. He started out without any means but rec-
ognized the fact that labor is the basis of success and as the result of his judi-
cious investment and energy, intelligently applied, he left an estate valued at
about a half million dollars.
Mr. Keeline was never an office seeker nor did he desire political prefer-
ment. On the contrary he was perfectly content that others should hold office,
yet he was a firm advocate of the political principles which he supported by
his ballot. His early allegiance was given to the whig party and later he be-
came a stalwart republican, continuing a supporter of the party until his death.
He was a prominent member of the Masonic order here and in fact was the
first representative of the lodge in Council Bluffs and assisted in organizing the
original lodge at this place. He attended the Lutheran church, of which his
wife is a member and to its support he contributed liberally. His industry and
diligence in business had gained for him a gratifying measure of success until
he became a prominent and worthy resident of the city and county, recognized
also as one of its leading men. He died here December 15, 1901.
Although quite aged, Mrs. Keeline is yet very active and is in the enjoy-
ment of good health and she has her children around her and to her they pay
daily visits. She resides in a large brick dwelling at No. 1133 East Pierce
street, her daughter, Mrs. Felt, and her family living with the mother. This
is the old Keeline homestead and the brick used in the construction of the
house was manufactured on the place by Mr. Keeline. Mrs. Keeline selected
the home site in 1867 while on a trip here to look at the country. She also owns
other valuable property in the city, while the sons are owners of some of the
finest residences of Council Bluffs. The family has long been a prominent one
here, the name of Keeline standing as a synonym for activity, industry and en-
terprise in the business circles in Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie county.
JOHN M. GALVIN.
One of the well known and prominent lawyers of Council Bluffs is John
M. Galvin, who has successfully engaged in practice in this city since 1889.
His entire life has been spent in Iowa, for he was born in Fairfield, this
state, on the 7th of November, 1858, and was there reared and educated,
attending Parsons College, Fairfield, from which he was graduated in 1880
with the first class that ever completed the course in that institution. His
parents were Thomas and Bridget (Scanlan) Galvin, both natives of County
Kerry, Ireland. The father came to the United States in 1849 and the
mother a year later. They became residents of Iowa in 1857.
Soon after leaving school John M. Galvin commenced the study of law
and was admitted to the bar at Fairfield in 1883. Opening an office, he
there engaged in general practice until 1889, which year witnessed his
arrival in Council Bluffs. It was not long ere his ability in his chosen
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 287
profession was recognized and he has since built up an excellent practice
which is constantly increasing. He has made somewhat of a specialty of
real-estate litigation and in the trial of cases has met with most excellent suc-
cess, so that he is now ranked with the leading representatives of the profes-
sion in Council Bluffs.
While a resident of Fairfield, Mr. Galvin served as city solicitor for a
part of two terms and is now a member of the library board of Council
Bluffs, being chosen its president in July, 1907. He is a republican in
politics but votes for the men whom he believes best qualified for office re-
gardless of party ties. Fraternally he is a member of the Ancient Order of
Hiberians and of the Knights of Columbus. His life has been one of use-
fulness and the success that has come to him is certainly well merited.
LEWIS S. ALLEN.
Lewis S. Allen, a prominent and influential agriculturist residing in Lay-
ton township, where he owns three hundred and forty-eight acres and is also
extensively engaged in feeding cattle, is a native of Petersburg, Menard county,
Illinois, where his birth occurred on the 19th of March, 1850. His parents
were John W. and Melinda J. (Watkins) Allen, and the father, who was a
native of Kentucky, removed to Illinois with his parents when twelve years
of age, locating in Sangamon county. After his marriage he took up his
abode in Menard county, and in 1866 came to Iowa, settling at Eight Mile
Grove, Cass county. Eight months after his arrival in this state he pur-
chased one hundred and sixty acres of land northwest of Atlantic and subse-
quently removed to Nebraska, in which state he spent about five years. He
then remained a resident of Florida for a year and on the expiration of that
period went to Kansas City, where his demise occurred about 1892. He had
a family of nine children, six of whom survive, namely: Samuel W., who
makes his home at Two Rivers, Washington; Waterman T., living in Mat-
thews, Indiana; George, a resident of British Columbia; Martha B., the wife
of George Atkinson, of Denver, Colorado ; Dora, who became the wife of J.
Huffmann and makes her home in Wichita county, Kansas; and Lewis S.,
of this review.
Lewis S. Allen acquired his education in the common schools and
remained under the parental roof until he had attained the age of twenty-two
years, when he started out in business life on his own account, operating a
tract of rented land at Eight Mile Grove for two years. In the fall of 1875
he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm and by reason
of his enterprise and well directed business ability he was enabled to con-
tinually add to his place until within its boundaries are now comprised three
hundred and forty-eight acres of rich and productive land. When he bought
his land in Layton township it was all wild and unimproved and much arduous
labor was necessary in order to transform the property from its uncultivated
condition into its present high state of development, but Mr. Allen resolutely
288 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
set to work and it is only necessary to see his place in order to know how
well he has succeeded. He has erected all of the buildings on the farm and
has also planted all of the trees, which add materially to the attractive appear-
ance of the property. In addition to his general agricultural interests he has
also been quite extensively engaged in feeding cattle for fifteen years, prin-
cipally of the Hereford breed. He is at present feeding one hundred and
twenty-five head of cattle. He is recognized as one of the prosperous and
influential farmers of the county and has, moreover, the esteem and respect
of his fellowmen by reason of the honorable methods which he has ever pur-
sued in the attainment of his success.
On the 19th of March, 1873, Mr. Allen was united in marriage to Miss
Harriet E. Trailer, of Cass county, Iowa, and a daughter of William Trailer,
who was a prominent agriculturist of that county, but is now deceased. Unto
our subject and his wife have been born nine children, eight of whom sur-
vive: Ada B., the wife of Shelton Allen, of South Dakota; Sarah, who became
the wife of William H. Burkey and resides in Layton township, this county;
Lorena, the wife of Fred M. Moon, who lives in Marne, Iowa; Eleanor and
Efiie, who are at home ; Ira, who is an agriculturist of Layton township, this
county; William, at home; and Avery, who is also yet under the parental
roof.
In his political views Mr. Allen is a stalwart advocate of the democratic
party and has served for two terms as township trustee and for several years
has also been a member of the school hoard, the cause of education ever finding
in him a warm and helpful friend. Fraternally he is connected with Grove
lodge, No. 292, A. F. & A. M., of Marne; Berlin lodge, 0. E. S. ; and Marne
lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His religious faith is indi-
cated by his membership in the Methodist Protestant church, in which he
is serving as one of the trustees. He has resided on his present farm for
almost a third of a century and certainly deserves much credit for the work
which he did in helping to reclaim this district for the uses of civilization,
and he is widely and favorably known throughout the community by reason
of his long residence here. The success which he has gained is the merited
reward of his own labor and indefatigable industry and the business methods
which he has ever followed are worthy of emulation and commendation.
FRANK W. DEAN, M. D.
Dr. Frank W. Dean, a well known oculist and aurist of Council Bluffs,
was born in Satara, East India, on the 9th of February. 1863, but was only five
years old when he accompanied his parents, S. C. and A. E. (Abbott) Dean, on
their return to the United States. The father, who was a Congregational mis-
sionary, was a native of Massachusetts, but the mother was born in India,
her parents being missionaries to that country. At the age of nine years Dr.
Dean became a resident of Jefferson county, Nebraska, where he grew to man-
hood. He had good educational advantages and was graduated from Doane Col-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 289
lege at Crete, Nebraska, in 1886. Later he entered the University of Minnesota
at Minneapolis, where he pursued a medical course and was graduated in 1890
with the degree of M. D. His theoretical knowledge was then supplemented by
practical experience in the hospitals of Minneapolis and St. Paul, where he
remained for one year, and for a year and a half was engaged in country prac-
tice at Mineola, Iowa. Going abroad, Dr. Dean then studied in Vienna and
London, making a specialty of the diseases of eye, ear, nose and throat, and
becoming very proficient along those lines. On his return from Europe, he
located for practice at Council Bluffs, December 2, 1895, and has since given
his attention wholly to his specialties as an oculist and aurist.
That Dr. Dean stands high in the esteem of his professional brethren is
indicated by his being chosen to various offices in the medical societies to
which he belongs. He has been both president and secretary of the Council
Bluffs Medical Society and is now treasurer of the same, and was secretary
of the Pottawattamie County Medical Society for several years. He is also
a member of the American Medical Association and the Medical Society of
the Missouri Valley and is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthal-
mology and Oto-Laryngology. Socially the Doctor is a member of the Masonic
fraternity, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Commercial Club
and the Council Bluffs Rowing Association. A genial, pleasant manner has
made him quite popular both in business and social circles and he is held in
the highest esteem by all who know him.
HENRY SCHNACKEL.
Henry Schnackel, who is extensively engaged in farming, is now living
on section 6, Valley township, but in the spring of 1908 intends to take up
his abode upon a farm of three hundred and twenty acres on section 12,
James township, which he has recently purchased. A native of Illinois, he
was born in Cook county on the 2d of March, 1862, his parents being Joe and
Mary (Harder) Schnackel, who were natives of Germany and came to the
United States in the early '50s. They located in Cook county, Illinois, where
the father engaged in cultivating rented land for eight years He then removed
to Effingham county, Illinois, where he purchased a farm, and both he and
his wife spent there remaining days in that locality. In their family were
five children: Lena, the wife of Henry Burke, of Illinois; John, of this
county; Henry; Fred, who is living in Rogers, Illinois: and Sophia.
Henry Schnackel was a young man of twenty years when he arrived
in Pottawattamie county in 1882. He had acquired his education in the
public schools of his native state and on seeking a home in western Iowa set-
tled near Minden, where he worked as a farm hand for six years. He then
rented a farm for twelve years and with the capital which he saved from his
earnings purchased a tract of land of one hundred and thirty-two acres on
section 6, Valley township. He cultivated this for some time with good suc-
cess but has recently sold the property and bought another farm of three hun-
290 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
dred and twenty acres on section 12, James township, to which he intends
to remove in the spring of 1908. He is quite extensively engaged in farming.
The pleasant home life of Mr. Schnackel had its beginning in his mar-
riage in 1890 to Miss Louisa Study, a daughter of Henry and Margaret Study,
the former a native of Germany and the latter of Illinois. The mother is now
deceased, while the father makes his home in Pleasant township, Pottawat-
tamie county. In their family were nine children, including Mrs. Schnackel.
Six children have been born unto our subject and his wife: Ida, Harvey,
Melvin and Lloyd, all at home; Joe, deceased; and Clarence, who is also at
home. Mr. Schnackel prefers to give his undivided attention to his business
affairs, in which he is meeting with gratifying success. He came to Pottawat-
tamie county empty-handed about a quarter of a century ago and is today one
of its substantial residents.
ROSE H. RICE, M. D.
Dr. Rose H. Rice, of Council Bluffs, is one of the successful physicians of
western Iowa and in her practice has gained the thorough respect and confi-
dence not only of the general public but of the profession as well. She was
born in Fremont county, this state, near Tabor, and was there reared to the
age of eighteen years. Her father, L. K. Hammond, was born near Buffalo,
New York, in 1813 and, removing westward, established hi.s home in Mills
county, Iowa, in 1855. It was then a pioneer district, in the midst of which
he pre-empted two hundred acres of government land, upon which not a
furrow had been turned or an improvement made. He resolutely took up
the task of breaking the sod and cultivating the new fields and upon that place
he lived until his death, which occurred in 1889. He was married a second
time, in 1864, to Miss Harriett Counsel, a native of Illinois, and unto them
were born three children: Dr. Rose II. Rice, of this review; Colfax, who died
in infancy; and Lily H., now the wife of Lewis McDaniel, of Council Bluffs.
By a former marriage Mr. Hammond bad two sons, who served as soldiers in
the Civil war. The Hammond family is of Scotch lineage and was founded
in America by John Hammond, the grandfather of Dr. Rice, who was born
in Scotland in the eighteenth century. Some years alter his arrival in America
he removed to Mills county, Iowa, where his last days were passed.
Dr. Rice acquired her literary education in the public schools and at the
age of eighteen years secured a license to teach. She followed that profession
for eleven years in Mills, Fremont and Pottawattamie counties and proved
a capable instructor, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge
that she had acquired. In the usual periods of vacation she pursued sumin?.'
courses at the Western Normal School at Shenandoah. Iowa, and in Tabor
College, and when she felt that her more specific literary education was com-
pleted she took up the study of medicine and was graduated from Omaha
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 291
Medical College with the class of 1903. She then located for practice in
Council Bluffs, where she has since remained, and here she has secured a
liberal patronage, being retained as the family physician in many of the best
homes of the city. She performs her professional duties with a high sense
of conscientious obligation, has always been a close and discriminating stu-
dent of the principles of the medical science, and by reading and investigation
has kept constantly in touch with the onward march of the profession that
has resulted from research and investigation.
JOHN SCHOENTGEN.
After a useful and well spent life John Schoentgen passed away on the
17th of October, 1906, honored and respected by all who knew him. For
almost forty years he has been a resident of Council Bluffs and he stood high
in business circles, being a member of the well known firm of Groneweg &
Schoentgen, conducting one of the largest wholesale grocery houses in the
state of Iowa.
Mr. Schoentgen was a native of Belgium, born July 18, 1848, and was
a son of Phillip and Margaret (Zimmer) Schoentgen, both of whom were
born in Austria and from that country removed to Luxemburg, Germany.
Later the father became foreman of a china factory in L'Alluviers, Belgium,
serving in that position throughout the remainder of his life. There he
died at a comparatively early age and his wife died in Echternach, Luxem-
burg, the family home.
During his boyhood John Schoentgen attended the public schools and
pro-gymnasium of Luxemburg and acquired a good education. Hearing
favorable reports of the new world, he decided to try his fortune on this side
of the Atlantic, and in 1865, at the age of seventeen years, he sailed for
America, locating first at Weston, Missouri, where he secured a position in a
bakery and at the same time attended school. He was afterward employed
as bookkeeper at that place until 1868, when he came to Council Bluffs to
accept the position of clerk in the jewelry store of his cousin Charles B.
Jacquemin, where he remained for a few years. He then formed a partner-
ship with John Berwein in the retail grocery business at the corner of Main
and Willow street. He soon acquired his partner's interest and conducted
the business alone for several years, meeting with excellent success. In Au-
gust, 1878, he engaged in the wholesale grocery business as a member of the
firm of Groneweg & Schoentgen, William Groneweg being the senior partner.
Year by year their business steadily increased, until now it is one of the
largest and most substantial jobbing concerns on the Missouri river. In
1900 the business was incorporated into the Groneweg & Schoentgen Com-
pany, the officers being William Groneweg, president; John Schoentgen,
vice president and general manager; and P. H. Nichols, secretary and treasurer.
292 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
They erected a large building at 821-831 West Broadway, where they still
carry on business, employing a large number of men both in the wholesale
house and upon the road, and they are in control of the largest trade of any
establishment of the kind in this section of the state.
On the 11th of August, 1872, Mr. Schoentgen was married in Council
Bluffs to Miss Mary Kintz, a native of Iowa City, Iowa, and a daughter of
Charles Joseph and Anna Mary (German) Kintz. who were born in Bavaria,
Germany, and came to the United States at an early day. Locating in Iowa
City, Mr. Kintz there engaged in the tailoring business for many years but
during the last fifteen years of his life lived retired, passing awayin 1888.
His wife also died in Iowa City in 1884. Three children were born unto
Mr. and Mrs. Schoentgen, namely: Edward P., who is vice president of the
Groneway & Schoentgen Company and also a member of the firm of Cox &
Schoentgen, architects of Council Bluffs, and i- represented od another page
of this volume; Elsie Mary, the wife of Thomas I). Metcalf, Jr., who is
president of the Metcalf Company, retail clothiers of this city; and Caroline,
wife of Eldin H. Lougee, who is engaged in the real-estate and loan business
in Council Bluffs and whose sketch is also found in this work.
Mr. Schoentgen continued in active business up to the last but for a
few years prior to his death he suffered with throat trouble. In October,
1906, he went to Rochester, Minnesota, to undergo an operation and died
at a hospital in that city twelve 'lay- later, on the 17th of October, 1906, his
remains being brought back to Council Bluffs for interment. In his death
the community realized that ft had lost a valued and useful citizen — a man
upright and honorable in all the relations of life. He was what' the world
terms self-made, his success being due entirely to his own unaided efforts,
for he began his business career without capital or influential friends to aid
him and by his untiring industry, close application and sound judgment he
was soon able to leave the ranks of the many and stand among the successful
few. His friends and business associates held him in the highest regard and
to his family he was a loving husband and father. His widow, who resides
at 703 South Sixth street, is a mosl estimable lady and an earnest member of
the Methodist Episcopal church.
OLIVER P. SHERRADEN.
A man ever watchful of all indications pointing to success, his life guided
by laudable ambition and strong purpose. Oliver P. Sherraden became well
known in Council Bluffs as one whose enterprise and labor contributed to the
public weal as well as to individual prosperity. Through much of his life lie
was engaged in the real-estate business here, continuing in that line up to the
time of his death. His residence in the city dated from April, 1860. He was
a native of Ohio, born November 14. 1814. and his father was a native of Vir-
ginia, whence he removed to the Buckeye state. There he engaged in farm-
ing throughout the remainder of his life and hi* wife also passed away th<
MRS. LYD1A M
\
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 295
In the public schools of his native county Oliver P. Sherraden acquired
a good education and became a fine penman. In his youth he assisted his
father on the old homestead farm in Ohio and when he became a young man
he started to the west, settling first at Canton, Fulton county, Illinois, where
for a few years he engaged in clerking in a store. While in Canton he was
married to Miss Lydia M. Johnson, a native of Vermont, born October 25,
1821, a daughter of Ira and Mary (Perry) Johnson, the former born in New
Hampshire and the latter in the Green Mountain state. Mr. Johnson was
reared to farm life in Vermont and when a young man removed westward.
settling first near Buffalo, at Holland, Erie county, New York. There he pur-
chased a tract of land and engaged in general farming until 1838, when he
disposed of that property and started westward in a covered wagon to Canton,
Fulton county, Illinois. There he again purchased a farm near the village
and carried on general agricultural pursuits until his latter days, when he took
up his abode in the village of Canton, where he lived retired until called to
his final rest. He was a well informed man and reached the very venerable
age of eighty-eight years, while his wife died at the age of eighty-six years.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sherraden were born six children: Charles Henry, who
was born August 26, 1845, is now a retired photographer residing in Salt Lake
City, Utah. Emma Marie, born December 30, 1847, was the wife of Forrest
Eaton and died in September, 1905. Helen Eveline is the widow of James P.
Goulden, and she and her two children reside with her mother. She has two
sons: James G., who is now employed in the office of the Cudahy Packing
Company, at Sioux City ; and Robert, who is a graduate of the college at Ames,
Iowa, now in the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad. Dr. William H.
Sherraden, the fourth member of the family, was born April 15, 1861, has
graduated both in medicine and dentistry and is now engaged in the practice
of the dental profession in Omaha. The other two children of the family,
Mary Ellen and Ira Everett, died in childhood.
After his marriage Mr. Sherraden continued to reside in Canton, Illinois,
for a short time and then removed to Princeton, that state, where he began
business on his own account, purchasing a stock of goods and engaging in the
conduct of a general mercantile store here. On leaving that place he went to
Richland, Iowa, where he served as a member of the legislature. In the spring
of 1860 he sold out and removed to Council Bluffs. Prior to this time, how-
ever, through the agency of relatives he had become the owner of five acres
of land here, which at that time was situated on the outskirts of the city but
is now in one of its populous and pleasing residence districts. On his arrival
here Mr. Sherraden planted his five acres to fruit and soon afterward built tbe
home which his widow still occupies. For several years his time and energies
were given to his fruit-raising interests and he also kept a large number of
fine cows, engaging in the dairy business. His time and energies were thus
occupied for several years, when he decided to retire from active business life
and look after his property investments, which he then had in the city. He
afterward bought and sold lands and built houses and at one time he owned
the entire block between Third and Fourth avenues and Ninth and Tenth
streets. He continued to operate in real estate throughout his remaining days
296 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
and handled considerable valuable property, making his investments care-
fully and judiciously, so that his sales brought him a good financial return.
In his social relations Mr. Sherraden was an Odd Fellow and in his politi-
cal views was a republican. He died here November 14, 1881, after a residence
of about twenty-one years in the city, during which time he had become closely
associated with the welfare and progress of the city and its environments. He
left behind him an honorable name and a memory which is cherished by
many friends.
Mrs. Sherraden is a member of the Congregational church at Council
Bluffs. She owns the old home at No. 917 Third avenue, where she resides
with her daughter Mrs. Goulden and her children. She also owns three other
residence properties in the same block, at the corner of Ninth street and Third
avenue, where the family once grew sweet potatoes. That was in the early
days when the property was -situated in the outskirts of the city but the growth
and development of Council Bluffs have so extended the corporation bound-
aries that this is now in a fine residence district, and the property has greatly
increased in value, bringing to Mrs. Sherraden a good income.
JAMES E. H. WINELAND.
James E. H. "Wineland, a representative agriculturist and stock-raiser of
Knox township, Pottawattamie county, was born in Brooklyn, Poweshiek
county, Iowa, September 25, 1855. His parents were Jacob and Mary Ann
(Haines) Wineland, the former born in Maryland November 29, 1827, and
the latter in Hancock county, Ohio, in 1831. They were married November
11, 1852, and after living in Hancock county, Ohio, for a year, they journeyed
westward with an ox team, locating first in Poweshiek county, Iowa. On the
expiration of a year Jacob Wineland came to Pottawattamie county, pur-
chasing a tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres, of which a part was
timber and for which he paid five hundred dollars in gold. He immediately
began making improvements on his land by the erection of a log house,
fourteen by sixteen feet, with clapboard roof and one window a foot square.
The family lived in this pioneer cabin for a year, without cither a floor or
a door, the canvass cover of their wagon being used as a door when the cold
weather came. Mr. Wineland also built a log stable for his oxen, which is
still standing, as is also a part of the old log cabin, these primitive structures
being mute reminders of pioneer days, when the country was largely unsettled
and the work of civilization lay for the most part in the future. The father
had to haul his grain to Council Bluffs, the trip requiring three days. He
killed and dressed his hogs and after hauling them to market, received one
and a quarter cents per pound for them. He is a republican in his political
views, and is still living on the old home farm, being now in his eighty-first
year. He is respected and esteemed throughout the county as one of its hon-
ored pioneers, for he located here when the work of development had scarcely
been begun and aided in the arduous labor necessary for the cultivation of
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 297
wild land. He experienced all the hardships and privations of frontier life
and has seen the work of civilization carried ever onward until the country
has reached its present high state of progress and development. He was called
upon to mourn the death of his wife in 1900. She had ever been a faithful
companion and helpmate to him and her demise was deeply deplored through-
out the entire community.
In the family of this worthy couple were eight children, six of whom
yet survive: Bert W., living in Wayne county, Nebraska; James E. H, of
this review ; Samantha, the wife of Richard Hines, residing on the home farm
in Knox township; Lucretia, the wife of W. H. Pingree, of Coon Rapids,
Iowa; Rhoda J., the wife of Henry Evans and a resident of Bloomfield,
Nebraska ; Mary C, who became the wife of William Rott and now makes her
home in South Dakota; Lorenzo, who died on the home farm in 1901; and
Viola, who passed away February 22, 1876, at the age of eight years.
James E. H. AVineland acquired his education in the old log school-
house which his father helped to build when he first came to this county. The
methods of instruction were crude, but our subject made the most of his
opportunities and gained a good practical education, to which he has added
in later years by reading and observation. He remained under the parental
roof until he had attained his majority, when he removed to Oakland, Iowa,
where he owned and operated a general store for two years. On the expira-
tion of that period he sold out his mercantile enterprise and returned home,
remaining with his father until the time of his marriage, when he established
a home of his own. He now owns and operates two hundred acres of land on
section 36, Knox township, it being one of the best improved farms in the
township. In addition to his agricultural interests he also makes a specialty
of raising full blooded shorthorn cattle, as well as Shropshire and Oxford
Down sheep. He has a fine herd of twenty full blooded shorthorn cows and
is meeting with marked success in his stock-raising and farming interests, being
recognized as one of the enterprising and representative agriculturists of the
county. He has about three hundred head of thorough bred stock on his
farm.
On the 14th of March, 1883, Mr. Wineland was united in marriage to
Miss Ida A. Judd, who was born in New York, July 24, 1859, a daughter of
J. B. and Agnes N. (Miner) Judd, both of whom are natives of St. Lawrence
county, New York, the former born September 4, 1831, and the latter July 2,
1834. They were married in Massena, New York, June 26, 1855. In their
family were two children: Charles S., living at Moorhead, Iowa; and Mrs.
Wineland. Mr. and Mrs. Judd came west in 1861, locating in- Randolph
county, Wisconsin, where they remained for a year, after which they removed
to Wilton, Wauseca county, Minnesota. The father enlisted for service in
the Civil war, joining the army in Minnesota, as a member of Company A,
First Minnesota Heavy Artillery, and served his country faithfully and well
until hostilities had ceased. At the close of the war he returned to Minne-
sota and followed farming until 1867, when he removed to O'Brien county,
Iowa. Both he and his wife are still living and now make their home with
their children in Iowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wineland two children have been
298 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
born: Charles Glenn, born April 23, 1887; and Rose Agnes, born July 25,
1889, both of whom are still at home.
In his political affiliation Mr. Wineland is a stalwart republican and has
served as school director for twelve years, the cause of education ever rinding
in him a firm and helpful friend. Fraternally he is connected with the Odd
Fellows lodge, No. 220, at Avoca, Iowa, while both he and his wife are members
of the Rebekah lodge. , They are widely and favorably known throughout
the entire community and have won the respect and esteem of all with whom
they have come in contact, by reason of their genuine personal worth and
sterling traits of character. For a quarter of a century Mr. Wineland has
carried on agricultural pursuits in this county and as a representative of an
honored pioneer family he certainly deserves mention in this volume.
ARTHUR SARGENT HAZELTON.
Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied that
numbers of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs than
any other class of citizens. This is but the natural result of causes which are
manifest and require no explanation. The ability and (raining which qualify
one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for duties which lie
outside the strict path of his profession and which touch the general interests
of society. Holding a prominent position among the members of the bar
of Council Bluffs is Arthur 8. Hazelton, who is now so acceptably filling the
position of postmaster.
He was born in Plymouth, New Hampshire, on the 7th of November,
1855. and is the youngest in a family of four children, the others being Martha
F., still a resident of Plymouth; Charles W., a civil engineer residing at
Turners Falls, Massachusetts : and Henry W.. who is connected with the Council
Bluffs Savings Bank. The family is of English descent. The father, Charles
Hazelton, was a native of Plymouth, New Hampshire, and died there, April 1,
1881, at the age of sixty-seven years. The mother, Sarah 1>. (Sargent) Hazel-
ton, was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, and is also deceased.
During his boyhood Arthur S. Hazelton was a student at Kimball Union
A.ademy, Meriden, New Hampshire, and in 1877 entered Dartmouth College,
from which he was graduated in 1881. Deciding to make the practice of law
his life work, he became a student in the office of Blair, Burling & Adams,
the first mentioned being Hon. Henry W. Blair, United States senator from
New Hampshire. Later he continued his studies in the law department of
Boston University and at the Columbia Daw School in New 7 York city. He
paid his own way through college and while pursuing his law course in New
York taught school in the mornings in order to meet his expenses and
attended lectures in the afternoons.
Believing that he would find better opportunities for advancement in the
west, Mr. Hazelton came to Council Bluffs on the 5th of September. 1884, and
for one year was employed as principal of the high school of this city. As he
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 299
was obliged to read law for one year in Iowa before he could engage in prac-
tice, he entered the office of Jacob Sims, and on the 6th of April, 1886, was ad-
mitted to the bar, thoroughly equipped for his chosen profession. On the 1st
of the following month he became a member of the firm of Mayne & Hazelton
and has since successfully engaged in practice.
On the 16th of May, 1888, Mr. Hazelton was united in marriage to Miss
Emma Higham, of Keokuk, Iowa, and they have two sons, Charles S. and Paul
H. Fraternally Mr. Hazelton affiliates with the Masons, Bluff City lodge, and
politically is identified with the republican party, being a recognized leader in
the ranks of that organization. He is always a delegate to the state republican
conventions and for seven years was chairman of the Pottawattamie coifnty re-
publican central committee, his voice bearing weight in the councils of his
party. His ability as a lawyer being widely recognized, he was called upon to
serve as city solicitor of Council Bluffs from 1892 until 1898, and next served
as state senator for four years, resigning the latter position in 1902 in order to
accept the appointment of postmaster in June of that year. The appointment
came from President McKinley, and so creditably and satisfactorily did he fill
the office that he was re-appointed by President Roosevelt in June, 1908, being
the present incumbent. He has made a most popular official and he has most
ably discharged the duties of all the positions he has been called upon to fill.
From the time he made his own way through college he has been dependent
upon his own resources and the success that has come to him in life is certainly
well merited.
HENRY H. SPALTI.
The life record of Henry H. Spalti is such as any man might be proud to
possess, for he has worked diligently and persistently for advancement and
at the same time has followed a course which throws no shadow of wrong or
suspicion of evil upon his life. On the contrary he is known for his business
integrity and commands the respect of all of his associates in the commercial
world.
He was born in Marion county, Iowa, in 1859, and comes of Swiss ancestry,
his parents being Henry and Sarah A. (Roth) Spalti, the former a native of
Switzerland and the latter of Indiana. The father came to the United States
in 1845, settling at Ottumwa, Iowa, where he worked by the month, and dur-
ing the first winter he and his brother, Joachim, lived in a hole dug in the
ground with straw for a bed and parched corn for food. They were regarded
by people passing by their dug-out as "two Dutch boys starving to death."
Their condition could not be explained, as they spoke no English. Their first
wages were four dollars a month, receiving half pay in farm products. Henry
Spalti continued to work as a farm hand until 1849, when attracted by the
discovery of gold on the Pacific coast he went to California, where he worked
in the mines, making about sixteen thousand dollars in two years. With this
capital he returned to Ottumwa and he and his brother embarked in mer-
300 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
chandising at that place. Later they removed to Pleasantville, where they so
successfully and capably conducted their business interests that when they re-
tired they were worth about a half million dollars. They are now both living
at Pleasantville, Iowa, their time being given to the supervision of their prop-
erty interests and to the enjoyment of a well earned rest. In 1902, Mr. Spalti
divided a large part of his property among his children, thus preventing them
from having the same experiences and hardships which came to him in his
early business life in America. His business record seems almost phenomenal
when we think of his early condition here and know that today, while not a
millionaire, he is nevertheless in possession of a handsome competence, which
renders him free from all want and business care. He belongs to the Methodist
Episcopal church and is a republican in his political views. He has ever been
very methodical in his habits, extremely systematic in all that he has done,
thoroughly honest in his dealings and upright in his character, and so justly
and honorably has his success been gained that it cannot be grudged by the
most envious.
Henry Spalti was married in early manhood to Miss Sarah A. Roth, who
was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. She has long since passed away, her death hav-
ing occurred in the fall of 1881 when she was forty-one years of age. In their
family were five children : Joshua H. ; Henry H. ; Lydia E., the wife of Jacob
Kline, a resident of Pleasantville, Iowa; Fridoline H., who is engaged in mer-
chandising in Pleasantville; and John H,, who is in partnership with his
brother Henry.
Upon the home farm Henry H. Spalti of this review was reared and in his
boyhood he mastered the common branches of learning taught in the public
schools. In early life he entered his father's store and learned the business
and in 1883 embarked in business on his own account at Bevington, Iowa,
forming a partnership with his brothers, Joshua and John, under the firm name
of Spalti Brothers. There tiny continued for four and a half yours and in
1887 came to Oakland, where they established a large store. In 1893 the Spalti
Brothers Bank was opened, Henry II. Spalti continuing a partner in both con-
cerns until 1894, when Joshua Spalti withdrew from the firm and took the mer-
cantile interests and some real estate as his share of the business of Spalti
Brothers. He yet continues the conduct of the store under the name of Joshua
H. Spalti & Sons, while Henry H. and John H. Spalti continue the original
partnership as Spalti Brothers, having retained as their interest in the original
firm the banking business and the residue of the real estate. In 1905 they built
a large store building and again engaged in merchandising, continuing under
the old style of Spalti Brothers, merchants, and Spalti Brothers, bankers. They
were thus engaged until the spring of 1907, when the banking concern was
incorporated into a savings bank, under the style of the Oakland Savings Bank,
with the following officers : W. L. Overman, president ; Henry H. Spalti, vice-
president; W. J. Donlin, cashier: and M. II. Evans, assistant cashier. The di-
rectors are E. S. Harlan, II. H. Spalti, John H. Spalti, A. B. Johns, Alfred A.
Lenocker, L. S. White and W. L. Overman. The hank is capitalized for twen-
ty-five thousand dollars, has deposits of one hundred and four thousand dollars
and is doing a general banking business with a large patronage. Henry H.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 301
Spalti and his brother John also have large real-estate holdings in Pottawatta-
mie and Marion counties, owning altogether fifteen hundred acres in farm,
lands besides other property.
In 1894 was celebrated the marriage of Henry H. Spalti and Mrs. Carrie
Scroggins, a daughter of James N. Carter, a farmer. She is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Spalti belongs to the Masonic fraternity
and the Odd Fellows lodge. He gives his political allegiance to the republican
party and has been a member of the town council. His interest in public af-
fairs has been manifest in the active and substantial aid which he has given
to many movements for the public good. His worth as a citizen, aside from his
business affairs, is widely acknowledged, while his efforts along commercial and
financial lines have made him a valued resident of Oakland, contributing
largely to its prosperity and growth. He has made excellent use of his talents
and his opportunities, carefully considers every business proposition and uses
the means at hand to the best advantage, producing results which are gratify-
ing from a financial standpoint. His business methods, too, have never been
such as seek or require disguise but on the contrary may well serve as an ex-
ample to be followed by others who wish to advance along honorable lines from
a humble position to one of affluence.
WALTER F. STEPHAN.
Walter F. Stephan, engaged in business in Council Bluffs as a member of
the firm of Stephan Brothers, plumbers, was born in this city on the 20th of
April, 1865. Having spent much of his life here, his history is largely as an
open book and each definitely defined chapter in the record is one which will
bear close investigation and scrutiny. He comes of German parentage, his
father, Charles H. Stephan, being a native of Germany. He arrived in America
in 1818 and lived for some time in Buffalo, New York. He then came to
Council Bluffs, but afterward left Iowa and returned eastward to New York,
where his death occurred. His wife bore the maiden name of Henrietta Fischer
and is still a resident of Council Bluffs. In their family were seven children,
four sons and three daughters, of whom four are yet living: Amelia, now the
widow of A. McMillan, of Council Bluffs, and the mother of one daughter,
Frances, who has married Ralph Metzger, of Sterling, Colorado ; August G., of
Chicago, Illinois; Walter F., whose name introduces this review; and Ernestine,
the wife of Morris Woolman, of Council Bluffs.
At the usual age Walter F. Stephan became a public-school pupil and passed
through successive grades, mastering the branches of learning therein taught
until he reached the age of sixteen years, when he entered upon a more specific
business course as a pupil in a commercial college in Omaha. Having finished
his studies there, he entered the employ of Casady, Orcutt & French, wholesale
and retail dealers in carpets, continuing in that line for two years. He next
became an employe in the Adams Shoe Store, the predecessor of the Boston
Shoe Store, now out of business. He also spent two years there, when he be-
302 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
came an employe of Joseph E. Bixby, a plumber, under whom he learned the
trade, becoming an expert workman in that line during the three years in
which he remained in Mr. Bixby's employ. In 1887 he opened a shop of his
own, where the Grand Hotel now stands, and several years later he .removed to
his present location at No. 529 West Broadway. Here he has a well appointed
plumbing establishment and his patronage is extensive, for his work is executed
in most able manner, giving general satisfaction. His trade is well merited and
he has secured thereby a gratifying competence.
Mr. Stephan belongs to the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the
Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is likewise identified with the Commercial Club
and with the Council Bluffs Rowing Association. A friendly spirit, cordial na-
ture and deference for the opinions of others, have gained for him warm regard
and a constantly increasing circle of friends.
FREDERICK ROHRS.
There are in various communities in this land citizens whose nationality
is easily recognized, not by reason of any national trace of face, feature or
name, but because of certain strongly marked characteristics in business,
among which are a persistency of purpose and a determination to accom-
plish what is undertaken. These qualities plainly indicate the German na-
tion and arc manifest in Frederick Rohrs. who first opened his eyes to the
light of day in Hanover, Germany, on the 25th of June, 1858, his parents
being William and Anna (Witte) Rohrs, of whose family of four children
but two are now living, the younger brother being Christopher, a resident
of Shelby, Iowa. The father, also born in Hanover, was reared and mar-
ried there, and in 1870 sailed for the United States establishing his home in
Durant, Cedar county, Iowa. Three years later he removed to Nebraska
and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in Knox county, but
the grasshoppers destroyed all crops produced and after two years he re-
turned to Iowa, his possessions at that time consisting of only a yoke of oxen
and two head of cattle. Taking up his abode in Pleasant township, Potta-
wattamie county, he there lived up to the time of his death, which occurred
in 1890. His widow still survives at the age of seventy-five years and makes
her home with her son Frederick.
Mr. Rohrs of this review acquired his education in the public schools,
while spending the days of his boyhood and youth in his parents' home. His
opportunities in that direction, however, were necessarily limited because it
became necessary for him to provide for bis own support. He was twelve years
of age at the time of the removal of the family from Germany to the United
States. He lived at home and assisted his father, ultimately becoming a
partner with him in the ownership of two hundred acres of good land on
section 2, Pleasant township. In 1885 he and his brother took charge of
this farm, which they operated together, and in 1900 they purchased the
present home farm of Frederick Rohrs, comprising two hundred and forty
o^^^^^c>f^^^
\
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 305
acres — the northwest quarter and the west half of the southwest quarter of
section 4, Pleasant township. In 1904 the brothers made a division of their
property, Frederick Rohrs taking the two hundred and forty acres just
mentioned. He is engaged extensively in the raising of Hereford cattle,
having thirty head on his place, and in addition he also has one hundred and
thirty head of high grade hogs. He is well known as a feeder and feeds
not only all the grain which he raises but also buys extensively for this
purpose. His business interests keep him constantly engaged and his energy
and diligence are well known traits of his character.
In 1898 was celebrated the marriage of Frederick Rohrs and Miss Ma-
tilda Bohlander, of Shelby county, Iowa. Unto them have been born a son
and daughter, William and Emma. In his political views Mr. Rohrs is a
republican, for he feels that the platform of that party is most conducive
to good government. He has served as township clerk for two terms. He
belongs to Canopy lodge, No. 401, I. 0. 0. F., to Shelby encampment and
to the German Lutheran church. He is justly regarded as a representative
agriculturist and stock-raiser, and though he came to the new world prac-
tically empty-handed, he is now one of the prosperous residents of Potta-
wattamie county. He feels that he made no mistake in choosing this land
as a place of abode, for in its business opportunities he has found the condi-
tions he sought and has won the competence with which fate always crowns
the success of men when their persistent efforts are guided by sound judg-
ment.
HON. JOHN H. JENKS.
Hon. John H. Jenks, president of the Avoca State Bank and former
representative of his district in the legislature, is a man strong in his indi-
viduality, never lacking the courage of his convictions, while the sterling integ-
rity and honor of his character have naturally gained to him the respect
and confidence of men. In every relation of life — in the government service,
in political circles, in business or in social circles, he has proved a force in
attaining desired results, his abilities well fitting him for leadership.
A native of Massachusetts, Mr. Jenks was born in Hampshire county,
on the 26th of September, 1855, his parents being Simeon L. and Sarah
(Thomas) Jenks. The father was also born in Hampshire county. Massa-
chusetts,, on the 5th of October, 1824, and was of Welsh ancestry. The
paternal grandfather, however, was Jeremiah Jenks, a native of Massachusetts.
Both the grandfather and father were farmers and in 185'8 the latter emigrated
to Bureau county, Illinois, while one year later he removed to La Salle county,
that state, where he resided up to the time of his death, which occurred on
the 20th of March, 1906. He was very successful as a farmer and breeder
of cattle and in an active business career acquired extensive farm lands, own-
ing over one thousand acres, the greater portion of which he bought at a low
price and held till it became very valuable as the years advanced and improve-
ments were made upon it. Thus in later years he acquired a fortune. He
306 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
made his way to Illinois with only two thousand dollars, for which he was
indebted to his father. His business enterprise and capable management were
such, however, that as the years passed he worked his way steadily upward,
becoming one of the county's men of affluence. In politics he was a repub-
lican and although he was never an aspirant for office be was for several
years a member of the city council of Earlville, Illinois, where he was then
residing. He was widely recognized as one of the influential men of his
district and as the years progressed he left the impress of his individuality
upon public thought and action. In his family were two children, the younger
being Ida, the wife of E. M. Currier, of Aurora, Illinois.
John H. Jenks was reared upon the home farm in La Salle county,
Illinois, and acquired his education in the Earlville schools and in the old
Chicago University, where he pursued the work of the freshman and sopho-
more years. By reason of an attack of typhoid fever he was compelled to
discontinue his studies in 1878. In the following year he came to Avoca,
his father and others having purchased nine hundred acres of land in this
locality, and Mr. Jenks came thither to superintend it. Here he turned his
attention to the stock business, with which he was closely and actively associated
until 1902, being a heavy buyer and shipper as well as breeder and feeder
of stock. He possesses keen business discernment and unfaltering energy,
combined with an aptitude for successful management, and his salient charac-
teristics in commercial lines are such as have brought to him gratifying suc-
cess. On the 1st of August. 1873, the Avoca Bank was organized by J. W.
and E. W. Davis and Charles N. Voss. In 1887 E. W. Davis withdrew from
the bank, at which time J. \Y. Davis and Mr. Voss each acquired a half inter-
est. The bank, however, was reorganized into a state bank in 1885, although
the name was not changed until the law required it in 1901. On the 1st
of January. L892, Mr. Jenks purchased Mr. Voss' interest in the bank and
became vice president of the institution, acting in that capacity until 1900,
when he was elected to the presidency. Such has been his official connection
with the bank since that time. The charter was renewed in 1905 and the
Avoca State Bank is now in a most flourishing condition. A general banking
business is carried on and the institution from the beginning has borne an
unassailable reputation for reliability and progressive methods, tempered with
a conservatism that renders it safe at all times, la addition to bis interests
in the bank Mr. Jenks own- a good farm adjoining the town.
While his business inten-t- have made heavy demands upon his time
and energies he has yet found opportunity for co-operation in public move-
ments and is a citizen who stands for progress and advancement in all that
pertains to the work of general upbuilding. In politics he is a republican
and has served as a member of the city council. He was also for eight years
a member of the school board and from 1900 until 1902 he was representative
from his district to the state legislature, serving in the twenty-eighth and twenty-
ninth general assemblies. lie gave careful consideration to each question
which came up for settlement and aided in promoting much effective legisla-
tion which was .secured during that period. Socially he is connected with the
Knights of Pythias, becoming a charter member of Avoca lodge, No. 104.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 307
On the 16th of June 1881, Mr. Jenks was united in marriage to Miss
Anna Heslet, of La Salle county, Illinois, and unto them has been born a
daughter, Florence M. Mr. Jenks is a prominent representative of financial
interests in Pottawattamie county and is widely and favorably known through-
out this part of the state, his abilities well fitting him for leadership in political
and social life. By perseverance, determination and honorable effort he has
overcome all obstacles which have barred his path to success and reached
the goal of prosperity, while his genuine worth, broad mind and public spirit
have made him a director of public thought and action.
OSCAR F. LODGE.
In a record of the leading and representative men of Pottawattamie county
mention should be made of Oscar F. Lodge, who in former years was actively
associated with agricultural and with mercantile interests, gaining thereby
the measure of success which now enables him to live retired. His life proves
conclusively that success may be obtained by earnest effort, for it has been
owing to his strong purpose and diligence that he has gained his prosperity.
He has now almost reached the age of four score years, his birth having
occurred in Greenville, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, on the 31st of December,
1827. His parents were Samuel and Jane Lodge, the former a native of
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Mercer county. The
father always followed the occupation of farming and at an early day made
his way westward to Illinois, settling in Henry county, where his death
occurred. After his demise the mother removed to Iowa, where she passed
away. In their family were eleven children, five of whom still survive, namely:
Oscar F., of this review : Margaret, the widow of V. M. Tabers and a resident
of Omaha, Nebraska; George M., who resides at Long Beach, California;
Leander, also living in California; and Ada, the wife of Robert Gilbert, also
of California.
Oscar F. Lodge accompanied his parents when they left Pennsylvania
and went to Illinois, and in 1851 he came to Iowa. He had acquired his
education in the schools of his native state and was early trained to farm
labor. On removing to Iowa he first located near Davenport, where he rented
a farm, which he cultivated for three years. On the expiration of that period
he took up his abode in Cedar county and bought a farm upon which he
lived for nine years. In 1871 he came to Pottawattamie county and settled
at Walnut, where, abandoning agricultural pursuits, he turned his attention
to general merchandising for four years. On selling out he opened a hard-
ware store, which he conducted with success until 1890, enjoying a large and
constantly growing trade. For the past seventeen years he has now lived
retired in the village of Walnut, where he has a magnificent home, except for
four years spent in Chicago. He has been enabled to enjoy the comforts and
many of the luxuries of life by reason of the fact that in his earlier years he
308 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
carefully managed his business interests, gave close attention to his mercan-
tile affairs, and so directed his labors that success resulted.
The only interruption to his continued activity in business up to the
time of his retirement was when he served his country as a soldier of the
Civil war, enlisting in August, 1861, as a member of Company D, Eleventh
Iowa Infantry, with which he was connected for a year. He participated in
the battle of Shiloh, one of the most hotly contested engagements of the war,
and was mustered out in 1862, after which he returned to this state. He is
now a member of John A. Dix post, No. 408, G. A. R., of Walnut, and in
his political views he is a republican. He has served as school director and
also as trustee and in every duty of citizenship manifests the same loyalty
which he displayed when he followed the old flag on southern battle-fields.
In 1880 Mr. Lodge was married to Miss Jennie Elliot, who was born in
Knox county, Illinois, a daughter of Benjamin and Pheba Elliot, the former
a native of North Carolina and the latter of Ohio. Their family numbered
seven children. The father died in Illinois, while the mother's death occurred
in Independence, Kansas. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lodge were born six children:
Arthur E., who is a graduate of the Morgan Park Academy at Chicago and
is now in Wyoming; Walter B., who likewise attended the same academy in
Chicago, and in in Wyoming; Oscar L., who graduated from a commercial
college and is now employed on the United States steamer Washington; Harry
G., who is now pursuing a course in veterinary surgery in Chicago; Helen,
who after graduating from the Walnut high school, studied music for one
year at Lincoln, Nebraska, and is again ;i student there; and Edna S., who
is attending the Walnut high school and is with her parents.
.Mr. and Mr-. Lodge hold membership in the Presbyterian church and
are people of the highest respectability, enjoying in large measure the con-
fidence and esteem of all with whom they have been associated. His has been
an honorable, nprighl career, and now in the evening of life Mr. Lodge can
look back over the past without regret. He has undoubtedly made some mis-
takes, for who is free from them, but it has never been a matter of intention,
and throughout bis entire career he has endeavored to live at peace with his
fellowmen, has practiced justice, to speak the truth and be charitable in his
opinions of those with whom he has come in contact.
WILLIAM STEWART KEELINE.
William Stewart Keeline, a resident of Council Bluffs, with business
interests that connect him with the raising of cattle and fruit in Pottawattamie
county, was born in Bridgeport, Belmont county, Ohio, on the 2d of December,
1862. In 1870 his parents took up their abode in Council Bluffs and much
of his life has since been passed in this city. He acquired his education in
the public schools and in Blum's Academy here, pursuing his studies to the
age of seventeen or eighteen years, when he put aside his text-books and
went upon his father's cattle ranch in Wyoming, there remaining until 1886,
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 309
during which time he gained a comprehensive knowledge of the cattle busi-
ness in all of the work of the ranch and the shipment of stock to market.
In the year mentioned he returned to Council Bluffs and in connection with
his brother-in-law, C. L. Felt, he embarked in the wholesale hardware business,
conducting the store with good success for seven years. In 1893, however,
he sold out and has since given his undivided time and attention to the rais-
ing of cattle and fruit in Pottawattamie county. In both lines he has prospered
and has produced some of the finest stock as well as some of the finest fruit
ever seen in this part of the state.
In June, 1887, Mr. Keeline was married, in Council Bluffs, to Miss
Julia Dohaney, a daughter of John Dohaney, and unto them have been born
six children, namely: Clarence D., Margaret, John Frank, Katherine, Adele
and William Stewart Keeline, Jr.
Mr. Keeline holds membership in lodge No. 531, B. P. 0. E. He is a
republican where state and national questions are involved but casts an inde-
pendent local ballot. His well directed labors are bringing to him a goodly
competence, which is increasing annually as he enlarges the scope of his
business.
JOHN MATTHIES.
John Matthies derives a good annual revenue from his landed interests of
four hundred and eighty acres, and in addition to general farming he is ex-
tensively engaged in raising and feeding stock of good grade. He was bj>rn
in Holstein, Germany, March 19, 1833, of the marriage of John and Margaret
(Morthorst) Matthies, who were likewise natives of Holstein, where they spent
their entire lives. The father reached the advanced age of eighty-four years,
while the mother died when about fifty years of age. He was a farmer by occu-
pation and thus provided for the support of his seven children, four of whom
are yet living : Peter and Claus, of Holstein, Germany ; John ; and Christina,
the wife of Peter Petersen, of Monona county, Iowa.
John Matthies was a public-school student during the days of his youth
and on reaching early manhood he began providing for his own support as a
farm hand, being thus employed while in Germany. As a companion and
helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Margaret Hagge, to whom he was
married in December, 1866. and who died thirteen months later, leaving a son,
John William, now living in Layton township. In 1868 Mr. Matthies came to
the United States, landing at New York in the latter part of June, after a voy-
age of two weeks. Making his way westward he located in Clinton county,
Iowa, where he engaged in farming, working by the month for one year, and
for six years he cultivated rented land.
Removing to Pottawattamie county in the spring of 1875 Mr. Matthies
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, constituting a part of his pres-
ent farm on section 17, Lincoln township, and thus became identified with
agricultural interests. The tract was unbroken prairie on which he built a lit-
tle frame house, fourteen by twenty-two feet. In this habitation he took up his
310 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
abode with his wife and children, having been married again in Clinton
county, and turned his attention to the development of his land. He began
breaking prairie and in course of time gathered good crops. He has set out all
the trees upon the farm and now has a beautiful place. He prospered and after
five or six years he purchased one hundred and sixty acres adjoining his orig-
inal tract on the west. To this he has added one hundred and sixty acres on
section 20, Lincoln township, and two eighty-acre tracts on the same section.
Still later he bought three hundred and twenty acres on section 19, but after-
ward sold that, while one hundred and sixty acres — the southwest quarter of
section 17, has been deeded to his son, Henry F., leaving his present holdings
four hundred and eighty acres. His land is favorably located and is rich and
productive. Large crops are annually gathered and in addition to his grain-
raising interest he is extensively and successfully engaged in raising and feed-
ing cattle, making a specialty of raising shorthorn cattle and Poland China
hogs. He brought with him to this country a capital of twelve hundred dollars
and with this as a foundation he has raised the superstructure of his prosperity.
Mr. Matthies was married for the second time in Clinton county. Iowa, to
Miss Margaret Langhorst, a native of Holstein, Germany, and unto them were
born six children: Anna, at home; Bertha, the wife of Fred Krambeck, of
Cass county, Iowa; Peter, of Jackson county. Missouri; Henry, living in Lin-
coln township; Otto ami Mary, at home. The wife and ihother died on the
29th of October, L906 She was a consistent member of the Lutheran church
and a most estimable lady.
Mr. Matthies is also a member of the Lutheran church and gives his politi-
cal support to the democracy. He has served on the school board for a long
period and has been it- treasurer for six years, lie is interested in the cause
of education, believing in the employment of competent teacher- and the adop-
tion of advanced methods of instruction. Although he has now reached the age
of seventy-four years he i- an active factor in community interests and business
affairs, giving personal supervision to all his farming and stock-raising, where-
by he is gaining a very desirable annual income.
GEORGE T. PHELPS.
George T. Phelps, assistant postmaster of Council Bluffs and a well known
citizen of this place, was born at Chatham Four Corners (now Chatham), New
York, July 13, 1842, hut his boyhood was largely passed in Springfield, Massa-
chusetts, lie was left fatherless at the age of ten years and two years later went
to live with a sister in Harvard, that state, where he attended school. Later
be pursued his studies at Fast Hampton, Massachusetts, and was a student there
when the Civil war broke out.
Prompted by a spirit of patriotism, Mr. Phelps enlisted on the 13th of
August, 1862, as a private in Company G. Thirty-sixth Massachusetts Volun-
teer Infantry. He rose to the rank of quartermaster sergeant, in which ca-
pacity he was serving when mustered out at Alexandria, Virginia, June 8,
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 311
1865. He participated in the battles of Antietam, South Mountain and Fred-
ericksburg; went with Burnsides to the west; and was in the Vicksburg cam-
paign from the 17th of June. 1863, until August following. His command
then proceeded to Kentucky and on to east Tennessee, and were in the engage-
ment at Campbell's Station and the siege of Knoxville, after which they re-
joined the Army of the Potomac and took part in the Wilderness campaign, the
battle of Spottsylvania, the second battle of Cold Harbor, and were in front of
Petersburg from June 17, 1864. until March. 1865. They were also in the
final campaign which ended in the surrender of Lee at Appomattox.
When the war was over and the country no longer needed his services, Mr.
Phelps returned north and for two years was engaged in business at Springfield,
Massachusetts. He then came to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to assist his uncle, Willis
Phelps, in the construction of the Council Bluffs & St. Joseph Railroad, now a
part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy system, but at the end of two years
returned to Massachusetts, where he became a sub-contractor in railroad build-
ing and was thus employed until 1873.
During that year Mr. Phelps again came to Pottawattamie county, Iowa,
and for three years farmed sixteen hundred acres of land, after which he took
charge of the Ogden Hotel in Council Bluffs, conducting the same for seven
years. He was next engaged in cattle raising in Texas and New Mexico for two
years and for a year thereafter turned his attention to the manufacture of char-
coal at Durango, Mexico, making one hundred thousand pounds per day and
employing seven hundred men. He prospected for gold for several years in
Montana, Idaho, California and other western states but was never very success-
ful along that line, and finally returned to Council Bluffs, where he now makes
his home.
In 1889 Mr. Phelps received an appointment in the postoffiee at this place.
He rose rapidly and finally in 1890 was made assistant postmaster, which posi-
tion he filled until 1893. During the following four years he was out of office
but was re-appointed assistant postmaster in 1898 and has since served in that
capacity to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. He has always been found
true to every trust reposed in him and is as faithful to the interests of his coun-
try in days of peace as in time of war. He is an honored member of the Union
Veteran Legion and religiously is connected with the Presbyterian church.
EDWARD D. SHARPLES.
Edward D. Sharpies, dealer in cream separator supplies in Council Bluffs,
was born in Westchester, Pennsylvania, on the 13th of March, 1861. His boy-
hood and youth passed uneventfully, being largely devoted to the acquirement
of an education in the common schools and to the enjoyment of the sports of
the playground, which usually occupy the attention of the alert boy of the pres-
ent day. He continued his studies to the age of eighteen and then started out
upon his business career as an employe of the Sharpies Company at Westches-
ter, Pennsylvania, manufacturers of the Sharpies Cream Separator. He re-
312 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
mained with the house for about ten years; traveling throughout the United
States, representing the business upon the road and making extensive sales.
In 1893 the Sharpies Company opened a supply house in Council Bluffs
and Edward D. Sharpies then located in this city, continuing in active connec-
tion with the business until about 1897. In 1901 he established a supply house;
handling all brands of cream separators and in six months, beginning Janu-
ary 1, 1907, his sales have amounted to forty-eight hundred separators. His
business has thus had a rapid and substantial growth and Mr. Sharpies is now
well known as an enterprising merchant of the city, where he has made his
home since 1893. He is thoroughly conversant with the merits of the different
separators and supplies which he handles and is thus well qualified to introduce
his goods to the market.
In 1891 occurred the marriage of Edward D. Sharpies and Miss Ida M.
Musser, the wedding being celebrated in Lincoln, Nebraska. They have an in-
teresting little family of a daughter and son. Marguerite E. and Robert E. The
parents hold membership in the Second Presbyterian church and are inter-
ested in its work and upbuilding, also contributing generously to its support.
In politics Mr. Sharpies is independent, concerning himself more with his busi-
ness affairs than with political interests. He is, however, an advocate of all
plans and movements for the promotion of the city's growth and progress and
to this extent gives his support to community affairs which promise substantial
improvement along lines of reform and advancement.
JOHN MAASSEN, SR.
The opportunities which the state of Iowa offers to men of ambition and
determination have lain improved by John Maassen, Sr., as is indicated by the
fact that he is today numbered among the well-to-do agriculturists and stock-
raisers of Pottawattamie county, for his landed possessions aggregate nine hun-
dred and twenty acres, all of which has been acquired through his own well
directed labors. Mr. Maassen i.- a native of Holstein, Germany, born June
13, 1852, a son of John and Catherine (Sterling) Maassen, in whose family
were six children, four of whom still survive, namely: Hans, a resident of
Texas; John, of this review: Nicholas, a resident of Pleasant township, Potta-
wattamie county; and Gustav, of Oklahoma. The parents were likewise na-
tives of Holstein. where they spent their entire lives but both are now de-
ceased.
John Maassen spent the period of his boyhood and youth under the pa-
rental roof and in the fatherland learned the trade of a carpenter. Having
heard favorable reports concerning the advantages to be enjoyed in the new
world, at the age of twenty-one years he decided to sail for America, and the
year 1873 therefore witnessed his arrival in the United States. He at once
made his way to Moline, Illinois, and when he reached his destination he
possessed but five dollars in money and was in debt to the extent of sixty-five
dollars. Fortunately, however, he had knowledge of a good trade and accord-
01
z
2
o
I
z
>
>
LP
LP
n
z
■V VJ
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 315
ingly sought and secured employment in the Moline Plow shops, being there
employed during the winter seasons, while in the summer months he worked
at his trade of carpentering. After some eighteen months spent in Moline, he
decided to seek his fortune farther west and accordingly made his way to
Avoca, Pottawattamie county, where he continued his work at the carpenter's
trade for five or six years. During this period he carefully saved his earnings,
which he loaned to his brother to invest in one hundred and twenty acres of
land in Pleasant township, where Mrs. Maassen lived with her first husband
until his death, after which our subject took up his abode thereon in the year
1881, when he began agricultural pursuits. After three years there spent he
sought another location and purchased three hundred and ten acres of land on
section 3, Valley township, cultivating that tract of land for several years, or
until his removal to his present farm on section 4, Valley township. He is
to-day in possession of nine hundred and twenty acres of valuable farm
property, which classes him with the substantial citizens of this section of the
state. His success is due in a large measure to stock-raising, in which he has
been engaged quite extensively for a number of years, having as high as
one hundred and fifty head of cattle at one time upon his place. For the
past twelve years he has been engaged in breeding registered Aberdeen Angus
cattle and ranks among the foremost cattle men of Pottawattamie county. He
is also engaged in raising Duroc Jersey hogs on an extensive scale and his
place is known as the Valley Stock Farm. It is conveniently located four ami
a half miles south of Avoca and he has made all of the excellent improve-
ments found thereon.
The success to which Mr. and Mrs. Maassen have attained is indeed cred-
itable, for it is due entirely to their own well directed efforts and honorable
business methods. In earlier years they lived in accordance with their means,
making their home for many years in a humble dwelling, twelve by fifteen
feet square. Later, however, this -structure was replaced by a more pretentious
and modern home, while to-day they occupy an up-to-date country residence,
which is supplied with all the equipments and accessories which add to the
comfort of the inmates.
Mr. Maassen was married February 19, 1881, to the widow of his brother
Jacob Maassen, who was murdered on the public highway by a neighbor,
July 28, 1879. He had come to Iowa in the early '70s and after working by
the month for several years, purchased eighty acres of land in Pleasant
township, Pottawattamie county, for which he paid eight dollars per acre
and which at that time was wild land. Later he bought a forty acre tract that
had been broken and to the improvement and cultivation of his farm he
devoted his energies throughout life. He was married July 5, 1876, to Miss
Sophia Harder and to them were born two children, John Jacob and William
H., both residents of Valley township. After her husband's death Mrs. Maas-
sen became the wife of our subject as previously stated. She is a daughter
of Jacob and Mary (Hepner) Harder, both of whom were natives of Mechlen-
berg, Germany, whence they came to the United States in 1857, the family
home being first established in Blue Island, Illinois, while three years later they
took up their abode in La Salle county, that state, and in 1874 came to Pot-
316 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
tawattamie county, Iowa, locating on a farm in Pleasant township, where
they made their home until called to their final rest. By her second mar-
riage Mrs. Maassen has become the mother of six children, namely: Anna,
the wife of George Olsen, who is cultivating a tract of land belonging to her
father; and Augusta, Julius, Ida, Amanda and Elma, all of whom are still
under the parental roof. The children have been provided with good educa-
tional advantages.
Mr. Maassen is a democrat in his political faith and has served as a
member of the school board and also as township trustee for one term. For
three years he has been a director of the Avoca Fair Association and is a
most public-spirited citizen. Religiously he and his family are members of
the Lutheran church. Possessing the sterling characteristics of the German,
race and endowed by nature with a strong constitution, he early developed
all the attributes that make the successful man and is to-day numbered among
the leading wealthy farmers and cattlemen of Pottawattamie county.
FRANK MERRITT BEYMER,
Frank Merritt Beymer, publisher and owner of the Journal-Herald, at
Avoca, was born at Afton, Iowa, December 1, 1864, his parents being George
Washington and Bethia (Keating) Beymer. His great-grandfather in the pa-
ternal line founded the town in Guernsey comity, Ohio, which was called Bey-
mertown but the name was afterward changed. The grandfather, Arthur St.
Clair Beymer. lived for some years on a farm in Seneca county, Ohio, and in
1870 removed to Afton, where he died in 1872, at the age of seventy years.
His son, George W. Beymer, became a lumber dealer. He was married to
Miss Bethia Keating, in Ohio, in 185"). and went to Wapello county, Iowa, in
1856. In 1858 he became a resident of Afton, tlii- state, and followed the occu-
pation of farming until late in the '60s. He served for two terms as county
clerk and in 1868 turned his attention to the lumber business, in which he con-
tinued up to the time "1' hi.- death in February, 1880. His wife was descended
from ancestors who at an early day lived near Rockland, Maine. The father
of Mrs. Beymer was William Keating, who for over twelve years was a sailor but
retired from the seas in 1837 and removed to Seneca county, Ohio. All of his
children were born at South Thomaston, Maine, and in 1856 the family re-
moved to Iowa. Frank M. Beymer has a twin sister living, Mrs. Mary Annette
Chase, who resides at Eotchkiss, Colorado. Of the family three sisters still sur-
vive, while one brother is yet living, and three have passed away. Charles B.
Beymer died when two years old. Otto J. Beymer was killed in July, 1891, at
the age of seventeen years, by a tree falling upon him. George W. Beymer
died December 21, 1906, at the age of thirty-nine years. R. K. Beymer lives at
Tacoma, Washington, at the age of forty-nine years. Of the sisters Mrs. Carrie
B. Williams lives in Creston, Iowa, with a son, having lost her husband in 1882.
while Mrs. Ruth B. Shull resides at Afton. Iowa,
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 317
Frank M. Beymer was a pupil in the public schools of Afton and at the
age of seventeen years came to Avoca to learn the printer's trade. He had lost
his father when fifteen years of age and from the time of his removal to this
town he has been dependent entirely upon his own labors and resources for ad-
vancement, When he had acquainted himself with the trade he went to Ness
county, Kansas, where he engaged in merchandising but in 1888 returned to
Iowa. The following year he became a professional ball-player and pitched for
an independent team at Missouri Valley. In 1891 he went to Deadwood, South
Dakota, where he pitched ball fur three seasons for an independent team and
during the winter months worked at the case on the Deadwood Pioneer. In
1894 he returned to Iowa, where he played with the Des Moines Western
League and also with independent teams.
After two years, however, in 1896, Mr. Beymer established the Avoca Jour-
nal, and four years later he purchased the Avoca Herald, consolidating the two
papers under the name of the Journal-Herald. From the beginning he has
prospered in this undertaking and now has one of the best equipped printing
offices in this section of the state. He has installed a linotype machine of late
pattern and has an office in which the most modern devices known to the print-
ing trade are found. This is the only democratic paper in Pottawattamie
county and it has had a constantly increasing circulation. Mr. Beymer is also
a stockholder in the Pottawattamie County Fair Association of Avoca and in
the Avoca Stock & Sale Pavillion Company. As a citizen, aside from his con-
nection with journalism, he is deeply interested in the welfare and progres.- of
his community and has done much to co-operate in those public measures which
have for their object the welfare and progress of the community.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Beymer is a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fel-
low, a Modern Woodman, a Maccabee and a Yeoman, and in his life exemplifies
the beneficent spirit which constitutes the basis of all these organizations. He
has always given stalwart allegiance to the democracy and has twice been
elected and served as city clerk of Avoca.
On the 23d of November, 1887, Mr. Beymer was married to Miss Allie E.
Nash, who died August 20, 1898. Her parents, James and Sophrona (Brown)
Nash, came to Avoca in 1870, from Springfield, Massachusetts. Mr. Nash be-
longed to Company G, of the First New York Cavalry at the time of the Civil
war, and served under General Custer, carrying dispatches and doing other im-
portant military duty. He served for four years and was never wounded or
captured, although often in the thickest of the fight. On account of poor
health, which precluded the idea of any labor that would keep him indoors
and also because he was a lover of good horses, he took up the occupation of
training harness horses and was considered one of the best in this line of work.
His company was the First Cavalry that was equipped in the northern states,
being enlisted in New York city, and Mr. Nash furnished his own horse and
equipment until the government purchased them. His wife died June 29,
1906.
On the 5th of August, 1903, Mr. Beymer was married a second time, this
union being with Miss Mary Alice Dunlap, of Irwin, Iowa, who was born in
Polk county, Iowa, near Des Moines, June 12, 1874, her parents being J. M.
318 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
and Mary Jane (Doran) Dunlap, the former a native of Newark, Ohio, and the
latter of New Brunswick. Mr. and Mrs. Beymer have a little daughter, Alice
Dunlap Beymer, born February 20, 1906. They are widely and favorably
known in Avoca and the hospitality of their home is greatly enjoyed by many
friends Mr. Beymer is classed with public-spirited citizens— men, who while
neglecting not the duties devolving upon them in connection with private in-
terests, yet find time and opportunity to labor for the public good.
C. P. WASSER.
C P Wasser owns and cultivates a good farm property of one hundred and
sixty acres on section 13. Pleasant township. He was born in Cook county.
Illinois, on the 8th of March, 1866, his parents being Charles and Anna
(Gable) Wasser, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came to
the United States in 1853, when he was twenty-six years of age, his home be-
ing established in Pennsylvania, and the mother came to the new world in
1851, also locating in the Keystone state. There the young people became ac-
quainted and were eventually married, and the father, who was a shoemaker
by trade, followed that pursuit for some time in order to provide for his family.
In 1864 he removed to Cook county, Illinois, settling at Tinley Park, where he
worked at his trade until 1873. In that year he removed to Iowa, settling at
Avoca, where he engaged in shflemaking for three years, afterward spending
four years in the same way in Shelby, Iowa. Carefully saving his earnings, he
was in 1880 enabled to purchase a farm of eighty acres on section 13. Pleasant
township, Pottawattamie county, and to this place he removed, afterward ex-
tending its boundaries by an additional purchase of eighty acres until lie had
altogether one hundred and sixty acres of valuable and productive land. His
time :md energies were devoted to farming until 1893, when he retired and re-
in. »vi'd to Avoca, where he died six years later. His wife passed away in 1904,
and both were laid to rest in Avoca cemetery. In the family of this worthy
couple were six children but only two are now living, the daughter Lizzie being
the wife of Henry Nicolai, of Hancock, Iowa.
The son, C. P. Wasser, has always followed fanning, being reared to that
occupation. In the common schools he mastered the elementary branches of
English learning and when not busy with his text-books his attention was given
to the work of plowing, planting and harvesting. He was thus well qualified to
carry on farming on his own account after he had reached man's estate. As
a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Mary Pictrick,
whom he wedded on the 28th of February, 1 *92. She was born in Germany in
L874 and was a daughter of Carl and Mary Dietrick, both of whom were na-
tives of Germany. Mrs. Wasser came to America with two cousins in 1890,
when hut fifteen years of age. She was one of tour children and in 1893 the
parents crossed the Atlantic to the new world, residing in America until 1906,
when they returned to Germany with (he intention of spending their remain-
ing days in their native land. Unto Mr. and Mr-. Wasser have been horn three
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 319
children, Carrie R., aged thirteen years ; Lily, aged eleven years ; and Herbert
O, aged five years.
Mr. Wasser has always followed farming and now owns the old home-
stead of one hundred and sixty acres on section 13, Pleasant township, the farm
being well developed, returning large harvests in reward for the care and labor
he bestows upon the fields. His political views are in harmony with the prin-
ciples of the republican party and he has served as assessor of Pleasant township
for four years, while at the present writing, in 1907, he is township clerk. He
belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp, No. 125, at Avoca, and he and his wife
are members of the German Lutheran church. Although his life has been
quietly and uneventfully passed his usefulness is acknowledged in his home lo-
cality and there is no better test of a man's real worth than the opinion in
which he is held by those with whom he comes in contact daily.
JOHN W. MORSE.
John W. Morse, who was engaged in the real-estate business in Council
Bluffs for many years, came to this city in 1867 and resided here until his death
and, judged by the consensus of public opinion, his life was exemplary, his ac-
tions manly and sincere and his genuine worth above question. A native of
Athol, Massachusetts, he was born October 26, 1834, his parents being Samuel
and Ruth (Drury) Morse, both of whom were natives of the same state. In
January, 1838, the father removed with his family to Chenango county, New
York, where he followed farming for some years. He afterward became a resi-
dent of Yorkshire, Cattaraugus county, New York, where he engaged in farm-
ing and in the meat business for several years. On the expiration of that period
he went to the oil fields of Pennsylvania, where he made investments, but while
there he became ill and returned to Yorkshire, New York, where his last days
were spent, his wife also dying in that place. They were the parents of nine
children, of whom five are yet living as follows: Asa, whose home is in Gage-
town, Michigan; George, who is residing in Warsaw, AVisconsin; Ellen, the
widow of George Graham, a resident of Delavan, New York; Ira, residing in
Connell, Washington; and Mrs. Mary Whitney, living in Worcester, Mas-
sachusetts. Those deceased are John W., Leander, Eleanor and Daniel.
John W. Morse acquired his education in the common schools of the Em-
pire state and at the age of fourteen years he started out in life on his own ac-
count. From that time on he was dependent upon his own efforts and the suc-
cess he achieved proved the force of his character and his strong determina-
tion. Leaving home he went to Middlebury, AVyoming county, New York,
where he began work as a farm hand, being employed on a number of different
farms of that locality.
While living there, at the age of twenty-two years, Mr. Morse was married
in 1857 to Miss Persis F. Miller, a daughter of Orlando Miller, who followed
farming in Wyoming count}' throughout his entire life. In 1864 Mr. Morse
removed from the Empire state to what was known as Pithole, Venango county,
320 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Pennsylvania, and there he engaged in speculating in oil for about two year?.
In March, 1866, he returned to Wyoming county, New York, where his family
had remained, and with them started for the middle west, settling at Greenfield,
Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming for a year. He
then came to Council Bluffs, arriving on the 20th of March, 1867. His first
business venture here was the conduct of a small restaurant on Broadway, where
he remained for a few years and then opened a restaurant and bakery on Pearl
street, where he carried on business with success for some time. In 1872 he was
called by the vote of his fellow townsmen to public office, being elected city mar'
shal, in which capacity he served for two years, and in 1878 he was elected
justice of the peace, filling that position most acceptably for four years. On his
retirement from the justice court in 1882 he turned his attention to the real-
estate business and was thus occupied up to the time of his death.
In 1893 Mr. Morse was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife, who
died in Council Bluffs, on the 25th of May. of thai year. There were four chil-
dren by that union: Charles S., who resides with Mrs. Carrie Morse, his step-
mother, and who is traveling salesman for a cigar factory in Council Bluffs:
FredO., who married May Cushman and resides in Rochester, New York, where
he is interested in mining; Bluff, who was killed while at play at school when
eleven years of age; and Frank, deceased.
After losing his first wife Mr. Morse was married. October 3, L894, to Mrs.
Carrie M. Clark, a native of St. Lawrence county, New York, and a daughter
of Alexander and .Teanette ( Bel] ) Van Meyers, the latter a native of Ireland and
the former of Canada, whence he re ved to St. Lawrence county, New York,
where he engaged in farming for several years. Ee then came to the middle
west, settling in Floyd county, Iowa, where his remaining days were devoted
tn general agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Van Myers is now seventy-four years of
age and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Eenry Vickers, in Shenandoah, Iowa.
Mrs. Morse was firsl married to l>r. Columbus J. Clark, who for many years
engaged in the practice of medicine at Marble Rock, [owa. He then removed
to Council Bluffs hut after a year returned to Marble Buck, where he continued
in practice until his death.
When Mr. Morse engaged in the real-estate business in Council Bluffs, he
formed a partnership with Nathan Phillips, a connection which was continued
for several year-, after which he was alone in husine--. He bought and sold
both city and country property and negotiated a number of important realty
transfers. He was an invalid for two years prior to his death, bul still continued
to transact business, so thai his life was an active one up to the last. Ili- death
occurred March 19, 1907, after a residence in Council Bluffs of thirty years,
during which time he had become well known as a business man and citizen,
while in the social circles in which he moved he gained many warm and admir-
ing friends, lie was a staunch republican and look an active interesl in poli-
tics, but did not hesitate to vote for a candidate of another party if he thought
the best interests of the community so demanded. He was particularly well
known among the early residents of Council Bluffs and "a friend of every pio-
neer of the city." His life was a very busy, useful and honorable one. and he
lived in harmony with hi^ profession as a member of the First Presbyterian
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 321
church, of which Mrs. Morse is also a member. She still makes her home in
Council Bluffs, having a nice residence at No. 300 South Seventeenth street,
where she is living with her son.
L. C. WARD.
L. C. Ward, of Knox township, Pottawattamie county, who makes a spe-
cialty of the raising of poultry and hogs and is also engaged in the dairy busi-
ness, is a native of Massachusetts, his birth having occurred in that state on the
17th of April, 1845. He is a somof L. M. and Nancy S. S. (Hastings) Ward,
also natives of Massachusetts, who came west in 1852, locating in Bureau
county, Illinois, where they purchased land and lived until 1883. On the ex-
piration of that period the father sold out and removed to Nebraska, where his
demise occurred in 1901.
L. C. Ward is the only survivor of his motht t's family of three children
and remained under the parental roof until he had attained his majority. In
1866 the lure of gold caused him to start on the overland journey to California
but on account of the hostility of the Indians who infested the country at that
time he went no further than Kansas. He then purchased a drove of cattle,
which he took through to Monticello, Illinois, where he sold them. After this
business venture he returned to Bureau county, Illinois, and taught school for
one year but in 1868 he again turned his face toward the setting sun and at
length took up his abode in Madison county, Iowa, where he remained until
1871. He then removed to Clay county, Missouri, where he remained for a
year, and at the end of that time once more returned to Bureau county, Illinois,
working as a farm hand for twelve months. In 1873 he again made his way
to Madison county, Iowa, where he rented a farm and lived until 1884, when he
purchased a farm on section 14, Knox township, Pottawattamie county, Iowa,
on which he has since made his home. He is engaged in the raising of poultry
and hogs, of which he makes a specialty, and has also been in the dairy busi-
ness for several years. He is capably conducting these various branches of his
business and is meeting with a large measure of success in his undertakings by
reason of his indomitable perseverance and excellent management in the con
duct of his business interests.
On the 2d of March, 1871, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Ward and
Miss Lucy Cook, who was born near Princeton, Bureau county, Illinois, in 1846.
Her parents were both natives of Massachusetts and have departed this life. She
was one of a family of eight children and by her marriage has also become the
mother of the following children : Mary O, the wife of James Pritchard, liv-
ing in North Dakota; Nancy S., at home; Lucy L, who is now a missionary in
North Africa; Amy B., who became the wife of J. B. Altig, and now resides in
Colorado; Walter, living in North Dakota; Edyph, the wife of Fred E. Snider,
a resident of South Dakota; and Leta O, who is at home.
In his political affiliations Mr. Ward is a prohibitionist, being a stalwart
advocate of the temperance cause and having firm faith in its principles. He is
322 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
now serving as assessor of Knox township, having held this position for four-
teen years, and has also been school director for several years. In religious
faith both he and his wife support the Congregational church and are widely
known as people of genuine personal worth and commendable traits of char-
acter. Their many friends in this part of the county enjoy the hospitality of
their attractive home, and they have won the warm esteem of all with whom
they have come in contact.
CHARLES E. WALTERS.
Charles E. Walters has displayed much of the spirit of the pioneer and
of the inventor in the establishment and control of the business in which
he is now engaged. He has wrought along new lines, developing a business
the worth of which is widely acknowledged in banking circles. He is a
dealer in bank stock and the publisher of The Confidential Banker, a monthly
journal devoted to banking interests and the largest publication oT this
class in the United States.
Mr. Walters was born in Mendota, Illinois, on the 4th of April, 1865,
a son of Joshua W. and Fidelia Walters, who were natives of Illinois and
Pennsylvania, respectively. When our subject was about six years of age
his parents removed to Fillmore county, Nebraska, settling on a farm. He
attended the country schools of that locality — the only educational advan-
tages he received aside from the valuable lessons which he has learned in the
school of experience. At the age of seventeen years he entered the Fillmore
County Bank, at Fairmont, Nebraska, beginning at the very bottom round
of the ladder. He remained with that institution and its successor, the
First National Bank, until 1887, and at the time of the change in organiza-
tion and management he was made cashier, continuing in that position for
two years.
On the expiration of that period Mr. Walters entered the Citizens State
Bank in Council Bluffs as discount clerk and so served for about eighteen
month?, after which, in 1889, he organized a Mercantile Law and Collec-
tion Company, in Omaha, conducting the business under the name of
Charles E. Walters & Company (Inc.). The business, incorporated in 1892,
is still continued under the same name, with Mr. Walters as vice president
He remained an active factor in its management until 1896, when he was
appointed the first building and loan examiner of Iowa by the auditor of
state and organized the present system now in use in Iowa. At the same
time he was appointed state bank examiner and held both offices until Jan-
uary, 1899. At that date he was appointed assistant cashier of the First
National Bank of Council Bluffs, which in ISO!) succeeded the Citizens
State Bank, Mr. Walters remaining with the institution for about two years
as assistant cashier and auditor. When the Commercial National Bank was
organized in Council Bluffs he was made assistant cashier, remaining in
that position until 1903, when he resigned to accept the position of treas-
■SSm^
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 325
urer of the Fairmont Creamery Company, at Fairmont, Nebraska — the sec-
ond largest creamery in the world. He spent two years in that way,
established their present business system and acted as treasurer and business
manager until 1905, when he conceived the idea of his present business of
the buying and selling of banks, liquidation of banks, supplying of efficient
employes and the location of banks. All this grew out of his extensive
knowledge of the banking business, its needs and requirements, his knowl-
edge of the money market, and his recognition of the opportunity that
offered. It was a unique venture but has proven the wisdom and worth
of his business judgment, for success has attended him and the business is
developing along safe and satisfactory lines. The amount of his business
is indicated largely by his correspondence, his postage bill alone amounting
to thirty-five hundred dollars annually. At the same time he established
this enterprise Mr. Walters organized the publication, The Confidential
Banker, or "The Live Wire," which is a valuable little paper to those inter-
ested in or in any way connected with banking. Mr. Walter is also vice
president and director of the firm of Charles E. Walters & Company, which
besides being a law and mercantile company publishes Walters' Legal Direc-
tory. /
Qn the 25th of January. 1887. Mr. Walters was married, in Toulon,
Illinois, to Miss Eliza E. Wright, a daughter of Thomas J. and Ann (Losey)
Wright. They have one son, Ralph Wright Walters. Mr. Walters is a stal-
wart republican in political belief but takes no active part in political work,
although he -was at one time mayor of Fairmont, elected in 1903. He be-
longs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the Knight Templar
degree, and is at present filling the office of eminent commander. He also
belongs to the Mystic Shrine. He is pre-eminently a man of affairs and one
who has wielded a wide influence. He stands as a high type of our pro-
gressive American manhood — one who plans and does, who labors wisely
and well, and who is reaping the just reward of his labor.
ANDREW C. KELLER.
Andrew C. Keller, whose intense energy, intelligence and push have made
him well known in industrial circles in Council Bluffs, is engaged in the manu-
facture of horse collars. He is a native of Muncy, Lycoming county, Pennsyl-
vania, born September 27, 1863, and represents one of the old families of that
state, his parents being George D. and Mary E. ( Masters) Keller, who were mar-
ried in 1840. The father was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in
1817, and the mother's birth occurred in Millville, Pennsylvania. He spent his
last days in Muncy. Pennsylvania, where he died in 1898, at the very venerable
age of eighty-one years. He had long survived his wife, who died in 1880. In
their family were eight children: Annie E., the wife of DeLay Green; Parvin
N. ; David M. ; Margaret, deceased; Jacob D. ; George M. ; Harry S. ; and An-
drew C, whose name introduces this review.
326 HISTORY OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Andrew C. Keller spent his first sixteen years in Lycoming county, Penn-
sylvania, attending the public schools, and in his father's home receiving in-
struction which qualified him for the duties of life in later years. At the age
of sixteen years he started out on his own account, going to Grand Rapids,
Michigan, where he learned the trade of making horse collars. About two and
a half years were spent in the Wolverine state, after which he traveled over the
country for nine years, working in various places. In 1888 he located in
Omaha, Nebraska, opened a factory there for the manufacture of harness, and
six months later came to Council Bluffs, where he has lived continuously since
the 15th of April, 1889. Here he is engaged in the manufacture of horse col-
lars and has done a good business, becoming recognized as a leading represent-
ative of the industrial interests of the city.
On the 27th of September, 1897, Mr. Keller was married in Council Bluffs
to Miss Mary C. Dradge, of Omaha. He belongs to the Commercial Club of
this city, is president of the West Council Bluffs Improvement Club and also
affiliates with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. His association with
the two former indicates his deep interest in the welfare of the city and its sub-
stantial growth and in many a movement for the public good he has been a co-
operant factor, whose labors have been far-reaching and beneficial.
WILLIAM DAVIS HARDIN.
William Davis Hardin, the well known city assessor, has been a life-long
resident of Council Bluffs. He was born here on the 13th of October, 1856, and
is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family, being a grandson of
Davis Hardin, the first whit*' man to locate in Pottawattamie county, where he
was sent by President Van Huron to teach the Indians.
During his boyhood our subjeel acquired a good practical education in the
city schools and on laying aside his text-books at the age of fifteen years he be-
came a messenger boy for the Omaha Bridge Transfer Company, being thus
employed for two years. He next worked in the abstract and real-estate office
of J. P. & J. N. Casady for about the same length of time, and then accepted a
position in the county treasurer's office, serving as one of the deputies for two
years. During the following three years he was connected with a men's fur-
nishing goods establishment, after which he returned to the county treasurer's
office and remained there five years.
In the spring election of 1890 Mr. Hardin was first elected city assessor of
Council Bluffs and so satisfactorily did he discharge the duties of that office
that he has been several times re-elected, serving for ten consecutive years. For
four years thereafter he was connected with the tax department of the Union
Pacific Railroad and was then again chosen to the position of city assessor, in
which he has now served for four \ ears, being the present incumbent in that of-
fice. Although a strong democral and an active worker in the ranks of the
party he received a majority of eight hundred and fifty at the last election in a
city that usually elects a republican ticket. This fact plainly indicates his per-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 321
sonal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens as well
as the able manner in which he had previously filled the office. Socially he is
a member of the Royal Arcanum and is a man whose true worth and fidelity
to duty are widely recognized.
william r. Mcdowell.
William R. McDowell, engaged in farming and stock-raising, his time and
energies being devoted to the further development and improvement of two
eighty-acre tracts of land in Grove township, came to this county in the fall of
1863, from Clayton county, Iowa. Almost forty-five years have since come and
gone and the changes which have occurred have transformed this from a west-
ern frontier district into one of the leading counties of this great common-
wealth.
Mr. McDowell, as one of Iowa's native sons, has been most deeply inter-
ested in all that has pertained to its progress and improvement. He was born
near Epworth, Dubuque county, on the 15th of May, 1854, his parents being
Daniel and Barbara (Rice) McDowell, natives of Missouri and Ohio respec-
tively. For many years the father resided in Dubuque couny. He was a sur-
veyor and largely assisted in the surveys of the state and was closely associated
with its early development. In 1863 he removed to Pottawattamie county and
became the owner of the farm of one hundred and twenty acres of land in
Grove township, which is the present home of A. H. Ives. Here his wife died
in the spring of 1864. Some time afterward he started for Kansas but became
ill and passed away before reaching his destination, his death occurring at Rock
Island, Illinois, when about forty-four years of age. In their family were the
following children : U. G, Mrs. Susan Chapman, Mrs. Angie Romig, David,
Daniel and Lewis.
The other member of the family is William R. McDowell of this review,
who has spent the greater part of his active life in Pottawattamie county. He
has always lived in this state and since 1882 has been closely associated with
its agricultural interests, following farming as a means of livelihood. At one
time he owned a thresher operated by horse power and during the past eight
years he has owned a steam thresher, doing much threshing in this part of the
state. His life has been one of activity and enterprise and, realizing the value
of these qualities in business life, he has steadily worked his way upward until
he is now one of the substantial residents of his community.
In 1884 Mr. McDowell was married to Miss Alice Stidham, who was born
in Pottawattamie county in 1864, a daughter of David G. and Susan (Wine-
gar) Stidham, who came to this county in the '40s, settling in what is now
Grove township. The father entered a part of his farm from the government
and for the portion which he purchased from a former owner he paid a dollar
and a quarter per acre. Throughout his entire life he followed general agri-
cultural pursuits. The family were among the earliest settlers of this part of
the state and shared in all of the hardships and privations which are the in-
328 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
variable accompaniment of pioneer life. Mrs. Stidham did much of her trad-
ing at Council Bluffs in early times, the trip requiring some days. They went
to Salt Lake City with the Mormons but, becoming dissatisfied then-, deserted
the party and returned home, enduring many hardships and facing many dan-
gers on the backward trail. They then continued residents of Pottawattamie
county until called to their final rest, Mr. Stidham passing away in 1880 at the
age of seventy-two years, while his wife died in 1890 at the age of seventy- three
years. He was a man highly esteemed and respected throughout the com-
munity and his personal worth found public recognition in his selection for
various offices and positions of public trust. While in office about 1868 a Mr.
Bradway was brought to his house to remain over night while on his way to
Council Bluffs for trial. That night while under guard he was shot through
the window and killed, nine buck-hot lodging in his head and the same num-
ber in one arm. There were several people in the room at the time and Mr.
Bradway was trading pipes with a young man and joking with him when shot.
It was never proven who the murderer was although the people were almost
positive who did it. Mr. Stidman's family cumbered nine daughters and a
son. name!) : Mrs. Ethoda Gallup, now deceased; Ruth, who became the wife
of Mr. Osier and after his death married Mr. Wickersham but is now deceased;
Matilda, who died in childhood; Mrs. Caroline Johnson; Mrs. Ellen Dillard;
Melissa, who became Mr-. McCullough and after Losing her first husband be-
came Mrs. Pershall; Mrs. Joan Harkness; Mrs. Delia DeHart : Mrs. Alice Mc-
Dowell; and Samuel, deceased.
Mrs. McDowell was born and reared in Grove township, where she has
spent her entire life. By her marriage she has become the mother of the
following: Glenn, who is an engineer in South Dakota: Susan, at home;
Leonard, of South Dakota; Elmer, at home; Isabelle, deceased; one who died
in infancy; and Vera, at home.
In his political views Mr. McDowell is a republican and keep- well in-
formed on the questions and issues of the day. as every true American citizen
should do, but has never been an office seeker. He was elected justice of the
peace but would not qualify. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern
"Woodmen of America, and he and his wife are members of the Christian
church. They are well known as pioneer residents of the community and well
deserve prominent mention among the early settlers.
DAVID E. STUART.
David E. Stuart, a practitioner at the bar of Council Bluffs, and a member
of the firm of Saunders 4 Stuart, was born in Lucas county. Iowa, on the 16th
of October, 1869. He is descended from an old southern family, being a grand-
son of the Rev. David 0. Stuart, who on the 14th of July. 1007. celebrated his
ninetieth birthday anniversary, by delivering the morning sermon at the Meth-
odist church in Clarinda, Iowa, at which place he makes his home. Rev. Stuart
entered the West Virginia conference in 1855 and for a decade was engaged in
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 329
pastoral work on various circuits in that state. He had previous to that time
acted as a local preacher, having joined the Methodist church at Williamsburg,
Pennsylvania, in September, 1836, this place being located near the place of his
birth, which occurred in Huntington county, that state, on the 14th of July,
1817. He comes of Scotch-Irish parentage, and of sturdy Presbyterian stock.
In 1840, at Williamsburg, he wedded Mary Anna Spiece, of German birth.
Her death occurred in Clarinda on Christmas eve of 1893. Rev. Stuart came
with his family to Iowa in 1865, settling first in Warren county, near the little
town of New Virginia, at* which place the Van Scoys and Knotts had located,
they having previously lived in West Virginia, where Rev. Stuart had
been engaged in pastoral work. Rev. Stuart entered the Iowa conference
and was engaged in pastoral work first at I^on and later at Cambridge,
Boonesboro, Van Meter, Seranton, Waukee, Avoca, Woodburn, Min-
burn, Greencastle, Casey, Adair. Macksburg, Newborn. Weldon, New York
(Wayne county) and Red Oak, the last named circuit being the last regular
charge on which he served before his retirement in 1890, in which year he re-
moved to Clarinda, where he has made his home to the present time. Since
going to that city he has preached at the State Hospital for fifteen year-. In the
family of Rev. and Mrs. Stuart were five children: Rev. T. McK. Stuart; C.
W. Stuart, of Clarinda; D. 0. Stuart, a resident of Barlan, this state; George
A., president of Nanking University and dean of the Nanking Medical College
in China : and Mrs. Katherine A. Forbes, of Portland. I (regon. There are also
twenty-two grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. On attaining the
ninetieth anniversary of his birth his children, grandchildren and other rela-
tives gathered at home to celebrate the occasion, and a reception was also held
for him at the home of the Rev. J. W. Abel.
His son, Rev. T. McK. Stuart, was born in Blair county. Pennsylvania, on
the 19th day of May, 1843. He has filled various pulpits in Iowa. He has been
three separate terms presiding elder — twice of Chariton district and once of the
Creston district, making in all fifteen years. He has three times represented the
Des Moines Annual Conference in the General Conference, and during one
term of four years was a member of the Book Committee — the publishing
committee of the Methodist Book Concern, and for a term of three years
was a member of the National Board of Control of the Epworth League. It
is a matter of noteworthy interest that in the last year of his sendee in that
capacity the Epworth League Board of Control held their final meeting for
permanent organization in this city in Broadway church, May, 1892. He
was also. a member for four years of the insurance hoard of the Methodist
Episcopal church. He is now pastor of the church in Glidden, Iowa.
Mr. Stuart was married in 1867 to Miss Ruth E. Huff, of Fremont county.
Iowa, and they have four children, David E., Thomas E., Frederick C, and
Albert B. During the Civil war T. McK. Stuart served for some time as or-
derly sergeant of Captain William Logsdon's company of Independent State
Scouts in the state of West Virginia. Under the last call for volunteers he as-
sisted in raising a company for the volunteer infantry. Mr. Stuart is a gradu-
ate of the Simpson College of this state, which conferred on him the degree of
Bachelor and Master of Arts.
330 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Because of his father's connection with the church, causing the removal
of the family to various towns, David E. Stuart acquiring his preliminary edu-
cation in different schools in Iowa prior to entering Simpson College, at Indian-
ola, Iowa. At the age of nineteen years he left college and engaged in teach-
ing school. His leisure hours during that time were devoted to the reading of
law, and in 1892 he was admitted to the bar, settling in Council Bluffs. In
1897 he formed his present partnership, becoming junior member of the firm
of Saunders & Stuart — a strong legal combination at the bar of that district.
He is an earnest and discriminating student, logical in his deductions and
fair in his reasoning, nor does he fear that laborious study, research and investi-
gation of the office, which must always precede the work of the courtroom,
never failing to give a careful preparation.
On Christmas day of 1906, in Council Bluffs. Mr. Stuart was married to
Miss Dorothy Green, a daughter of Robert Green. He belongs to various fra-
ternities, of which he is a valued representative, being a member of Bluff City
lodge. No. 71, A. F. & A. M.; Star chapter, No. 47, R. A. M. ; to the Knights
of Pythias: Modern Woodmen of America; and the Elks Lodge. Of the Ma-
sonic blue lodge he is now worshipful master. Endowed by nature with strong
intellectual force, making good use of his time, talents and opportunities, he has
steadily advanced in a profession wherein progress depends entirely upon indi-
vidual merit.
CAPTAIN LOUIS EUGENE RENARD.
The subjecl of this sketch is one of Council Bluffs' most bighly respected
citizens, occupying a prominent position in business circles, He lives at the
northeast corner of Sixth avenue ami Sixth street and aided by his estimable
wife, conducts a very popular private boarding house in a commodious two-
story brick dwelling. Their house is always filled with desirable patrons who
wish to enjoy the comforts of home life and at the same time have a table
equal to that di' the best 1 1 the quality of its viands. These two elements
may be enjoyed in the home of Captain Renard, who is a French chef and
personally looks after the cuisine. He was bom in Pari-. France, January 12,
1850. His father was Bernard Renard, a native of France, who died in Paris
at the age of eighty-six years, when his sun Louis F. was fcwenty-on.e years of
age. For a quarter of a century he was an inspector of government military
prisons. His wife, who bore the maiden name of .Mary Delphin, was also a
native of France and died eight years ago at the age of eighty >
Captain Renard spent the day.- of his boyhood and youth in his native
land and in 1872 came to America, settling fir-t in New York city, lie re-
mained there as head chef in the Brunswick Hotel for seven years and for eight
years he occupied similar positions in other hotels. He then located in St.
Louis, where he remained for a year, and in 18S8 he removed to Omaha. Ne-
braska, where he engaged in the restaurant business in the Bee building for
four years. On selling out he came to Council Bluffs, where he opened a high
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 331
class private boarding house, conducting business in several localities in the
city, being for six years in the Grand Hotel Annex. A few months ago he re-
moved to tbe corner of Sixth avenue and Sixth street, which location is close
to Bayliss park and in the same block and south of the postofhce. Here he is
conducting one of the finest boarding houses of the city, his previous experi-
ence in connection with hotels well qualifying him for his present business.
lie now owns a valuable residence property at No. 11 South First street, occu-
pied by Dr. D. Jackson.
Captain Renard was united in marriage to Miss Mary Captolia Hoy, at
Grand Island, Nebraska, December 17, 1891. She was born in Parkersburg,
Virginia, in 1870, and is a daughter of Daniel and Mary Elizabeth Hoy, who
reside on a farm near Saltillo, Nebraska. Mrs. Renard attended the common
schools of that place and afterward pursued a course in the State University at
Lincoln. She is now a member of Rebekah lodge, No. 3, and of the Pythian
Sisters, No. 185. She also belongs to the First Methodist Episcopal church, in
the work of which she is deeply interested, being now connected with its Ladies'
Aid Society. She is also a member of the Council Bluffs Women's Club and is
well known in the social life of the city. Unto Captain and Mrs. Renard was
born a daughter, Ida, in 1893, but she lived for only a few weeks.
Captain Renard is very prominent in fraternal circles, belonging to the
Knights of Pythias, the Knights of Khorassan, the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the encampment, the Eagles, the Royal Highlanders, the Modern
Woodmen of America, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Royal Arcanum, the
Tribe of Ben Hur, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Commercial Club.
He began life without financial aid but possessed energy and honesty, which,
combined with his genial disposition and his unfailing courtesy as a host, have
made him very successful in his chosen field of labor. He is one of the best
known residents of Council Bluffs and enjoys in large measure the esteem and
friendship of all who know him.
G. J. MILLER.
G. J. Miller, engaged in general farming and stock-raising on section 7,
Neola township, owns a well improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres
and also operates another tract of similar amount. He is one of the early set-
tlers of. the county, having made his home within its borders since 1878. He
arrived here when a young man of twenty-five years, having been born in
Muskingum county, Ohio, May 18, 1853. His father, George Miller, was born
in Germany but was reared and married in this country. On coming to the
new world he settled near Zanesville, Ohio, where he reared his family and
spent his remaining days.
G. J. Miller was reared to manhood in his native county and educated in
the common schools. In the spring of 1878 he left his Ohio home and made his
way direct to Pottawattamie county, where he worked by the month as a farm
hand for four years, when with the money he had saved from his earnings he
332 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land, upon which he now resides.
This he broke and fenced, erected buildings thereon and continued the work
of opening up and developing a farm. For a time he kept bachelor's hall but
later completed arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage in
Neola, on the 7th of August, 1884, to Miss Catherine D. Buchanan, a native of
Scotland, who came to the new world when a maiden of eleven years with her
father, John Buchanan, who on crossing the Atlantic established his home near
Neola, Iowa. The young couple began their domestic life upon the farm
where they have since lived. Mr. Miller has here erected a good residence, com-
modious and attractive in its style of architecture, and has also put up two barns
and outbuildings. He now cultivates two hundred and forty acres of land in
the production of grain and is also largely engaged in raising and feeding stock,
both branches of his business proving profitable.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been born five children : Jessie O, George
J., Arthur W., Janet T.. and Anna S. In his political view.- Mr. Miller has
been a life-long democrat where national issues are involved but casts an inde-
pendent local ballot. He served as township trustee for three years, was school
treasurer four years and secretary of the school board for eight years. He also
capably served as assessor for fourteen years, his last term being in 1896. He
has been a delegate to the county conventions and is much interested in the
political situation of the country, while in office he ha- always been found trust-
worthv. efficient and reliable. Both he and his wife are active and helpful
members of the Neola Presbyterian church, in which Mr. Miller is serving as
an elder, anil their upright lives and fidelity to principle have gained them the
kindly regard and warm friend-hip of many with whom they have come in
contact.
ELI L. SHUGART.
Eli L. Shugart, financially connected with various corporate interest.-
of Council Bluffs, a promoter of it- business enterprises and of all progres-
sive measures for the general good during the past forty years, is justly ac-
counted one of the leading and representative citizen- of Pottawattamie
county. His birth occurred in Fayetteville, Franklin county. Pennsylvania,
February 2".. 1836, his parents being John and Mary A. Shugart. The fam-
ily comes of a patriotic ancestry, the paternal grandfather, Eli Shugart.
having served as a soldier of the Revolutionary war during the greater part
of that long contest of arm-. His son, John Shugart, who was born and
reared in Pennsylvania, served a short time in defense of his country in
the war of 1812. John Shugart. the father of our subject, learned the trade of
a brick and -stone mason in early manhood in Pennsylvania and followed
contracting. Tn 1840 he removed with his family to what was then Richland
and is now Ashland county, Ohio, where he turned his attention to farm-
ing, there engaging in agricultural pursuits until 1850, when he took his
wife and children to Peoria county. Illinois. He afterward removed to
Bureau county, that state, and again engaged in farming, devoting his time
Cy^&^£&<^c^7 a^/^
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 385
and energies to the tilling of the soil until his life's labors were ended in
death.
E. L. Shugart received the benefit of careful training and of parental
love and attention in a good home and after attending the common schools
of Ashland county, Ohio, he had the privilege of continuing his studios in
the Vermilion Institute at Hayesville, that county. After removing to Ill-
inois he worked upon his father's farm and as opportunity offered attended
the pubic schools, also Smith's Princeton Academy at Princeton, Illinois,
and the Northwestern University at Henry, Illinois. Prior to this he had
learned the tinner's trade in Princeton. After putting aside his text-book-
in 1857 he engaged in the hardware business at Princeton for eleven years
and on the expiration of that period came to Council Bluffs, arriving in 1868.
Here he embarked in the wholesale implement business, in which he con-
tinued successfully for thirty-seven years. The city was only a small place
at the time of his arrival but he had great confidence in its future and de-
termined to make his home here, benefitting by its opportunities and in turn
contributing to its upbuilding through his business activity. As a wholesale
implement dealer he concentrated his energies upon the development of the
enterprise until the trade extended over western Iowa, South Dakota, north-
ern Missouri and part of Kansas. The patronage steadily grew in volume and
importance, the business becoming one of the leading commercial interests
of Council Bluffs. For seven years G. W. Lininger was a member of the
firm, having charge of their Omaha house and Mr. Shugart was then in
partnership with Frederick Weiss. For a time business was carried on as E.
L. Shugart and the Shugart Implement Company and then for several years
the firm was Shugart & Waite. When Mr. Weiss again became a member
of the company the name was changed to Shugart, Waite & Weiss, while
for several years it was the AVeiss Shugart Company and the Pioneer Imple-
ment Company for six years. Mr. Shugart then sold his interest in the
business but after living retired for one year became connected with Fuller
& Johnson, manufacturers, forming the Fuller-Johnson-Shugart Company.
which was in operation for several years, when Mr. Shugart retired. He
was successively vice president and president of the Empkie-Shugart-Hill
wholesale hardware house and a stockholder, director and vice president of
the Citizens State Bank, of which he was one of the organizers. He was
also connected with the First National Bank until his health failed, when
he resigned as director and vice president, but he is still financially interested
in the First National, the State Savings and the McClelland Banks, as well
as many other enterprises of the city, including the Independent Telephone
Company. His investments have been carefully made and prove the wis-
dom of his sound judgment and keen discernment. He is pre-eminently a
man of affairs and his sagacity and business discernment are qualities recog-
nized by all who know aught of his career. Whatever he has undertaken
he has carried forward to successful completion and the soundness of his
opinions concerning business matters is indicated by the excellent success
which has attended his efforts. He was the owner of extensive and valuable
real estate in Council Bluffs, which he has given his sons, having erected a
336 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
number of fine buildings in the city. He is also one of the principal donors
in connection with the Associated Charities in building a fine home for poor
women and children of Council Bluffs, now being erected.
On the 4th of September, 1860, Mr. Shugart was united in marriage to
Miss Angela R. Downing, a daughter of Heman and Rachel Downing, who
were pioneer settlers of northern Illinois. She pursued her education in
Mount Carroll Seminary and in Princeton, Illinois, and by her marriage
became the mother of four children, but the two daughters died at the age
of sixteen months. The sons are Lyman T. and Elmer E. The former
married Miss Jenette Hanthom, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hanthom.
For his second wife Eli L. Shugart wedded Miss Mary J. Triplett on the 11th
of January, 1899. She was a daughter of Orville and Mary J. Triplett, of
Council Bluffs, and was educated at the high school of Fontanelle, Iowa,
from which she was graduated. She died at their country home near Council
Bluffs June 13, 1906, after giving birth to a boy baby, now named Marion
L. Shugart.
Mr. Shugart, although he did not serve his country at the front, was
a stalwart advocate of the Union during the Civil war and is a friend to
and popular with the Grand Army boys, whom he is always ready to assist.
He has been treasurer and presiding officer at their memorial services for
many years and is an honorary member of the Abe Lincoln post at Council
Bluffs. He also belongs to Excelsior lodge, \ 1". A: A. M.; Star chapter, R.
A. M., and Ivanhoe commandery, K. T., of all of which he became a charter
member in 1869. He likewise affiliate? with the Council Bluffs Commer-
cial Club and belongs to the First Presbyterian church.
His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he served
as a member of the city council for five years, beginning in 1871. He was
also a member of the county board of supervisors for three years but whether
in office or out of it his aid and co-operation can always be counted upon to
further any movement for the general welfare and his labors have been di-
rectly beneficial to the city in many ways. He was among those who were
instrumental in securing the grounds for beautiful Fairmount Park, of
which the city is now justly proud. He is interested in all matters of civic
virtue and of civic pride, i- opposed to anything like misrule in municipal
affairs and has done effective work for the city in advancing its material,
political, social and moral interests. Throughout his active business career
the house with which he was connected sustained an unassailable reputation
for commercial integrity and business ability. They passed through the
hard times and the financial panics of the '70s, weathering every storm and
at all times following business methods that neither seek nor require dis-
guise.
After having secured a comfortable competence Mr. Shugart retired to
a country home, Edgewood, which he had prepared near Council Bluffs,
Iowa, and here he expects to spend his remaining days. Since the death
of his second wife his son Lyman has taken charge of the large farm and
country home, known as Edgewood, where Mr. Shugart and his young son
have lived with his son Lvnian since the death of his wife, while his other
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 337
son, Elmer, now lives near him on a fine farm which the father has pro-
vided. In 1893 he bought the home farm, consisting of four hundred acres,
and now owns about fifteen hundred acres, having in the past few years
sold twelve hundred acres. He also owns a ranch of about two thousand
acres in Holt county, Nebraska. No man deserves in greater measure the
confidence, trust and respect of those with whom he has been associated and
his life record may well serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement
to others, showing what may be accomplished through carefully directed
diligence and perseverance and proving, too, that success and an honored
name may be won simultaneously.
l
FRANK J. CAPELL.
Frank J. Capell is numbered among the younger members of the bar of
Council Bluffs but nevertheless has attained a reputation in practice which
many an older attorney might well envy. He was born in Casey, Guthrie
county, on the 27th of December, 1874. His father is Dr. Western L. Capell,
who was born in Noble county, Ohio, in 1853. Preparing for the practice of
medicine, he was graduated from Barnes Medical College, and came to Iow-a in
1874. He now practices in Omaha and is recognized as an able physician of
that city. He was married in 1871, in Ohio, to Miss Ellen Rogers, and unto
them were born four children, of whom two died in infancy, while two are yet
living, Dr. Clarence S. Capell being a resident of Kansas City, Missouri. The
wife and mother died in Council Bluffs in 1890. The father still remains an
active member of the medical profession and has made a creditable record as a
practitioner.
When Frank J. Capell was quite young his parents removed to Modale,
Harrison county, Iowa, where the father engaged in the practice of medicine
until 1880. He then went with his family to De Soto, Kansas, where they
lived for three years, after which they returned to Modale, there remaining un-
til 1886. In that year they came to Council Bluffs. Frank J. Capell had been
a student in the public schools of Modale, Iowa, and in De Soto, Kansas, while
in Council Bluffs he again took up his studies, completing a high-school course
by graduation in the class of 1894. Ambitious for still further advancement
of this character, he entered the University of Iowa, at Iowa City, where he
spent two years as a student and then matriculated in the University of Ne-
braska, at Lincoln, from which institution he was graduated in 1899. In the
meantime, however, in May, 1898, he had offered his services to the country
as a member of Company A, Third Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, Colonel
William Jennings Bryan commanding. He was finally rejected, however, on
account of a disabled ankle caused by a football accident. Resuming his
studies in the university, he remained in Lincoln until 1899, when he entered
the law office of AVright & Stout, attorneys at Omaha, and while there he also
attended the Western School of Law, from which he was graduated in 1901.
The same vear he was admitted to the bar, and in 1903 he came to Council
338 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Bluffs, being now with the law firm of Hail & Tinley. He has since practiced
his profession here, making gradual but steady advancement in a calling where
progress depends entirely upon individual merit, learning and skill.
In 1902 Mr. Capell was married in Council Bluffs to Miss Adele Meyers,
and they have a son and daughter, Richard L. and Katharine F. The parents
are well known socially in the city and have many warm friends here. They
attend the Presbyterian church and Mr. Capell holds membership relations
with the Phi Delta Theta, a college fraternity.
EDWIN H. GEISE.
Edwin H. Geise devotes his time and energies to general farming and also
to the raising and breeding of pure blooded Hereford cattle, in which connec-
tion he is well known, being classed with the leading stock-feeders of this part
of the county. His home is on section 16, York township, where he and his
father own and conduct a farm of four hundred and eighty acres, under the
firm name of C. & E. II. Geise. This is a well improved and valuable property,
lacking in none of the equipments or accessories of a model farm.
Edwin H. Geise has a wide acquaintance in Pottawattamie county, for hi-
entire life has here been passed and his record is as an open book to his many
friends. He was born in Council Bluffs, July 28, 1868, and is a son of Conrad
Geise, a native of Germany, who came to the new world with his sister when a
young man of sixteen years. He settled in this county among its earlier resi-
dents, bought wild land and opened up a large farm, owning al one time six
hundred and eighty acres, a portion of which he has since sold. In his business
affairs he has gained a reputation for reliability and enterprise, which classes
him with the leading agriculturists of this part of the state. At one time Mr.
Geise owned and operated a brewery al Council Bluffs but retiring from that
business, he located upon the farm where for many years he successfully con-
ducted the work of field and meadow. In 1904, however, he returned to the
county seat, where he is now assisting with soda water manufacture and also
with the manufacture of cereal food products. He is one of the prominent
business men of the city, actively associated with its commercial and industrial
interests, his labors and enterprise contributing to the general business de-
\ elopment. Further mention of Mr. Geise is made elsewhere in this volui
Edwin H. Geise was reared to manhood in the county seat and acquired
his education in the public schools there. He was also a student in the Educa-
tional Institute, at St. Louis. Missouri, finishing his course there in 188.6. He
then returned to his native city and was associated with his father in manufac-
turing interests there until 1891, when he came to the farm and has since
successfully carried on general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. After
some years he turned his attention to the business of breeding and raising
Hereford cattle and now has about one hundred and forty head upon his
place, all pure blooded registered -lock, this being one of the fines! herds to
be found in the Mississippi valley. He has two fine bulls at the head of hi-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 339
herd, both having been exhibited and won prizes at the state fairs. Mr. Geise
also makes a business of raising and feeding stock. He has his place mostly
in grass in order to afford pasturage for his cattle. His stock-raising interests
arc very extensive, constituting him one of the leading representatives of this
line of business in Pottawattamie county.
On the 18th of March, 1891, Mr. Geise was married in Underwood, to
Miss Anna Klopping, a daughter of Augusi Klopping, and a sister of K. W.
and A. K. Klopping, mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume.
Three children grace this marriage, Fred, Pearl and Edna, all of whom are
still under the parental roof. The parents are prominent socially in the
county, having a wide and favorable acquaintance in Council Bluffs, in Under-
wood and in fact throughout the entire county, their social qualities render-
ing them popular, while the hospitality of their own home is greatly enjoyed
by their many friends.
Mr. Geise gives his political allegiance to the democratic party where
national issues are involved but at local elections casts an independent ballot.
He was elected and served for two years as justice of the peace but otherwise
has held no official position, desiring to concentrate his time and energies
upon his business affairs. He is numbered among the well known breeders
and dealers in pure blooded registered Hereford cattle and has raised some fine
animals. He is a successful agriculturist, stock-breeder and business man
and though he had the assistance of hi- father in starting out in business life
his record demonstrates the fact that success is not a matter of genius but is
the outcome of clear judgment, experience and capable management.
WILLIAM A. MYNSTER.
William A. Mynster, a prominent representative of the legal profession
who has successfully engaged in practice at Council Bluffs since his admis-
sion to the bar in 1866, claims Denmark as his native land, being born in
Copenhagen on the 13th of October, 1843. He is the only child of Christopher
and Maria Mynster and was about three years of age when brought to this
country by his parents, the family locating in Washington, IX C. In the
spring of 1851 they came to Council Bluffs, being the first Danish family to
locate in Pottawattamie county and probably the first in the state. Today
the Danish population in Iowa is greater than in any other state.
Mr. Mynster grew to manhood in Council Bluffs, pursuing his early
education in the public schools. Later he attended Sinsinawa Mound College
in Wisconsin and the St. Louis University, graduating from the latter insti-
tution in 1861. He subsequently entered the Albany Law School at Albany,
New York, where he was graduated in 1865, and then returned to his home
in Council Bluffs to engage in the practice of his chosen profession. For one
year he was alone and then formed a partnership with E. W. Hight, being
engaged in practice for several years under the firm name of Mynster &
Hight. He was next a member of the firm of James, Aylesworth & Mynster
340 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
and still later that of Mynster, Mickle & Davis and that of Mynster & Adams.
His next association was in the firm of Mynster, Lindt & Seabrook, and still
later was a member of the firm of Mynster & Lindt.
Mr. Mynster was united in marriage to Miss E. A. Platner, a daughter
of Ira Platner, an early settler of Council Bluffs. She died in November,
1886, leaving five children, namely: William Rufus Choate, Marie,
Ira O, Lester A. and Henry F. Mr. Mynster was again married August 31,
1898, his second union being with Miss Bertha Sherere, a daughter of George
Sherere, a native of Switzerland, and to them has been born a son, Carl.
By his ballot Mr. Mynster formerly supported the men and measures of
the democratic party but has been a republican for a number of years. He
has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, though he has served
as president of the city council and as attorney of Pottawattamie county. He
is a prominent member of the Danish Brotherhood, the Danabo and the
Danish Social Society, being one of the founders of the last named organiza-
tion. He is the nestor of the county bar and has known personally every
judge and practicing attorney located here. He has been elected president
of the Pottawattamie County Bar Association for three terms and is now hold-
ing that position. Possessing all the requisite qualities of the- able lawyer,
he has met with marked success in his chosen calling. He is a strong advocate
with the jury, and concise in his appeals before the court. His reputation
as a lawyer has been won through earnest, honest labor and his standing at
the bar is a merited tribute to his ability.
JULIUS C. DEETKEN, D. D. S.
1
i
Located in a well equipped office with all modern appliances known to
the science of dentistry. Dr. Deetken is enjoying an enviable practice, having
gained a reputation as one of the leading members of the dental fraternity
in Council Bluffs, his native city. He was born on the 6th of October, 1874,
and is a son of Dr. Carl Deetken, a native of Carlsruhe, Germany, born in
1842. The father came to America in early manhood, settling in Council
Bluffs. He began the study of medicine in this city and was graduated from
the Long Island College Hospital of New York. He had studied pharmacy
in his native country and a year after coming to Council Bluffs he opened a
drug store on upper Broadway, carrying on the business until his death in
1903. His political support was given to the democracy and he served as
coroner of Pottawattamie county. He became well known during the years
of his residence here and as a business man and citizen, as well as in social
relations, made an excellent reputation. He was married in Council Bluffs
to Miss Eliza Saar and they had six children, of whom four died in early
life, while two are yet living, the brother of our subjecl being Dr. Henry C.
Deetken, a physician now in Seattle Washington. He was married in 1902,
in Council Bluffs, to Miss Estella Mclntire and they have one son, Carl Deetken.
The mother is still living and yet makes her home in Council Bluffs.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 341
Reared in the city of his nativity, Dr. Deetken is indebted to its public-
school system for the educational privileges he enjoyed. He then began to
study dentistry and in 1898 was graduated from the dental department of
the University of Iowa at Iowa City. Returning home he opened an office
and has been very successful in building up a good practice. He had many
friends here and his personal popularity contributed toward winning him a
patronage which his skill and ability have enabled him to keep. He does
excellent work, as is attested by public opinion, and he keeps at all times abreast
with his profession in the advancement which is continually being made by
the dental fraternity.
Dr. Deetken was married, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1902, to Miss
Anna G. Coyne and they have two daughters, Katharine Elizabeth and Mary
Lynn. Dr. Deetken affiliates with the Elks and gives his political allegiance
to the republican party.
ARTHUR L. PRESTON.
In a history of the bar of Pottawattamie county mention should be made
of Arthur L. Preston, a member of the Avoca bar, whose knowledge and ability
in the line of his profession has gained him rank with the leading lawyers
of this section of the state. Born at Newton, Jasper county, Iowa, on the
25th of October, 1860, he is a son of Sylvester S. and Amelia (Wilde) Preston.
The father was born in Vermont, December 7, 1832, and was a son of Warner
Preston, also a native of the Green Mountain state.
Sylvester S. Preston was reared and married in the state of his nativity
and in 1856, immediately after his marriage, he came to Iowa, locating at
Newton, purchasing a quarter section of land four miles east of the town.
There he engaged in farming until 1870, when he removed to Marseilles,
Illinois, spending, however, only a year at that place. He then again came to
Iowa, settling at Grinnell, where he turned his attention to merchandising,'
continuing actively in that business until 1885, when he retired to private
life, having since enjoyed the fruits of his former toil. In 1903 he removed
to Los Angeles, California, where he is now residing. In politics he was
a republican but has never been an aspirant for public office. He holds
membership in the Congregational church and in all his life has been actuated
by a spirit of enterprise and of fidelity to the public good. In the family
were ten children : Byron W., a resident of Oskaloosa and judge of the sixth
judicial district of Iowa; Herbert B., of Los Angeles, California; Arthur L. ;
Elmer S., also of Los Angeles, California; Myrta L., the wife of Fred Burlew,
of Los Angeles, California; Virgil G., a merchant of Cornell, Iowa; Viola G.,
living in Los Angeles; Fred A., an attorney of Oskaloosa; and George W.,
a merchant of Anita, Iowa. The other member of the family is deceased.
Arthur L. Preston spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his father's
home and after attending the public schools of Grinnell, continued his educa-
tion in Iowa College, of that place, being graduated from that institution with
342 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the class of 1883, while in 1886 his alma
mater conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. His preparation for
his profession was begun in the winter of 1882-3. when he attended the law
department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, pursuing a six
months' course, after which he returned to Iowa College and was graduated
with his class. In the spring of 1884 he was graduated from the law depart-
ment of the University of Michigan, and soon afterward entered into partner-
ship with D. W. Norris for the practice of law in Grinnell, this connection,
being maintained until 1890. Mr. Preston afterward practiced alone until
1893, where he removed from Grinnell to Avoca, where he formed a law
partnership with Fremont Benjamin, with whom he was associated until
September, 1899. He has since been alone and a liberal clientage has been
accorded him, he being most devoted to the interests thereof. He does not
slight the laborious work of the office which must always precede that of the
courtroom and in the presentation of his cause he is clear and logical in his
deduction and sound in his reasoning. He is recognized as one of the county's
able barristers. He has been the attorney for the Avoca State Bank since
1899 and in 1906 was elected a director of that institution. He is also local
attorney for the Rock Island Railroad Company and for various business enter-
prises of Avoca. In addition to his practice he derives his income from two
good farms, one in Knox township of eighty acres and one in James township
cil' one hundred and seventy-three acres. These axe valuable properties.
On the "21st of October, L884, Mr. Preston was married to Miss Cyrilla
B. Smith, of Grand Rapids, Wisconsin, and unto them were born three chil-
dren, but only one is now living: Gertrude, who is now a pupil in the Avoca
high school.
Politically Mr. Preston is a republican and although never an aspirant for
office he is interested in community affair.- and is now serving as president
of the school board. Fraternally lie i- connected with Avoca Camp, No. 165,
M. W. A., in which he has passed all the chairs, but while his varied interests
make his a well rounded character he concentrates his attention and time
chiefly upon hi- professional duties, his devotion to his clients' interests being
proverbial.
THOMAS J. BEATTY.
Thomas J. Beatty is prominent among the agriculturists of .lames town-
ship, owning and controlling four hundred and eighty acres of valuable land.
Hi- life record may well serve a- a source of inspiration to others, showing
what may he accomplished by determined and energetic purpose, for when he
located upon this place he was not only empty-handed but also considerably in
deht. Lone ago his financial obligation has been discharged and he has added
to his original holdings. Moreover, his success has been won through straight-
forward, honorable method-:, being due to his perseverance' and close applica-
tion to business.
4?
?u^ c
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 345
Mr. Beatty was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of
September, 1845, his parents being William and Charlotte Beatty, natives of
the Keystone state and of Virginia respectively. Removing to the middle west,
they located in Pottawattamie county, where their last days were passed. Of
their family of nine children only four are yet living: William, a resident of
Avoca; George, who is living in Cass county, Iowa; Samuel, whose home is in
Nebraska; and Thomas J., of this review.
The last named spent his boyhood and youth in his father's home and
during that period acquired a common-school education. He came to Potta-
wattamie county in 1874 and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land,
which he at once began to cultivate, living thereon for a year. He next sold
out and removed to Shelby county, Iowa, where he bought one hundred and
sixty acres, upon which he lived for a year and a half. He then sold that prop-
erty and again came to Pottawattamie county, making investment in eighty
acres of land, on which he lived for a year. On the expiration of that period
he traded his farm for two hundred acres in James township and subsequently
he added another two hundred-acre tract, upon which he resided until 1894.
Disposing of that farm, he established his home in the town of Hancock,
where he turned his attention to the creamery business, conducting it for a
year. The venture, however, proved financially disastrous and he lost eight
thousand dollars. He then began buying grain and feeding cattle and hogs
and was so engaged for four years. In the meantime he purchased four hun-
dred acres of land at forty-six dollars per acre — a tract which is today valued
at one hundred and ten dollars per acre. In 1899 he took up his abode upon
this farm, which has since been his place of residence. At that time he had an
indebtedness of eight thousand dollars but with strong and determined purpose
he set to work to clear this away and has not only discharged his entire financial
obligation but has extended the boundaries of his farm by additional purchase
of eighty acres, giving him four hundred and eighty acres of as fine land as
can be found in Pottawattamie county. He also bought eighty acres of ex-
cellent land in Woodbury county, Iowa, and he owns two fine residences in the
village of Hancock. In addition to tilling the soil and producing the crops
best adapted to climatic conditions here found he makes a specialty of raising
and feeding stock quite extensively and both branches of his business are prov-
ing profitable. He possesses strong purpose and unfaltering determination that
enables him to overcome many difficulties and obstacles and by careful manage-
ment he has worked his way upward to success.
On the 20th of August, 1885, Mr. Beatty was united in marriage to Miss
Clarissa Brown, who was born in Johnson county, Iowa, November 23, 1856, a
daughter of A. P. and Nancy (Ricker) Brown, who were natives of Ohio.
Their family numbered five children. The mother departed this life in 1906
but the father still makes his home in this county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Beatty
were born five children but they lost one son, George Austin, who was born
March 23, 1886, and was attending college at Des Moines when he died Sep-
tember 10. 1904. The others are: Anna E., born December 26, 1887; Alvin
T., born March 9, 1891; Mary M., born December 22, 1894; and James W.,
born February 26, 1899. All are at home.
346 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Mrs. Beatty is a member of the Christian church at Oakland and a most
estimable lady, possessing many sterling traits of heart and mind. Mr. Beatty
is a valued representative of the Odd Fellows lodge at Hancock, which he joined
upon its organization. In politics he is an earnest democrat and for five years
he served as school treasurer. His life record should serve as a source of en-
couragement and inspiration to others, showing what may be accomplished
when one has the will to dare and to do. His business affairs have been capably
conducted. Tireless energy and honesty of purpose, joined to every-day com-
mon sense, are his chief characteristics and have been the salient factors in .his
prosperity. Both he and his wife have a wide acquaintance and are held in
the warmest regard by all who know them in this part of the state.
EDWARD D. BURKE.
The reader in search of the sensational chapter would find nothing
of interest in the history of Edward D. Burke, but the student of human
nature who places a true value on life and its opportunities would learn in
the perusal of this record that it has been through close application and the
exercise of his native talents that Edward D. Burke has attained his present
enviable and responsible position as cashier and general manager of the
Citizens Bank of Walnut.
He was born in Durant, [owa, November 29, 1866, his parents being
Patrick and Mary (Murphy) Burke, both natives of Ireland, the former
born in County Tipperary, in 1832, and the latter in County Cork, in 1837.
They came to the United States when young people and each settled on
Statin [aland, New York, where they were married. Afterward they re-
moved to Pottsvillc. Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, where the father en-
gaged in mining, but the west attracted him, thinking that he might have bet-
ter business opportunities and advantages in a district less thickly settled. In
1854 he accordingly joined the band of pioneers who were reclaiming Cedar
county, [owa, for the uses of civilization, and located in Durant, where he was
engaged in various lines of business until 1*7:1. Ee then removed to Walnut,
purchased a tract of land north of the town and engaged in fanning for five or
six years, bringing his fields into a state of rich fertility. He then retired from
active agricultural life and took up his abode in the village of Walnut, where
he lived until 1908. when he removed to Rocky Ford, Colorado, where he
is now making his home with his son, Charles M. Burke. He lives with his
children and has retired from active business. He has long survived his
wife, who died in 1882. in the faith of the Catholic church, of which he is
still a communicant. They were the parents of eight children, of whom
live are vet living, namely: William F., a resident of Walnut; John P.,
whose home is in Los Angeles, California; Charles M., living at Rocky Ford,
Colorado; and Elizabeth M., the wife of Albert M. Brassy, of San Jose,
California,
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 347
The other member of the family is Edward D. Burke who, while spend-
ing his boyhood days under the parental roof, acquired his education in
the public schools of Walnut, his time being divided between the duties of
the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and the various tasks which
were assigned him at home. From his eighteenth year he worked in the
store of his brother, W. F. Burke, at Walnut, until 1888, when he accepted
the position of assistant cashier in the Exchange Bank. In 1890 the bank
was reorganized into the Exchange State Bank, and Mr. Burke continued
to act as assistant cashier until 1895. In that year he joined his brothers,
William F., John P. and Charles M. Burke, in organizing and establishing
the Citizens Bank of Walnut, and became the cashier and general manager
of this new financial institution. Under his capable control the bank soon
became recognized as one of the strong and reliable financial institutions
of Pottawattamie county and a liberal patronage has been accorded it. The
firm of Burke Brothers do an extensive real-estate business and are largely
interested in farming and in the live-stock business, while their banking
interests are second to no bank in this section of the county.
On the 10th of October, 1894, Edward D. Burke was married to Miss
Florence L. Simpson, a daughter of Jeremiah Simpson, of Fowler, Indiana,
and now a resident of Iowa Falls, Iowa. Unto this marriage one child has
been born, Simpson, whose natal day was August 5, 1895.
Mr. Burke is independent in politics but is much interested in the sub-
ject of good government and opposed to misrule in public offices. He
believes that the same honesty, integrity and ability should be brought to
bear in the discharge of official duties as in the conduct of private business
interests, and such was his demonstration, when for some years he served
as town treasurer. He stands for advancement, reform and improvement
along all lines affecting the general interests of society and his own career
proves that success and an honored name may be won simultaneously.
MATTHIAS P. MERGEN.
Matthias P. Mergen, junior partner of the firm of Neumayer & Mergen,
proprietors of the Neumayer Hotel, of Council Bluffs, was born in Leavenworth,
Kansas, in 1872. His father, Philip Mergen, now living in Omaha, was
a native -of Germany, who is now living retired from business, having for
many years been an active factor in business circles wherein he won the
competence that now enables him to enjoy his present ease. He married
Walburg Tisch, and they had four children : Matthias P. ; John P. ; Mary,
the wife of Antone Schmitz; and Louisa.
Matthias P. Mergen remained a resident of his native city until 1883,
after which he spent six years in different parts of the west prior to locating
in Council Bluffs in 1889. Here he entered business life, being employed
in different ways until 1903, when he formed his present partnership with
Mr. Neumayer. They are conducting the Neumayer Hotel, and have a
348 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
large and growing business, drawing an extensive patronage from the country
people who visit the city. They conduct a first class hostelry and their
prosperity is well merited.
Mr. Mergen was married in 1903 to Miss Theresa Neumayer, and they
have two children, Eleanor L. and Frances A. Mr. Mergen is independent
in politics. He belongs to the Catholic church and is well known in the
city, where for eighteen years he has made his home, or since he attained
the age of sixteen. He is yet a young man, energetic, alert and enterpris-
ing, and in the conduct of his present business has not only become well
known but has also gained a gratifying measure of prosperity.
ADOLPH KAY.
Adolph Kay has tor thirty-one years lived upon his present farm on
section 14. York township, where he owns four hundred acres of productive
and valuable land. lie al30 has four hundred and eighty acres in Minden
township, so that he is one of the huge landowners and prominent represent-
atives of the agricultural interests of the county, being engaged extensively
in stock-raising in addition to the production of grain. A fact of which
due recognition is not usually accorded in connection with the agricultural
history of the west is that to no foreign element is due a greater amount of
credit for the advancement of this character than to those who have had
their nativity in or trace their lineage to the great empire of Germany.
Among those who left the fatherland to identify themselves with American
life and institutions, who have pushed their way to the front and who are
a credit alike to the land of their birth and that of their adoption is the
Kay family.
He whose name introduces this review was born in Holstein, Germany,
April 20, 1861, his parents being Detlef and Anna Kay, farming people
of Germany, whence they came to America in 1870. They did not tarry
in the east but made their way at once across the country to Pottawattamie
county. Adolph was the youngest of their seven ebildren and was at that
time nine years of age. The father farmed for one year just south of
Council Bluffs and then removed to Mills county, where he purchased one
hundred and twenty acres of land. This he improved, living there for five
years, when he sold that property and in 1876 returned to Pottawattamie
county. Here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in York
township, making his home thereon up to the time of his demise, which
occurred in 1891, when he was seventy-three years of age. His widow is
still living, at the advanced age of eighty-four years and makes her home
with a daughter in Mineoln. Mill- county. Iowa.
Adolph Kay was reared on the home farm and educated in the common
schools. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of
agricultural life for him in his boyhood and youth, save the emigration from
the fatherland to the new world. In Iowa he assisted in the arduous task
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY .349
of developing a new farm as his age and strength permitted and he gave to
his father the benefit of his services until after he had attained his majority.
On the 21st of March, 1889, Mr. Kay was married to Miss Anna Rohlfs,
a native of Germany, and a daughter of John Rohlfs, of Minden township.
Following his marriage he took charge of his father's estate and built thereon
a good two-story residence, also adding substantial barns, cribs and other
outbuildings as they were needed. He likewise set out the first orchard on
the place. From time to time he has been buying land until he now owns
four hundred acres in the old homestead and four hundred and eighty acres
in Minden township, so that he is one of the large landholders of the county.
He raises good grades of stock, making a specialty of shorthorn cattle and
Duroc hogs, and he now feeds two or three carloads of hogs annually. He is
an excellent judge of stock, seldom if ever at error in his estimate of the
value of any farm animals.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kay were born four children but they lost twins in
infancy. The others, Walter and Martha, are still under the parental roof.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church at Minden and Mr. Kay gives
his political allegiance to the republican party upon questions of state and
national importance, but at local elections casts an independent ballot. He
was road supervisor for one term and then resigned, never caring for office.
He has found that private business pursuits make sufficient claim upon his
time and attention. His business duties are onerous because of the extent
of his realty holdings but his life of intense activity finds compensation in
the excellent income which results as a reward for his care and labor. In
his business affairs he is found thoroughly reliable and in an analyzation
of the character and life of Mr. Kay we note many of the characteristics
which have marked the German nation for many centuries — the persever-
ance, trustworthiness, energy and an unconquerable determination to pursue
a course that has been marked out.
VERNON LAURENCE TREYNOR, M. D.
Dr. Vernon Laurence Treynor, one of the leading physicians and sur-
geons of Council Bluffs, was born in this city on the 28th of September, 1866,
and is a son of Thomas P. and Mary E. (Smith) Treynor. The father was
a native of England, and the son of an officer in the British army. Coming
to the United States at the age of sixteen years, he located in Ohio, where he
made his home until after his marriage, and in the spring of 1853 came to
Iowa, taking up his abode in Council Bluffs. When a. young man he engaged
in business as a carriage builder but subsequently turned his attention to
newspaper work, owning a controlling interest in the Council Bluffs Daily
Nonpareil. As a prominent and influential citizen, he took quite an active
part in public affairs and for eight years filled the office of postmaster of
Council Bluffs under both administrations of President Grant. On his retire-
ment from that office he located on a farm, where he made his home until
350 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
bis death in January, 1892. His wife, who was born in Ohio of Dutch and
English stock, is also deceased. She was a devoted wife and mother and like
her husband was held in high regard by all who knew her.
Reared in the city of his nativity, Dr. Treynor is indebted to its public
schools for his early educational privileges, and after completing his literary
course he took up the study of medicine, graduating from the medical depart-
ment of the Iowa State University with the degree of M. D. Since then he
has been actively engaged in the practice in Council Bluffs and has met with
most gratifying success.
On the 13th of October, 1891, Dr. Treynor was united in marriage to
Miss Susie C. Clark, of Iowa City, and to them have been born four sons
but only two are now living, namely: Thomas P., born April 29, 1895; and
Jack, born September 21, 1897.
In addition to his large private practice the Doctor has served on the
staff of the W. C. A. and St. Bernard's Hospital; and as surgeon for the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies.
For some time he was professor of physiology in the Omaha Medical College
and also in the Dental College of that city, is now professor of clinical
medicine in the College of Medicine, University of Nebraska; has served as
coroner of Pottawattamie county; and for two terms served as city physician
of Council Bluffs, during which lime he made a strenuous effort to improve
the sanitary conditions of the city and enforce the quarantine laws. In
1904 Dr. Treynor was elected by the legislature a member of the board of
regents of the Iowa State University but has found little time to devote to
outside matters other than refer to his profession. He has. however, taken a
very active and prominent part in the work of various medical fraternities,
having served as president and secretary of the Council Bluffs Medical
Society; as secretary of the Iowa State Medical Society; as president of the
Medical Society of the Missouri Valley; and also a.- president of the South-
western Towa Medical Association. In addition to these societies he is also
a member of the Iowa State Association of Railway Surgeons; the Interna-
tional Association of Railway Surgeons; and the American Medical Asso-
ciation. He is not only prominent in professional circles but is also popular
socially and is an honored member of the Masonic fraternity; the Indepen-
dent Order of Odd Fellows; the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks; and
the Woodmen of the World.
GEORGE W. SPENCER.
The farming interests of Ncola township find a worthy representative in
George W. Spencer, who resides on section 27, where he owns an excellent
farm of one hundred and eighty acres. He is, moreover, a public-spirited
citizen who in community affairs has been active and influential. He i- DOW
serving for the second term as a member of the county board and exercises
his official prerogative- in support of many measures and movements foi
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 351
the general good. More than a half century has rmur and gone since he
arrived in Pottawattamie county to become actively identified with its
agricultural interests.
He was but an infant when brought to the county in 1852, his birth
having occurred in Cook county, Illinois, September 23, 1851. In both the
paternal and maternal lines he is of English lineage, his parents, Thomas and
Salina (Childsworth) Spencer, being natives of England, where they were
reared and married. After crossing the Atlantic they spent about a year
in Cook county, Illinois, and in 1852 came to Iowa, making a permanent
location in Pottawattamie county. For many years the father earned on
farming but is now living retired in Neola.
I teorge W. Spencer was reared here amid the wild scenes and environ-
ments of pioneer life. He acquired a common-school education and when not
busy with his text-books assisted his father in the work of the home farm,
so that he gained practical experience concerning all the duties and labors
incident to farm life. On the 28th of February, 1877, Mr. Spencer was
united in marriage to Miss Jennie Hunter, who was born and reared in Scot-
land. After their marriage they lived upon a rented farm for a year and
Mr. Spencer then purchased eighty acres where he now resides. He paid for
this in four years and then bought an adjoining tract of eighty acres, which
he broke, tiled and fenced, converting the place into productive fields. He
has also built a good dwelling, a new barn and granary upon the place and
has added to the farm a tract of twenty acres, so that he now owns altogether
one hundred and eighty acres in one body. The soil is very rich and pro-
ductive, responding readily to the care and labor which he bestows upon the
fields. He has also planted an orchard and grove, has enclosed his farm with
barbed and woven wire fencing and has thus divided it into fields of con-
venient size. In connection with the cultivation of grain he raises and feeds
stock, and though he started out in life empty-handed he is today numbered
among the men of affluence ig. his community.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have been born a large family of eight sons
and six daughters, namely: Charles, who is married and resides in Sacra-
mento, California; William, who owns and conducts a bank at Thurston,
Nebraska ; Frank, with his brother in Sacramento ; Donald, who follows farm-
ing on his own account in Neola township ; Alexander, a graduate of the
Neola high school; George, Clayton and Raymond, all at home; Bessie, the
wife of Robert Sealock, a railroad man now of Sacramento; Helen and Mamie,
who are teachers in this county; Bertha, a student in Neola; Ruth, who is
attending 'the home school; and Gracie, who completes the family.
In his political views Mr. Spencer has always been a stalwart republican
since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. The first public office
to which he was ever called was that of township road supervisor. He has
also been identified officially with the schools, having been a member and
also president of the school board. He has. likewise been township trustee
and in 1903 was elected a member of the board of county supervisors, to
which position he was re-elected in 1906, so that he is now serving for the
second term. The present board have been putting forth effective efforts to
352 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
improve the county and are now putting in a big ditch about thirty miles in
length in the main ditch, with two branches. This is made after the most
approved modern methods and will prove of the utmost value to the county
in reclaiming wet lands for cultivation. Mr. Spencer has served as a dele-
gate to the state and county conventions and is deeply interested in the
success and growth of his party. He and his wife are members of the Pres-
byterian church, to which the daughters also belong. Mr. Spencer is a
Master Mason, holding membership with the lodge at Neola and his wife is
one of the officers in the Eastern Star. He also belongs to the Woodmen of
the World. Few residents of Pottawattamie county have longer been wit-
nesses of its growth and progress. He has killed deer and prairie chickens
here at a time when wild game abounded and has also killed many rattle-
snakes on the prairies. He has seen the railroads built and the towns laid
out and has kept in touch with the trend of general progress, being well
known in Council Bluffs and throughout the county as one of the prominent
public men and progressive citizens as well as honored pioneers.
SAMUEL D. TOBEY.
Samuel D. Tobey, for many years actively engaged in the practice of his
profession, is now living retired. He ministered to the needs of mankind for
a long period and his sendees were of the utmost benefit because of his broad
scientific knowledge, his professional skill and his deep humanitarian prin-
ciples. His present rest is well merited.
Dr. Tobey is a native of Rhode Island, his birth having occurred at Bris-
tol Road on the 21st of January, 1837. His father, the Rev. Zalmon Tobey,
a Baptist minister, was born in Norfolk, Connecticut, on the 27th of July, 1791,
and died September 17, 1858. For several years he was pastor of the Baptist
church in Providence, Rhode Island, where his death occurred. Hi- wife, who
bore the maiden name of Sophronia Baker, was born at Upton, Worcester
eounty, Massachusetts, March 22, L799, and departed this life in Kalamazoo,
Michigan, on the 7th of February, 1875.
Dr. Tobey accompanied his parents to Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, and later
went to Warren, that state, where the family lived until 1856. He was a stu-
dent in the Warren Classical Institute for four years and afterward matriculated
in Brown University at Providence, where he studied two year,- for the min-
istry. Changing his view- regarding a life work, he then began the study of
medicine in the Universitj of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated
as a member of the class of 1860. He located for practice at Ganges, Allegan
county, Michigan, where he remained until the outbreak of the Civil war,
when he enlisted as a hospital steward in the Sixth Michigan Infantry. Later
he was transferred as first lieutenant to Company F of the Sixty-fifth Infantry,
or the Scottish Brigade, under command of Colonel Cameron, and when the
brigade was captured at Harper's Ferry, Dr. Tobey was transferred as a pa-
roled prisoner to Camp Douglas at Chicago. Later lie was again transferred,
DR. SAMUEL D. TOBEY
HISTOKY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 355
becoming assistant surgeon in the Eighth Michigan Cavalry, and during the
last two years of the war he saw active service in that capacity in the Western
Army. He was taken prisoner with General Stoneman while on the famous
Stoneman raid and was confined in the negro workhouse jail at Charleston,
South Carolina, being returned to his command when an exchange of prisoners
was made. He participated in both battles at Franklin and was also in the
Atlanta campaign, in which, however, he escaped all injury, and when the
war was over and the country no longer needed his aid he was honorably dis-
charged on the 20th of July, 1865. He had made an excellent military record
in the different divisions of the service with which he was connected and was
ever most loyal to the interests of the government.
After the war Dr. Tobey traveled extensively through the western states,
doing newspaper writing. He served on the editorial staff of the Daily
Times at Leavenworth, Kansas, and of the Daily Tribune at Lawrence, Kan-
sas, being thus connected until 1870, when he came to Pottawattamie county,
where he resumed the practice of medicine at Big Grove, later organized as
Oakland, where he continued as an able follower of his chosen calling until
1906, when he retired after thirty-six years of constant practice as a member
of the medical fraternity. He had kept abreast with the progress made by the
profession and his personal research and investigation had constantly promoted
his efficiency and broadened his knowledge, making him one of the able prac-
titioners of this part of the state. Following his retirement he removed to
Council Bluffs to spend his remaining days and he is now making his home
at the Ogden Hotel at No. 169 Broadway. He was the first regular physician
to practice in Oakland and his ability and skill won him a large and profitable
patronage.
Dr. Tobey has also been well known in other relations. In 1896 he took
an active part in the political campaign, giving his support to the democratic
ticket. In that year he was defeated for the legislature, having been a candi-
date for representative from Pottawattamie county. He served as mayor of
Oakland during the year 1897 and for two years was president of the Old
Settlers' Association for the counties of Pottawattamie, Mills and Fremont.
In 1903 he was chosen commander of the Veterans' Association of Old Soldiers,
being honored with that position for two years.
Dr. Tobey has been married twice. He first wedded Estella D. Jilson, a
daughter of Welcome Jilson, the wedding being celebrated at AYaukegan, Illi-
nois, September 29, 1859. Her death occurred at Ganges, Michigan, July 3,
1866, when she had reached the age of twenty-five years, one month and eleven
days. Oh the 9th of October, 1S69, Dr. Tobey was married to Augusta J. Ful-
ler, at Lawrence, Kansas, a daughter of Chauncey Fuller, whose home was in
Oakland. She died November 2, 1895, at the age of fifty-one years, six months
and eleven days. The children of that marriage were as follows: Carolyn S.
Tobey, born December 25, 1870, attended the Oakland schools for several
years and later pursued her studies in the college at Shenandoah, Iowa, in the
Female College at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and in the ladies' department of
Harvard University, from which she was graduated. She then became prin-
cipal of the high school at Oakland but in 1907 resigned her position there to
356 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
go to Golden, Colorado, to accept the position of teacher of Latin in the high
school of that place. Frances J. Tobey, the second daughter, was born in Oak-
land, October 27, 1872, and is a graduate of the high school of her native town.
She, too, was a student in the college at Shenandoah, Iowa, and in the college
at Lincoln, Nebraska. Afterward she was graduated from the Emerson School
of Oratory at Boston, Massachusetts, and was elected a member of the faculty
of that institution. After filling the position for two years she resigned and
entered the lecture field, traveling through the southern states for several years,
with headquarters at Atlanta, Georgia. She now lives in Greeley, Colorado,,
and is a member of the faculty of the Colorado State Normal School.
For more than forty years Dr. Tobey has been a member of the Masonic
fraternity and is also a very popular member of the Elks. He belongs to the
Congregational church and in his life his actions have been guided by the
principles of the church and of the fraternal organizations with which he is
connected. During his younger days he was a versatile writer of poetry and
prose, his productions always being accorded generous space in the leading
papers and magazines. He is widely recognized as a man of broad, scholarly
attainments and culture. He has left his impress upon every community with
which he has been associated. Today he is living retired in Council Bluffs, be-
ing the owner of several remunerative rental properties in Oakland, which sup-
ply him with a liberal income.
LUCAS F. NEUMAYER.
The Neumayer Hotel, long a factor in the business life of Council Bluffs,
is now conducted by the firm of Neumayer & Mergen. The senior partner,
one of the native sons of the city, was born October 14, 1874. His father,
Jacob Neumayer, was a native of Germany and coming to America resided
for many years in Council Bluffs, whore lie established and conducted the
Neumayer Hotel. He married Miss Franciska liaumeister, and unto them
were born eight children, of whom three are living: Theresa, the wife of
Matthias P. Mergen, of Council Bluffs; Lucas V.. of this review; and Louisa.
Mr. Neumayer. whose name introduces this sketch, was reared in the
place of his nativity and was a pupil in the public schools in early boyhood,
while in 1892-3 he attended St. Benedict's College, in Atchison, Kansas.
Leaving that city in L894, lie returned to Council Bluffs and for a year
occupied a position as clerk in the Boston store. He then entered the Neu-
mayer Hotel, with which he has since been connected, the present firm of
Neumayer & Mergen being formed in 1903. They have since been pro-
prietors of the hotel and have conducted it along lines pleasing to the public
as indicated by the liberal patronage which is accorded them.
In September, 1903, Mr. Neumayer was married in Council Bluffs to
Miss Mary A. McGann. Thev had one daughter and one son, the latter now
deceased. The wife and mother died in January. 1907. Mr. Neumayer is
a member of the Catholic church and is a democrat. The greater part of
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 357
his life has been spent in Council Bluffs, where he is widely known and
public opinion is altogether favorable regarding him as a citizen and as a
business man.
AUGUST F. DAMMROW.
August F. Dammrow, cashier of the Treynor Savings Bank of Treynor,
Iowa, has made for himself a creditable record in business circles and has
never had occasion to regret his emigration to America, when the family
left the fatherland and came to the United States in 1884. He was born in
Brandenburg, Germany, January 5, 1870, and his parents were August and
Mary (Draeger) Dammrow, who were also natives of the same locality, born
July 12, 1837, and August 6, 1841, respectively. It was in the year 1884
that they determined to come to the new world and crossed the briny deep,
making their way at once to Pottawattamie county, where they have since
lived, their home being now upon a farm in Silver Creek township. They
had two children, the daughter being Anna, now the wife of Nia Duysen,
who is living near Henderson in Mills county, Iowa.
August F. Dammrow spent the first fourteen years of his life in the
land of his nativity and then bade adieu to the friends of hi- boyhood
preparatory to sailing for the United States. He has since lived in Potta-
wattamie county and remained upon the home farm until he came into the
bank. In 1887 he began farming on his own account and is now owner of
a good farming property two miles east and a mile and a half south of Trey-
nor, comprising two hundred and fifty acres of rich and productive land in
Silver Creek township. He acquired a high-school education in his native
country and in the school of experience has learned many valuable lessons.
Under the parental roof he was trained to habits of economy, industry and
perseverance and these qualities have proved salient features in his success
as the years have gone by. In addition to tilling the soil he has been engaged
in the cattle business since becoming owner of the farm, buying, feeding
and shipping cattle, in which connection he has met with gratifying pros-
perity.
On the 1st of July, 1906, Mr. Dammrow became cashier of the Treynor
Savings Bank, which was established on the 20th of May, 1902. It is capi-
talized for fifteen thousand dollars and has a surplus of two thousand dollars ;
its present officers are W. B. Oakes, president; M. Flammant, vice president;
and August F. Dammrow, cashier. Mr. Dammrow is a popular officer owing
to his unfailing courtesy to the patrons of the bank as well as his own relia-
bility in all business affairs.
He belongs to the Free Congregational church of Treynor and withholds
his co-operation from no movement or measure that promises to promote
the public good or advance the interests of society in any way. He was mar-
ried to Miss Sieke Duysen. who was born in Holstein, Germany, August 14,
1871, a daughter of Dudley Duysen, who is still living in the fatherland.
358 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Mr. and Mrs. Dammrow have three children: Elsie, Detlef and Arnold.
Since their marriage they have resided upon the farm but expect soon to
occupy a new home in Treynor. They are well known socially and have the
warm regard of a large circle of friends. In his business career Mr. Damm-
row has made an excellent record for he has made good use of his oppor-
tunities, has molded conditions to his own ends, and at the same time has
been considerate of the rights of others in all commercial transactions.
PAUL C. DE VOL.
Paul C. De Vol, deceased, was one of the oldest and best known business
men in Council Bluffs, where for many years he was well known as a hard-
ware and tinware merchant. He was also closely associated with commer-
cial interests in Omaha and in business oircles sustained an unassailable
reputation by reason of the progressive and honorable methods which he
followed. He came to Council Bluffs with his parents in 1847, when he was
only eleven years of age, his birth having occurred in Columbia county,
New York, on the 10th of January, 1836.
His parents were David and Delia (Tobey) De Vol. His mother was
born in the Empire state. January 9, 1812, and the father's birth occurred in
Chatham, New York, on the 27th of November, 1805. He was a son of
Joshua and Martha (Gifford) De Vol, both of whom were natives of Massa-
chusetts but were of French extraction. Following his marriage David De
Vol located in Chatham, New York, where he remained for a year and on
the expiration of that period he removed to West Stockbridge, Massachu-
setts, where he engaged in genera] merchandising for nine year.-. He sought
a home in the middle west, firsl settling at Nauvoo, Illinois, where he resided
for five years, when, in 1846, he again turned his face toward the setting
sun. He journeyed with ox teams and spent one winter along the Des
Moines river, arriving at Council Bluffs in 1847. His connection with the
business interests of his city began as a clerk and he was afterward variously
employed until 1861, when his son Paul opened a stove and tinware store
and the father was associated with him in business throughout the remainder
of his days. Both he and his wife died at the old home at No. 114 South
Firsl street, in Council Bluffs, and thus passed away two of the worthy
pioneer settlers who contributed in substantial measure to the early progress
and upbuilding of the city.
David De Vol was not only well known in trade circle- but was also
the first justice of the peace of Council Bluffs, being elected to the office in
1852. He served in that capacity for several years and rendered decisions
which were strictly fair and impartial. He was also assessor and deputy
district clerk and his opinions regarding political questions were those of
a stanch republican that led to his unfaltering support of the party at all
times.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 359
Unto Mr. and Mrs. De Vol were born ten children: George, now de-
ceased; Harriet, the deceased wife of Norman Green; Paul C, of this review;
Emily, who has departed this life; Mary A., who resides at the old De Vol
homestead at No. 114 South First street, Council Bluffs; Martha, David and
Charles, all of whom have departed this life; Delia, the wife of W. R.
Vaughan, of St. Louis; and William, deceased.
As previously stated Paul C. De Vol was only eleven years of age at
the time the family home was established in Council Bluffs, then known
as Mormon Crossing and later as Kanesville before the present name was
assumed. Here he began attending the public schools and in due course of
time he acquired a very good education. Early in his business life he fol-
lowed any pursuit that would yield him an honest living and was thus
employed in various ways until eighteen years of age, when he began to
learn the tinner's trade, which he followed until 1861. This proved the
initial step of his later business successes, opening to him a field of labor in
which he was destined to win prosperity. In 1861 he entered into partner-
ship with Milton Rogers, and they opened a stove and tinware store, carry-
ing on the business connection for two years. On the expiration of that
period Mr. De Vol purchased his partner's interest and conducted the enter-
prise alone until 1883, when he formed a partnership with W. S. Wright.
They not only conducted the store in Council Bluffs but also opened a job-
bing house, which they carried on for two years. At the end of that time
they organized a stock company under the firm name of Rector, Wilhelmy &
Company, at Omaha, transferring their jobbing business from Council Bluffs
to Omaha but still carrying mi the stove, tinware and hardware business in
the latter city. Mr. De Vol was made president of the company at Omaha,
with Mr. Wright as secretary, and continued to act in that capacity through-
out the remainder of his life. From the beginning the jobbing business
proved a profitable one and is now one of the largest of the kind in this city.
The firm have had many men on the road acting as traveling representatives
of the house, and the business has long since reached mammoth proportions,
owing to the capable management and safe conservative policy which was
inaugurated on the inception of the company. Mr. De Vol was also con-
nected with the stove, hardware and tinware business at the corner of Main
and Broadway streets in Council Bluffs, where a very large trade was en-
joyed. An extensive stock is here carried and Mr. De Vol's son, Paul C. De
Vol, Jr., is now conducting the business and is recognized as a prominent
and influential merchant of the city. The father possessed keen insight and
firm purpose — qualities which are essential to mercantile success. He was
rarely if ever at fault in determining the value or foreseeing the outcome
of a situation, and his business capacity enabled him to rise from a humble
position in the commercial world to one of prominence and affluence.
On the 4th of February, 1868, Mr. De Vol was united in marriage to
Miss Katharine M. Swobe, a native of Johnstown, New York, and a daughter
of Michael Swobe, also of the Empire state, where he was engaged in farm-
ing. At an early day the father came to the middle west, settling in Michi-
gan, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits and also conducted a
360 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
dairy business and cheese factory. His time was thus occupied until his
life's labors were ended in death. His wife, however, died in New York when
in early womanhood. Mr. and Mrs. De Vol became the parents of five chil-
dren : Hattie, now the deceased wife of Clarence Judson ; Mary, who resides
in Council Bluffs with her mother; Paul C, of whom mention is made else-
where in this volume; William Roy, who is connected with his brother in
the hardware business in Council Bluffs; and Arthur, deceased.
During the latter years of his life the father, Paul C. De Vol, attended
to his business interests in both Council Bluffs and Omaha and met with a
very gratifying measure of prosperity. Though he started in life empty-
handed he became one of the successful merchants of the city, and his
financial position at his death was in strong contrast to his financial standing
as he started out. His first business venture was of very meager proportions
and of very primitive nature. He secured a space some six feet in width
between two buildings and kept a small stand, selling pies, ginger bread,
cider and other commodities to emigrant; who were on their way west. This
was the beginning, and the end is too well known to need recounting here,
for Mr. De Vol was regarded as one of the prominent merchants of Council
bluffs. An analyzation of his life work shows that he was ever reliable and
trustworthy in his dealings, that he was progressive in his methods and watch-
ful of opportunities, and these qualities constitute a safe foundation upon
which to rear the superstructure of wealth.
In politics Mr. De Vol was a stanch republican and although not an
office seeker he served as alderman for one term. During the greater part
of his life he was a member of the Presbyterian church and for many years
prior to his death was one of the most honored members of the First Pres-
byterian congregation in Council Bluffs. lie belonged to the Omaha Com-
mercial Club and was the first president of the Iowa Retail Hardware Asso-
ciation, while his son, Paul O, is now filling the presidency. His influence
was ever found on the side of improvement and progress. Socially he was
connected with the Royal Arcanum and with the Odd Fellows society, pass-
ing through all of the chairs in the Council Bluffs lodge, No. 49. Although
in ill health for several year.-- prior to his death he continued to give personal
supervision to his business interests until his demise, which occurred De-
cember 26, 1903. He had at that time been a resident of the city for fifty-six
years and had seen its growth from a little village into a city of metropolitan
proportions with every commercial possibility. His development was com-
mensurate with the growth of the city and he belonged to that class of rep-
resentative men who, while promoting individual success, also contribute
largely to the public welfare. He had the confidence of his business asso-
ciates, the respect of all who knew him, and wherever lie was known he
gained warm friendships and kindly regard.
When Mr. Do Vol was called to his final rest the company with which
he was so long connected passed the following resolutions:
"'Whereas. It has pleased our loving Father and divine Ruler to remove
from us our esteemed president, beloved friend and valued business asso-
ciate. Paul Coleman De Vol, therefore be it resolved:
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 361
"That while we recognize our loss as his eternal gain, we feel that in his
removal from us we have lost a fellow worker, who was broad, generous and
conscientious in his views, firm and steadfast in purpose and considerate in
action, whose counsel was as wise and conservative as his integrity was un-
flinching, and whose best in thought, act and deed was freely given for the
good of his associates.
"Resolved, That our sympathy be extended to his family who, while
they have lost his genial presence and kind consideration for their interests,
have left the memory of a kind and loving husband and father and a good
name that will be an example for future generations to follow.
"Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon the records
of the corporation. Wright & Wilhelmy Company."
The press wrote at considerable length on the life of Mr. De Vol and
the daily Nonpareil said: "His death causes widespread sorrow, for there
were few people in this city who did not know and cherish the highest regard
for the kindly, sturdy and upright man. In his death the city loses one
who exerted an active force in its formative period and whose counsels were
sought and heeded in all of the crises that have marked the municipal his-
tory. The influence he exerted was always for the best."
Mrs. De Vol still survives her husband and owns a large and beautiful
residence at No. 332 Willow avenue, where she and her two children are
living. Prior to her marriage she was a teacher in the public schools for
three years. She has long been prominent in society here, and her social
qualities render her a general favorite. Like her husband, she holds mem-
bership in the First Presbyterian church and is much interested in its work
and growth.
NEWTON J. RICE, M. D.
Dr. Newton J. Rice, a well known and prominent physician of Council
Bluffs, is a native of Iowa, born in Harrison county in 1860, and there spent
the days of his boyhood and youth, his early education being acquired in
the public schools of that county. Later he attended Tabor College at Tabor,
Iowa, from which he was graduated in 1884. In order to fit himself for the
practice of medicine, which he had decided to make his life work, he entered
Rush Medical College in Chicago and was graduated from that institution
in 1887 with the degree of M. D.
Going to California, Dr. Rice opened an office at Escondido, San Diego
county, and there engaged in general practice until 1894, when he returned to
Tabor, Iowa, where he practiced until his removal to Council Bluffs in 1900.
Soon after locating here he accepted the position of assistant professor in the
chair of materia medica at the Omaha Medical College, now the University of
Nebraska. It was not long before his skill and ability in his chosen profession
became recognized and he now receives a liberal share of the public patronage.
He is a progressive physician, thoroughly up-to-date in his methods of prac-
362 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
tice, and has a broad and comprehensive knowledge of the science of medicine
and its application to the needs of suffering humanity. He is now serving as
health officer of Council Bluffs and while a resident of Escondido, California,
filled the office of alderman. In religious faith he is a Congregationalist and
is popular both in professional and social circles, having a host of warm friends
in his adopted city.
WILLIAM H. TAYLOR,
The history of the west is largely familiar to William H. Taylor, whose
experiences have connected him with the great section of the country lying
on this side of the Mississippi river. Although born in Clark county, Illinois,
on the 5th of March, 1842, he was only a year old when in the spring of 1843
the parents removed with their family to Wapello county, Iowa, settling five
miles south of Eddyville. The paternal grandfather, Brazilla. Taylor, served
in the war of 1812 under Andrew Jackson and participated in the battle of
New Orleans. He was one of four brothers who took part in that fight and
one of the number died of yellow fever. They also fought the Creek Indians
under the command of Jackson.
Pleasant Taylor, father of our subject, was born in Smith county, Ten-
nessee, and from that state went to Indiana, where at the age of nineteen
years he was married to Miss Jane Allison, a native of Pennsylvania, who
accompanied her parents to Indiana in her girlhood days. Mr. and Mrs.
Taylor lived for some time in Montgomery county, Indiana, afterward in
Barry county, Missouri, and subsequently became residents, of Clark county,
Illinois, whence in 1843 they n moved to Wapello county, Iowa. There they
resided for a number of years, when they started for California, but the
smallpox was so prevalent that they did not continue their journey beyond
Pottawattamie county and settled eight miles south of the present home of our
(subject in Silver Creek township. He was the first gentleman to locate among
the Mormons and bought a claim of D. Jacobs for four hundred and fifty
dollars. This was before the first United States surveys had been made, but
a colony of Mormons had located in this district and had done something
toward developing the land. Upon the claim which he secured Mr. Taylor
resided until February, 1855, when he removed to Washington township,
settling at what is now Taylor's Station, the postoffice of Taylor being named
in honor of the family. Mr. Taylor for several years kept the stage station
on the line between Des Moines and Council Bluffs, this line being owned by
the Western Stage Company, who were owners of various stage lines in the
middle west and well known at that day. He also developed his farm, trans-
forming the raw prairie into richly cultivated fields. His first wife died in
1868. There were five children of that marriage: James A., who died in
Washington township at the age of sixty-two years; Mrs. Mary A. Gorton,
living in Oklahoma; Thomas, who died at the age of four years; Pleasant
M., who died at the age of fifteen years; and William H, of this review.
-AIR. AND MRS. \V. II. TAYLOR.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 365
After the death of his first wife the father married Sidney A. Webb, of Silver
('reck township.
William II. Taylor, whose name introduces this record, accompanied
his parents on their various removals and was reared amid the wild scenes
and environments of pioneer life, sharing with the family in the hardships
and privations incident to the establishment of a home upon the frontier.
He can well remember the time when the family dwelling was a stage station
and various travelers of the early days were there entertained, hi the spring
of 1864 Mr. Taylor made a. trip with his father to that part of Montana
which was then included in Idaho. They traveled across the country with
ox-teams to Virginia City and worked in the mines in that locality. The
return trip was made in the fall of 1865, proceeding down the Missouri river
by steamboat. They came in contact with about two thousand Indians at
Fort Rice, where they had met to make a treaty with the whites. His experi-
ences in the northwest left upon the mind of Mr. Taylor many ineffaceable
impressions. During the absence of himself and father the family remained
in this county.
Following bis return to Iowa Mr. Taylor was married on the 28th of
September, 1865, to Miss Mary E. Bratton, wdio was born near Winchester,
Ohio, in 1845. and came to Iowa in 1855 with her parents, John and Rebecca
(Harris) Bratton, who located in Grove township, Pottawattamie county.
The father was born in Pennsylvania and the mother in Tuscarawas county,
Ohio, and after removing to Iowa they continued their residence in this
county until called to their final rest. Mr. Bratton was a carpenter by trade
and followed that pursuit the greater part of bis life. However, be made
extensive and judicious ' investments in real estate, owning at one time nearly
one thousand acres of land. He died February 7, 1805. at the age of eighty
years, one month and thirteen days, while his wife passed away November 15,
1895, in her seventy-seventh year. They were the parents of five children:
George W., deceased; Mrs. Martha L. Taylor, of Silver City, whose husband
is a cousin of William H. Taylor; Mrs. Mary E. Taylor; James H., who died
at the age of four years; and John A., who died when a year and a half old.
Mrs. William H. Taylor's maternal grandfather was George W. Harris, one
of the first settlers of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, going there from Virginia
when a young man. Every evidence of pioneer life was to be found there.
The Indians were still numerous and his father-in-law, Mr. Evans, was shot
through the wrist by one of the red men but was rescued by men from the
fort. John Bratton, the father of Mrs. Taylor, became a prominent and influ-
ential citizen of western Iowa. He served as county judge here for two terms,
beginning in 1865, and left the impress of his individuality upon the judicial
history of the state. In politics he was a stalwart repiiblican but when a can-
didate for county judge was also endorsed by the democrats — such w r as his
personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow towns-
men. We was a minister of the Protestant Methodist church and was inter-
ested in all that tended to uplift humanity and worked for the good of
mankind.
366 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Taylor located upon the farm where
his father first settled, living there until 1869, when they came to their present
farm on section 3, Silver Creek township. This comprises one hundred and
thirty-five acres of land which is rich and arable, returning good crops annually.
Mrs. Taylor also owns two hundred and thirty-eight acres adjoining the home
farm on the west and Mr. Taylor has fifty-five acres in Washington, while his
wife has one hundred and thirty-one acres there. Mr. Taylor has made all
of the improvements upon his place and his labors have converted it from
a wild and uncultivated tract of land into one of rich fertility and productive-
ness. He cultivates the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also buys,
raises and feeds stock. His business interests are carefully managed and he
has gained recognition as one of the substantial and representative agricul-
turists of the community.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been born three children : George P., who
is living in Washington township, is married and has two living children,
while one child has passed away; Rebecca J. is the wife of F. M. Smith, of
Silver Creek township, and they have four children living, while two are
deceased ; Emma L. is the wife of Erasmus L. Long, of Silver Creek township,
and they have five children.
Mr. Taylor and his family are prominent and well known in this part
of the state. No history could be complete without mention of his record, for
from pioneer times down to the present he has been closely associated with the
growth and development of Iowa. He is, moreover, familiar with the
history of the northwest in its early mining days and knew what it was to
travel across the plains where there was no habitation to be met with for mile
after mile. In improving the rich natural resources of this part of the county
he has gained substantial financial recognition and well deserves mention as
an early settler.
PETER LANGER.
Peter Langer is accounted one of the worthy and leading representa-
tives of agricultural interests and of business life in Minden. He owns
about four hundred acres of valuable land near the town, from which he
gains a good annual income. In 1878 he became a resident of the county
and in the spring of 1879 took up his abode in Minden township. Like
many of the residents of this locality he is of German birth, the place of his
nativity being Schleswig, Germany, and the date January 12, 1853. He
spent the first thirteen years of his life in his native country and then emi-
grated with his parents to the United States in 1867, arriving at St. Paul,
Minnesota, on the 1st of May. Three months later he went to Davenport,
Iowa. In his youth he worked at farm labor for several years and later went
south to Mississippi and Louisiana, where he was employed on cotton planta-
tions for four years. He then returned to Davenport and in that locality he
rented land which he cultivated for four years.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 367
In 1878 Mr. Langer came to Pottawattamie county and here made his
first purchase, buying three hundred and twenty acres, constituting his present
farm. In the fall of 1878 he built a house and barn, took up his abode upon
the place and with characteristic energy began to cultivate and improve it.
Later he bought more land from time to time and he now owns four hun-
dred acres in the home place. In all of his work he has been practical, fol-
lowing systematic methods that have produced good results. In the tilling
of the soil he has been careful to keep his fields productive through the
rotation of crops and the judicious use of fertilizers. He now owns about
seven hundred acres in Minden township, all well improved land, making
him one of the extensive property holders in this locality. He was one of
the promoters, stockholders and organizers of the Farmers Savings Bank,
which was established in 1903, and at that time he was chosen president. It
is now a well known and substantial institution. Mr. Langer is widely
recognized as one of the foremost, progressive and public-spirited men of his
part of the county. In 1904 he was one of the promoters and organizers
of a company which built and put in operation a canning factory for can-
ning sweet corn, which has since been carried on successfully and is a valued
addition to the business enterprises of the community, furnishing an excel-
lent market to those who raise sweet corn and also giving employment to a
large number of workmen and at the same time bringing good financial
return to the stockholders. Recently Mr. Langer has sold his interest in
the factory, of which he was a director and vice president. He has regarded
real estate as the safest of all investments and has bought and sold property
until his possessions at the present time include one thousand acres in South
Dakota and six hundred and forty acres in Texas.
In 1876, at Davenport, Mr. Langer was married to Miss Vilena Bloomer,
a native of Switzerland, and unto them have been born ten children, six sons
and four daughters: John, a resident farmer of Pleasant township; Peter,
who is cashier in the Farmers Savings Bank at Minden ; Christ ; Jake ;
William; Walter; Rachel, the wife of Charles Stuhr, of Minden; Christina,
the wife of Gustav Bamesberger, a farmer of Minden township ; Anna and
Ella, at home. The family are widely and favorably known in this part
of the county and the members of the household occupy an enviable position
in social circles in which they move.
Mr. Langer is a republican, interested in the political questions and
issues of the day and giving loyal support to the party. He was elected
and served for a number of years as township trustee, has also been presi-
dent of the school board and has frequently been a delegate to county con-
ventions. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church and attends
its services. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow and became a charter member
in Minden lodge, in which he has served as vice grand. He is also con-
nected with the Woodmen of the World and has served as an officer in the
local lodge of that order. He is widely recognized as one of the substantial
and progressive men of Pottawattamie county, has assisted in its material
development and has been closely associated with its prosperity and with
its upbuilding. He has the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has
368 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
come in contact and is widely recognized as a man of excellent business
ability, whose industry and enterprise are demonstrated in the splendid suc-
cess which has crowned his efforts. He deserves much credit for the position
to which he has attained as a business man and his life record proves that
success and an honored name can be won simultaneously.
FRED P. SHUTTLEWORTH.
A farm hand, a renter and now a prosperous land owner — such has been
the business career of Fred P. Shuttleworth, whose realty interests embrace
four hundred and forty acres of valuable land in Valley township and who
is also extensively and successfully engaged in raising and feeding cattle.
His advancement has been made by successive steps — the improvement of
each opportunity that has come to him and the careful utilization of the
talent- with which nature endowed him.
A native of Granl county. Wisconsin, he was born Augusl 25, 1S63,
a .-on of Craven and Nancy (Kaley) Shuttleworth. His parents were natives
.if Yorkshire, England, and after their marriage took passage on ;i -ailing
v.— el which, after a voyage of six weeks readied American shores. They
settled in Madison, Wisconsin, and the father, who was a cabinet-maker by
trade, worked on the state capitol, then being erected. After two years
there passed lie removed to Crawford county, Wisconsin, and subsequently
took up hi- abode in Fennimore, thai state, where he turned his attention
to merchandising, in which he was very successful. He was also one of the
promoters of the railroad built fr Woodman to Madison and afterward to
Lancaster, he being the only man of hi- locality who advocated and worked
for the load, acting a.- treasurer until it was -old to the Northwestern Rail-
road Company, putting forth earnest effort for eight years before he saw
hi- hope- nali/. d. lie was associated with Pat Flynn in the building of the
line and having faith in the project he gave extensive credit at his store
to Die construction gangs and thus in various ways he was the dominant
facto,- in the building of the road. At first a narrow gauge line was con-
structed hut later it wa- replaced by the standard gang.' and the road wa>
; to the Northwestern system. In politic- Mr. Shuttleworth was a repub-
lican, influential in the councils of hi- party and tor years lie held one or
another office in the county. He .lied at Madison, Wisconsin, in February,
10(14. and thus closed a life of gre.u activity and usefulness. Iii hi- family
were eight children: Job C, a railroad man living at Centralia. Illinois;
Ella,, the wife of D. P. Guthrie, of Osceola county, Iowa; Farrand K., an
attorney of Madison, Wisconsin; William I)., a lumber and grain merchant
at Ocheyedan, [ow&; Fred I'.: Craven, engaged in the commission bus:
in Omaha. Nebraska; luc If. an attorney of Avoca; and May, who is living
with her sister in Sibley, Iowa.
Removing with his parents to Fennimore. Wisconsin, Fred P. Shuttle-
worth completed hi- education in the high school there. In 188fi he came to
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 369
Iowa, settling in Pottawattamie county, where for two years he worked as a
farm hand by the month. He rented eighty acres of land in 1888 and later
purchased the tract, his ownership thereof proving an added stimulus for
renewed effort and labor. As he has prospered he has added to his posses-
sions from time to time, purchasing one hundred and sixty acre- in 1890.
It was unbroken prairie on which he built and Located. In L893 he bought
an adjoining tract of one hundred and sixty acres and in 1904 purchased
one hundred and twenty acres on section 25. Valley township. Today he
is the owner of four hundred and forty acres of land and is accounted one
of the wealthy agriculturists of his adopted county, lie has made many
improvements on his property, has engaged in the raising of shorthorn
cattle, and for years has Ween extensively engaged in feeding of cattle and
hogs. His business interests have constantly grown in volume and impor-
tance and his labors, intelligently directed, have brought to him the very
desirable measure of success which he is now enjoying.
On February 26, 1890, Mr. Shuttleworth was united in marriage to Miss
Alice Frank, a daughter of John A. Frank, then of Lincoln township. Pot-
tawattamie county, but now of Atlantic, Iowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Shuttle-
worth have been born four children: Vernis K., born May l'.». 1891; Lloyd
D., born July 9, 1893; Parnell, born January 13, 1895; and Jessie May, born
July 2, 1899. The parent- are widely and favorably known and are much
esteemed by many friends. Mr. Shuttleworth exercises his right of franchise
in support of the men and measures of the republican party and has served
as township trustee and member of the school board. His interest in mat-
ters of progressive citizenship i- deep and sincere and Valley township
numbers him among its worthy and prominent residents.
OWEN J. McMANUS.
The subject of this sketch was born in Edmeston, Otsego county, New
York, August 29, 1871. He spent the first ten years of his life under the
parental roof amid the beautiful rural scenes of his native county. Here he
learned the lessons of industry and economy so well taught by hi- parent-.
who were pioneers of central New York. His parents had one paramount
object in view — the education of their children — a family consisting of 'four
boys, of which this is a sketch of the life of the youngest. So whatever sacri-
fices were necessarv, they were made in summer, and winter found the boys
enrolled in school. While all were compelled, by force of circumstance-,
to work on the farm in the summer time, each pursued his studies with
equal diligence in the district school during the winter months.
At the early age of ten our subject left home to work by the month
on a farm and continued to do so for a period of ten years. However, at
the age of fourteen, he left the Empire state and settled in Blackhawk county,
Iowa. After working on the farm during the summer of 1886 he attended
the school in College district in Eagle township. Here he pursued his
370 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
studies with avidity. After working on the farm the following summer
until September he entered Leander Clark (then Western) College, at
Toledo, Iowa. Being able to stay during only the fall and winter terms,
the spring of 1888 found him again on the farm, where he continued until
the autumn, when he resumed his studies at Western College. At Christmas
time, having passed the examination for a license to teach, he began his
career as a teacher at Eagle Center, Blackhawk county, Iowa. He taught in
several schools of Blackhawk county, and finally succeeded to the princi-
palship of the Hudson public schools, which position he resigned to enter the
Normal School at Cedar Falls in the autumn of 1892. After two years of
study here he was graduated from the third year Latin course, receiving
the degree of Bachelor of Didactics. In the fall of 1894 he began his duties
as principal of the Dows public schools, resigning at the close of the year
to enter again upon his studies at the State Normal School. In June, 1898,
he was graduated from the fourth year Latin course, receiving the degree of
Master of Didactics. During his student life at Western College and at the
Normal he took an active part in the social, literary and religious life of the
school.
In the autumn of 1896, he began his duties as principal of the Neola
public schools, a position he filled with satisfaction for a period of four and
one-half years, resigning January 1. 1900, to enter upon his duties as county
superintendent of schools of Pottawattamie county — a position to which he
had been elected at the preceding election.
On July 25. 1900. he was married to Florence A. Baker, the youngest
daughter of Frederick J. Baker, then a farmer living in Pottawattamie
county, but for more than a quarter of a century a wool broker for A. T.
Stewart, the predecessor of John YVanamaker, of New York city. Miss
Baker had been for five years a very successful teacher in the schools of
Iowa, since 1895, the year in which she was graduated from the Iowa State
College, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. As a result of this
union four children have been born: Harold. Constance, Faith and Truth,
three of whom are now living, Harold having died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. MoManua make no effort to enter into the social life of
the community, but their home, which is a model home, is open at all times
to their friends, whom they number as far as their acquaintance extends.
As county superintendent of schools of Pottawattamie county. Mr. Mc-
Manus was never satisfied with anything but the best for teachers and pupils.
The schools under his supervision made greal advancement. New buildings
were erected, school sites were beautified, and the school equipment was im-
proved, until the schools of Pottawattamie county were second to none in
the state. Tn all of his work he was greatly aided by Mrs. McManus, who
was able and disposed to enter into the spirit of the work in a way thai
compelled success. Mr. McManus held the office for seven years, having the
honor of being thrice elected to the office to which no other republican has
ever been re-elected in the history of the county.
For four years Mr. McManus was a member of the state board of educa-
tional examiners, having been endorsed by over ninety per cent of the
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 371
county superintendents and other educators of the state. While he thus
served the state some important steps, looking toward a more rational method
of examination and certification of teachers, were taken by that body, and
Mr. McManus made a record there that received the approval of that exacting
body of people — the teachers of the public schools of Iowa.
Having closed his work as county superintendent of schools January
1, 1907, Mr. McManus opened an office in Council Bluffs, where he could
continue his law reading. He is now prosecuting his law studies under the
direction of Judge Joseph R. Reed, one of the editors of this work and a
distinguished member of the Iowa bar. While thus engaged in completing
his law studies Mr. McManus is giving some attention to the real-estate
business, in which he has been eminently successful. Mr. McManus in
addition to his regular duties finds time for discussing public question -
through the press and from the platform, and as a citizen stands for the
best things in his community. He is active, energetic and public spirited.
Fraternally he is a Royal Arch Mason ; religiously he is a member of the
Baptist church.
FRANK A. FOX.
The care and watchfulness necessary to the successful conduct of a
business, the enterprise and energy which promote progress, are all numbered
among the strong characteristics of Frank A. Fox, who is now filling the
responsible position of manager for the George A. Hoagland lumber business
at Council Bluffs. He was born in Constableville, New York, July 25, 1861,
and when eight years of age accompanied his parents on their removal
to Kirkwood, Illinois. Eighteen months- later the family went to Corning,
Iowa, where the father and mother are still living. The former, Dennis
Fox, was born in Ireland, in 1830, and came to the United States with his
parents in 1834. He was married in New York to Miss Elizabeth Clafiin and
unto them were born eight children, of whom five are yet living: George
M. ; Charles A.; Teresa M., the wife of Lawrence Casey; Frank A.; and
Anna J., the wife of James L. Thompson.
Frank A. Fox, the fourth in order of birth, accompanying his parents
on their various removals, remained at the family home in Corning until
1883 and during that time acquired a good public school education. In
1881 he left school and began work in a grocery store. In 1883 he removed
to Council Bluffs, being then a young man of twenty-two years, and here
he entered the employ of F. W. Spetman & Company, general merchants,
with whom he continued until the 1st of January, 1887. Having in the
meantime saved his earnings, he invested his capital -in a grocery business,
becoming the senior partner of the firm of Fox & Galvin. This was con-
tinued until July, 1888, when Mr. Fox sold out and in 1889 entered the
employ of George Bebbington, a lumber merchant, with whom he continued
until May. 1890. when Mr. Bebbington sold out to George A. Hoagland,
with whom Mr. Fox has since continued. He has gradually worked his
■6T> HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
way upward in the business world until he is now filling the responsible
position of manager of the business.
On the 30th of November, 1889, in Council Bluffs, Mr. Fox was mar-
ried to Miss Wilhelmina C. Spetman, a daughter of H. H. Spetman. He
belongs to the Elks lodge and in his political faith is a democrat. Through-
out almost the entire period of hi- manhood he has lived in Council Bluffs
and his Imsiness record is well known to his fellow citizens as one which has
at all times been creditable.
JOHN H. C.-STUHR.
John H. C. Stuhr. who is now living a retired Life in the little city of
Minden, was for years a prominenl business man and farmer of Pottawat-
tamie county, and is numbered among its old settlers, having for a third of a
century lived within its borders. He was born in the town of Preetz, Hol-
stein, Germany, near Kiel, February "J7. L841, and was there reared to the
age of sixteen years, when, attracted by the broader business opportunities
of the new world, he emigrated to America in 1857, taking passage on a
ship at Hamburg, which was seven weeks and four days in completing the
voyage, during which time two severe storms occurred, lie landed safely,
however, in New York in May, and tin nee proceeded by way of the lakes and
by rail to Davenport, Iowa.
For a time Mr. Stuhr engaged in working on the farm near Davenport
and al.-o in teaming. At the outbreak of the Civil war he became deeply
interested in the event- which were shaping national history, and in Sep-
tember, 1861, offered hi- services to the government. He continued at the
front until L866, serving in the Twelfth and in the Fifteenth Missouri Regi-
ments of Infantry. In both he was a member of Company I. With the
former he served for three years and was then transferred to the fifteenth
Missouri Infantry, when he veteranized, continuing at tie- front then until
after the close of hostilities, lie participated in the battles of Jackson, Vicks-
burg, Lookout Mountain. Missionary Ridge and Ringgold, Georgia. At the last
place the command lost very heavily, many being killed or wounded. He
was also on active duty in the Atlanta campaign, aided in the capture of
Jonesboro and proceeded with Sherman as far as Savannah. With his
command he was then senl on the Carolina campaign, afterward to New York
and later to Nashville. When hostilities had ceased the regiment was
ordered lo Texas, where they were on guard duty until sent later to the
north. Mr. Stuhr was honorably discharged at St. Louis in L866, ami with
a, most creditable military record returned to Davenport, where he engaged
in teaming.
It was on the Hth of October of that year that Mr. Stuhr was married
in Davenport to Miss Eva Ahron, a native of Germany, in which countrj
she was reared. Following their marriage Mr. Stuhr rented a tract of land
in Scott couhtv, which he cultivated for eighl year-, and in 1874 he cami
z
Q
-J}
d
I— I
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 375
Pottawattamie county, purchasing land near Shelby. The tract was wild
and unimproved, but in the course of years he opened up and developed a
good farm of two hundred and live acres. After living there for some time
he turned the place over to the care of his son, who is still operating it.
Coming to Minden, Mr. Stuhr engaged in the grain trade for seventeen or
eighteen years. He took up his abode in the town in the fall of L893. In
1892 he had purchased an eighty-acre farm near the town, which he greatly
improved, adding to it many substantial buildings. This farm he sold in
1904 for one hundred and twenty-five dollars per acre and he .sold the old
home place for one hundred and ten dollars per acre. In Minden he has
erected a number of residences, thus adding to the material improvement
and development of the town. His own home is a line pressed brick dwelling,
commodious and attractive in style of architecture. He has here ten acres
of land, for which he paid one hundred and fifty dollars per acre. He has
helped to improve and make the county what it is today and his labor-
have been especially beneficial to the town of Minden. In all that he under-
takes he is practical, following methods that lead to substantial result.-.
In 1882 Mr. Stuhr was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife,
who had for fifteen years been to him a faithful companion iand helpmate
on life's journey. She died on the old homestead farm, her death being
deeply regretted by many friends, as well as her immediate family. There
were eight children of this marriage; William, who now owns and culti-
vates the old home place; Emma, the wife of William Martins: Mary;
Clara, the wife of William Schultz, of Davenport; Katie, the wife of Charles
Lantz, railroad agent and telegraph operator at Durant, Iowa; Tillie, the
wife of Harry Jens, a farmer of Pottawattamie county; Dora, the wife of
Otto Soukop, a farmer of this county; and Anna, the wife of Herman Ball,
of Minden. In 1883 Mr. Stuhr was married in Plea-ant township to Miss
Abel Lienaun, also a native of Germany. There are four children by this
marriage: Amel W., John O, Olga and Alma.
Mr. Stuhr cast his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln in
1864, when a member of the army, and has supported each presidential
nominee at the head of the republican ticket. While in Pleasant township
he served as assessor for six consecutive years. He has been identified with
the schools as a member of the school board for a long period and also as
its president, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart champion.
Moreover, he has served as a delegate to county conventions and has been
township trustee. In every position that he has been called upon to fill he
has proven himself a faithful officer and one most loyal to the best interests
of the community. He belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge at Shelby and to
the encampment, and in the lodge has filled all of the chairs and is a past
grand, while he has served as delegate to the grand lodge at Sioux City. He
is also a member of the Grand Army post at Shelby and thus maintains
pleasant relations with his old army comrades. He is one of the few remain-
ing veterans of the Civil war who fought for the old flag and the Union.
Since coming to America he had made a splendid record as a business man,
winning success by industry and perseverance, carefully placing his earn-
376 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
ings in real estate, which is the safest of all investments. He is now the
owner of five hundred and sixty acres of land near Missouri Valley, Har-
rison county, Iowa, of which his son-in-law is cultivating two hundred and
forty acres, and while winning success in a material way he has also gained
an honored name in the land of his adoption and is regarded as one of the
public-spirited and worthy citizens of Pottawattamie county.
FRANK R. CHILDREN.
Frank R. Children, manager of the Children's Sons Manufacturing
Company, manufacturers of agricultural implements, is a prominent repre-
sentative of industrial circles in Council Bluffs, his intense and well directed
activity gaining for him a creditable position in the business world. He was
born in Dunleith, now East Dubuque, Illinois, in 1868, and is of English
lineage. His paternal grandfather, Robert Children, was born in England
and came to America in 1846, his last days being spent in Dunleith, Illinois.
Throughout the greater part of his active business life in this country he
was identified with farming and he also appeared at different times on the
lecture platform.
Edwin Children, father of our subject, was born in England on Christ-
mas day of 1830 and was brought to America by his parents in 1846, the
family home being established in Michigan. Five years later he went to
southern Wisconsin, where he remained until 1852, when he crossed the
plains to California, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast
and the business opportunities which were thereby opened up. He con-
tinued for four years in that section of the country, working at his trade
of blaoksmithing at French Camp, about thirty miles from San Francisco.
In 1856 he returned by way of the isthmus and settled on a farm near
Lancaster. Grant county. Wisconsin, where he carried on general agricul-
tural pursuits until 1867. Removing in that year to Dunleith, Illinois, he
began the manufacture of corn cultivators and in 1892 he came to Council
Bluffs, continuing his residence here until he was called to his final home
on the 13th of June. 1900. In Lancaster, Wisconsin, ho married Miss Sarah
Carter, who was born in Sussex, England, May 29, 1S40, and came to the
United States with her parents in LS50. Of the children born to Edwin
Children and wife five are yet living: Laura A., Nina A., Frank R., Fay B.
and William C. While living in East Dubuque or Dunleith the father
served for several terms as alderman and was there recognized as a citizen
of genuine personal worth, opposed to misrule in public affairs and stand-
ing for all that is just and right in every relation of life. Both he and his
wife held membership in the Swedenhorgian church.
Frank R. Children spent the greater part of his youth in his native
city and acquired his education in its public schools, which he attended to
the age of fifteen years, when he put aside his text-hooks and entered his
father's factory. There he became familiar with the business of manufactur-
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 377
ing corn cultivators and in September, 1892, the factory was removed to
Council Bluffs, so that he became a resident of this city. Here the business
was incorporated in August, 1900, under the name of E. Children & Sons,
of which Frank R. Children became president and so continued until the
fall of 1906, when William C. Children was chosen president and Frank R.
Children manager, while E. G. Anderson continued as secretary. When the
factory was removed to Council Bluffs the business was carried on under
the name of E. Children & Sons, which was also the first incorporated name,
but in August, 1904, the present style was assumed. It is true that Frank
R. Children entered upon a business already established but in enlarging
and extending this in scope many a man of less resolute spirit would have
failed. He is a man of broad outlook and keen discrimination and has dis-
played marked ability in the management of the business, which is now a
successful productive industry of Council Bluffs. He belongs to the Benevo-
lent & Protective Order of Elks and is well known socially, having many
warm friends in his adopted city.
FRITZ BERNHARDT
Fritz Bernhardt owning and conducting the barber shop in the Grand
Hotel in Council Bluffs, was born in Cassel, Germany, on the 11th of October,
1844, his parents being George and Marie (Crell) Bernhardi, who were like-
wise natives of Cassel, the former born in March, 1802, and the latter in
1811. The father was a shoemaker by trade and died in his native land
in 1872, while his wife passed away in the same country in 1875.
Their son, Fritz Bernhardi, was a pupil in the common schools of Ger-
many between the ages of six and fourteen years. He was then appren-
ticed to learn the trade of barber and worked for four years in this way
without receiving compensation for his services. He was then granted a
diploma, issued by the civil authorities of his native town, permitting him
to practice his profession and still has this document in his possession. In
1865 he went to Hamburg, Germany, to follow his chosen calling, walking
across the country with his pack of clothes in one hand and a cane in the
other. He also carried with him a pipe of large dimensions, without which
the son of Germany never feels at home. Mr. Bernhardi remained in Ham-
burg for a year, and two weeks after his arrival there he met Johanna Woll-
burg, whom he afterward made his wife. Upon his return to Cassel he
entered the army and served for three years in the war between Prussia and
Austria. He then returned to Hamburg after his discharge from military
service in 1868. It was in 1869 that he married and in the same year he
engaged in the barber business on his own account, continuing therein for
a year. In 1870 he again enlisted in the army and saw active service in
the war between France and Prussia for eleven months, when he was honorably
discharged, having in the meantime been promoted from private to the rank
of corporal.
378 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
While Mr. Bernhardi was at the front his business was destroyed and
he was left without anything to work with save his honest hands and good
tools. He again opened up a shop in Hamburg but after a short time he
disposed of his business there and entered the employ of the Hamburg Steam-
ship. Company as barber and doctor's assistant. For eight years he remained
with that company, crossing the Atlantic eighty-five times. On one of these
trips he met the late George Keeline, St., of Council Blurt's, who was suffer-
ing from carbuncles on his back. Mr. Bernhardi treated him and upon
inquiry concerning his nativity Mr. Keeline learned that our subject was
a fellow countryman. A warm friendship sprang up between them and it
was through the influence of Mr. Keeline thai Mr. Bernhardi came to Council
Bluffs, being ottered unlimited assistance by Mr. Keeline if he would engage
in business in this city. Accordingly, in 1879, he decided to come to
America, locating first, however, at Long Branch, where he remained for only
a short time. On the 4th of October, 1879, with his wife, whom he had
married December 18, 1869. he came to Council Blurt's and has here since
conducted a barber shop.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bernhardi have Keen born the following named:
Bertha, born in Hamburg, Germany, is the wife of John Hinkle, a linotype
operator, who is employed in the office of the Daily Nonpareil of Council
Blurt's. They have four children. Gertrude, Madge, Dorothy and Fritz.
Mary, horn in Hamburg, became the wife of Ephraim Strong in 1901.
Mr. Strong operates a machine repair business in Omaha bul lives in this
c ity and unto him and bis wife has been born one child. Donald. Robert,
born in Hamburg, was married in 1901 to Mrs. Elizabeth Tanner, nee Watt.
and they have two children, Bernice G. and Ethel. Mrs. Tanner had two
children of first marriage, Cecil and Margaret Tanner. They live in Council
Bluffs, when- Roberl is employed in hi.- father's shop. Fredericks, born in
Hamburg, was married in 1901 to Walter Ellis, who is employed by the
Kimball Elevator Manufacturing Company of this city, and they have one
child. Margaretta. Mary and Fredericks were married at the same time and
place. Helena, horn in Hamburg, was married in March, 1902, to Theo-
dore Rosch, a plumber, and they have two children. Eldred and a baby.
George William, born in Council Bluffs, was married December 24, 1905,
to Hattie Huntington, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Huntington, and
they have one child. George W. Bernhardi holds a responsible position as
bookkeeper in the Commercial National Bank. Oscar is employed as a bar-
bel in his father's -hop. Rosalinda lives with her parents.
Mr. Bernhardi owns and conducts the barber -hop in the Grand Hotel.
having on,, of the besl equipped tonsorial parlors of the city. It ha- five
chair- and secures a very liberal ami gratifying patronage. He also owns
his beautiful home at No. 217 South First street, where he has lived for
twenty-six years. He took out hi- final naturalization papers in 1884 and
he is an ardent supporter of the republican party, with which he ha- been
' allied since casting his first presidential ballot for .lame- G. Blaine. He be-
long to the Elk lodge, to the Masonic fraternity, the Royal Arcanum, the
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 379
sons of Hermann and the Reform church. His life has Keen one of busi-
ness activity and whatever success lie has achieved ha.-; come to him as the
merited reward of his own labor.
HENRY II. ROCK.
Henry H. Rock, identified with agricultural interests in Pleasant tovvn-
shipj where bis birth occurred od the 23d of January, 1880, is a. son of
William V. Rock, mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume.
Throughout his entire life he has been identified \\ i 1 1 1 agricultural interests,
fur lie was reared upon the home farm, and since attaining manhood has
engaged in the tilling of the soil. In his boyhood and youth he was a.
pupil in the district schools, where lie acquired a fair English education,
and at the age of twenty-one year- be started out in life on his own account,
working for one year as a farm hand.
Mr. Puck made preparations for having a home of his own by his mar-
riage on the 28th of August, 1901, in Miss Reoa Russmann, of this town-
ship, and in the following spring the young couple located on a farm which
has since been their place of residence. It is owned by Mr. Pock's father
and is a well developed property. Mr. Rock is a successful agriculturist,
and in addition to tilling the soil, in the production of crops best adapted
to the climate, gives considerable attention to the raising of shorthorn cattle,
and this branch of his business adds materially to his income.
Unto Mr. and Mr-. Rock have been born three children, Pearl, Esther
and Lawrence. The parent- are well known socially and have the warm
regard of many friends, who esteem them for their excellent traits of char-
acter. Mr. Rock belongs to Avoca lodge, No. 120, I. 0. 0. F., and to Avoca
camp of the Modern Woodmen. His religious faith is indicated by his
membership in the Lutheran church, to which his wife also belongs. He
is regarded as one of the representative young farmers of Pleasant township,
and, possessing strong traits of character, it is not difficult to predict for
him a successful future. He belong.?, to one of the old and prominent fam-
ilies of this section of the state and his own record is one which reflects
credit upon an untarnished family name.
FREDERICK WILLIAM HABICHT.
The time has long since passed when it is considered that it requires
little mental effort to engage in farming. Today the farmer is as well
trained for his work as is the representative of commercial or professional
life. Agriculture has been reduced to a science, and experiment and investi-
gation have brought to men a knowledge not only of the qualities of the
380 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
soil and the elements which are needed for different kinds of plant life,
but also a knowledge of even the chemical processes which are undergone
as the plant takes up its nourishment from the ground and converts it into
the leaf and to the grain. Regarded as one of the most scientific farmers
of Pottawattamie county, Frederick William Habicht stands today as a
prominent representative of agricultural life here. He is also well known
as a breeder of registered Aberdeen Angus cattle, Poland China hogs and
Plymouth Rock chickens, his opinions being regarded as authority on each
of these.
Mr. Habicht is a native of Kreis, Lauterbach, Germany, born on the
1st of June, 1866, and is a representative of the family which for genera-
tions has been noted for the strong intellectuality of its members in the
section of the fatherland in which they have resided for almost tw : o cen-
turies. Father and son through various generations have preached in the
church at Steinbach, Holenbach, Germany. After a service of about fifty
years in the pulpit at that place, Rev. Ernest Habicht, the grandfather of our
subject, when about to retire from active work of the ministry, was asked by
Kurfeurst, the ruler of that section of Germany in which he resided, to
preach his last sermon from the text which the official should furnish. Rev.
Habicht promised on the condition that he should have the subject some
two or three weeks prior to the time designated for the delivery of the ser-
mon that he might prepare an address worthy so important an occasion.
The days passed and no word came. He entered the pulpit therefore with-
out prior preparation and after the singing of the hymn a knock was heard
at the chancel door and a folded paper was handed him. Opening it and
looking upon each side, he found it blank. Holding the paper up before the
audience he said: "Hero is nothing," and turning the paper over added,
"There is nothing. Out of nothing God made the world. This shall be
my text." He delivered then a powerful sermon, which caused the ruler
to double his pension.
Ansl Ernest Habicht, father of our subject, studied for the ministry but
failed to pass the required and exceptionally rigid examination. He felt
heart broken over his failure to wear the ecclesiastical mantle of his fore-
fathers but turned his attention to other duties. At the usual age he
entered the military service of his country and through the influence of the
Habicht family was later detailed on special duty to guard the estates of a
nobleman, and following his marriage was placed in charge of these estates.
In 1875 he followed his son Frederick William to this country, where he
spent his remaining days, being eventually laid to rest in the cemetery at
Avoca. In early manhood he had wedded Wilhelmina Thiel. and unto
them were born eleven children, of whom three are yet living: Helen, now
the wife of Charles Uhden. of Spokane. Washington; August, who for fifty-
nine years was with the Cereal Mill Company at Akron, Ohio, and i< now
living retired in that city; and Frederick William, of Avoca.
The last named was reared in his native country, where he learned
the blacksmith's trade, and in 1874 he came to the United States, landing
at Castle Garden on the 12th of September of that year, with only three
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 381
cents in his pocket. His passage had been paid to Avoca, Iowa, and on his
arrival in New York city he traded his pocketbook for food to sustain him
on his journey west. Soon after reaching his destination he secured a posi-
tion with John Acker, a hardware merchant, in whose employ he remained
for six months, and then being given a recommendation by Mr. Acker he
went to Council Bluffs, where he secured a position with P. C. De Vol, a
wholesale and retail hardware merchant, in whose employ he continued for
a year. He next went to Akron, Ohio, where for one year he was in a hard-
ware store, after which he secured a position in the Cascade House, then the
leading hotel of that place. He was thus employed until 1867, when he
returned to Iowa. For a few months thereafter Mr. Habicht was engaged
in farm work and later he opened a blacksmith shop in Avoca. He secured
a liberal patronage as a blacksmith but the coal gas caused the failure of his
health and led him to seek employment of a different character.
On the 22d of February, 1882, Mr. Habicht was married to Miss Bertha
Klindt, of Avoca, who was born in Davenport, Iowa. Her father, Peter
KliHdt, came to the United States from Germany with his parents when a
lad of eight years. After his marriage Mr. Habicht turned his attention to
farming, and for six years engaged in the cultivation of rented land. During
that period he carefully saved his earnings, and in 1880 he purchased the
old Pattel farm four miles south of Avoca, in Valley township, comprising
two hundred and ten acres of land. This he successfully operated until
1902, when he sold that farm and removed to the vicinity of Avoca in order
to give his children the advantages of better educational facilities afforded
by the town. His place was about a mile northeast of Avoca and here he
settled after entering upon an understanding with the school board that
his children should be admitted to the town schools. His farm, comprising
one hundred and sixty acres, known as The Cedars Farm, is one of the
finest farms in the state of Iowa. His scientific methods of farming were
recognized by the secretary of agriculture of the United States, who in 1905
sent him twenty-five pecks of winter wheat with instructions concerning
the preparation of the soil and the sowing of the seed. The instructions
which he received, however, did not coincide with his views and after several
letters had passed between him and the agricultural department relative to
this, he was advised to act upon his own judgment. As a consequence he
was the first man to harvest a crop of wheat, yielding forty-three and three-
tenths bushels to the acre in Pottawattamie county. He was one of the
most progressive, as well as one of the best known farmers of the county,
and his opinions are largely regarded as authority in agricultural circles.
In addition to cultivating the cereals best adapted to soil and climate, he is
extensively engaged in breeding registered Aberdeen Angus cattle, Poland
China hogs and Plymouth Rock chickens, and is prominently known in con-
nection with the live-stock interests of this part of the state. He is now a mem-
ber of the Poland China Hog Association and the Aberdeen Angus Cattle
Association. He is likewise a stockholder in the Pottawattamie County Fair
Association and of the Pottawattamie Stock Pavilion.
382 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Habichl have been born nine children, eight of
whom are yet living: Otto, a railroad fireman; Gretchen, the wife of George
Graves, of Manning, Iowa; Bertha and Helen, who are graduates of the
Avoca high school; Minnie. .Martha. Emma and Carl, all yet at home.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church at Avoca, Mr. Ilabicht
being one of it- organizer-. He was the first man to enroll his name as a
member, was the first deacon of the church and is now serving as its col-
lector. In ii- development and growth he is deeply interested and his labors
have contributed much to it- progress a- well a- to its support. In polities
be is independent. For two terms he has served as school director and is a
stalwart champion of practical ami progressive methods of education, lie
belongs to Avoca lodge, No. 220, I. 0. 0. F.. in which he has tilled all of
the offices ami he likewise affiliates with Avoca camp, No. <>•>. M. W. A. He
came tu this country empty-handed and through his unfaltering industry
and perseverance ami good management, combined with unabating business
integrity, In- has become one "I' the prosperous agriculturists of the county,
deserving much credit for whai he has accomplished. Such a record should
serve a- a source '>f inspiration and encouragemenl in others, showing what
may he accomplished by personal effort, and in his work. tn<>. he is dem-
onstrating the fad that intellectuality i- as valuable an asset in agricul-
tural life a- in any other department <>f activity, the scientific methods of
farming which he i- following proving mosl valuable.
BENJAMIN T. STEVENSON.
Benjamin T. Stevenson in his farming interests make.- a specialty of the
raising of lull blooded Galloway cattle, owning some of the best bred cattle in
the -late. His henl is indeed a fine one and he has done much to improve the
!. of cattle produced in Pottawattamie county. In all of bis business in-
terests he is alert ami determined, showing an aptitude for successful manage-
ment.
A native of Ohio. Mr. Stevenson was horn in Greene county, on the JTth
ot December, L852, being the eldest in a family of four children, whose par-
em.- were William and Emma Stevenson. Hie father was horn in Ohio and
the mother in .lame-town. New York. At an early day they arrived in Iowa,
settling in Pottawattamie county among it- pioneer resident-, the father pur-
chasing land where the village of Hancock now .-lands, lie wa.s identified
with the early agricultural development of this part of the state and continued
to make his home in the county until called to his final rest at the venerable age
of eighty-five years. The mother is still living in the village of Hancock.
Their children in addition to Benjamin T. Stevenson are: William R. and
Ada. who are residents of Hancoek; and .1. F.. living in Valley township
Benjamin T. Stevenson accompanied hi.- parents on their removal to
Pottawattamie county in his early boyhood and was here reared amid the wild
scenes and environments of pioneer life. In hi- youth he assisted in the labors
o
02
W
t>
H
x
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 385
of the home farm and when he attained his majority he began working in the
brickyard of Joseph True at Avoca, where he continued for one year. On the
expiration of that period he went to Sacramento, California, where he was em-
ployed for three years, returning to Pottawattamie county at the end of that
time. Here he purchased forty acres of land near Hancock and carried on
general agricultural pursuits for three years. He built the first store building
in the village of Hancock, opened a stock of goods and carried on general
merchandising for a year. On selling out he took another trip to the west and
spent one year in Colorado, after which he returned to Pottawattamie county.
It was at this time that Mr. Stevenson was married to Miss Elizabeth
Powell, who was born near Belvidere, Illinois, in 1860, and is a daughter of
I. H. and Sarah Powell, who were born in the Empire state and are now de-
ceased. Their family numbered ten children. Following their marriage Mr.
and Mrs. Stevenson began their domestic life upon the farm which is yet their
home. Here Mr. Stevenson owns two hundred and forty acres of rich and pro-
ductive land located on sections 22 and 26, Valley township, and in addition
to tilling the soil he is engaged quite extensively in raising full blooded Gallo-
way cattle, his fine herd being one of the attractive features of his farm. Every-
thing about his place is indicative of careful supervision and progressive meth-
ods and his work is conducted along profitable lines.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson have been born six children, of whom four
are yet living: William D., who is at home; Kitty, the wife of Thomas Bell,
of Valley township ; and Cornelius and Emma, at home. Mr. Stevenson votes
with the democracy and has served as school director for four terms, believing
firmly in the cause of public education and doing all in his power to promote
the interests of the schools of his locality. He is a member of the Masonic fra-
ternity at Oakland, in which he has filled all of the chairs and is also a charter
member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Hancock, which has been organized for
twenty-seven years and has lost only one member during that time — a most
remarkable record. In his business life, in his fraternal relations and in the
circles of friendship Mr. Stevenson is highly esteemed as one who is always
loyal to high principles and manly conduct.
ORSON W. GRAHAM.
Orson W. Graham, who for many years owned and controlled one of
the good productive industries of Council Bluffs, being engaged in the opera-
tion of a planing mill, made an excellent record in business circles, hi«
diligence and industry proving the motive power in his success. He was
born in Italy, Yates county, New York, on the 4th of August, 1850. The
family is of Scotch lineage and the name was originally spelled Graeme.
Orson Graham, the grandfather of our subject, however, was a native of
New England, while the father, Lewis B. Graham, was born after the re-
moval of his parents to the Empire state, his birth occurring in Italy, New
York, in 1815. During the years of his early manhood he followed farm-
386 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
ing, continuing active in that pursuit until 1865, when he was elected clerk
of Yates county. He was afterward prominent in politics and established
a real-estate and insurance business in Penn Yan, in which he continued
up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1902. He was married three
times and his second wife, the mother of our subject, was Pamelia S. Green.
They became the parents of three children, of whom Orson W. is the eldest,
the others being Lucretia 0., now the wife of Frank Wagener, of Pueblo,
Colorado; and Mrs. Theodosia T. Baldwin, of Cleveland, Ohio. Lewis B.
Graham was a soldier in the Civil war.
Orson W. Graham was reared in New York to the age of twenty years,
the family, however, removing from Italy to Penn Yan when he was five
or six years of age. During the winter months he attended school and about
1870 removed westward to Moline, Illinois, where he worked at the carpenter's
trade, which he had learned in the east. He spent two years at that place
and then went to Omaha, Nebraska, where he lived for a year. On the ex-
piration of that period he returned to Penn Yan, New York, where he con-
tinued for a year and afterward went to Clinton, Iowa, where he spent two
or three years as a carpenter. In 1877 he arrived in Pottawattamie county
and, settling on a farm in Washington township, gave his time and energies
to general agricultural pursuits for twelve years. In 1889 he came to
Council Bluffs, where he followed carpentering for two years, and in 1891
he established a planing mill, which he operated successfully for sixteen
years or until February, 1907. He then leased the plant, after having been
closely and successfully associated with the productive industries of the city
for a long period.
In 1874, Mr. Graham was married in Hampton, Illinois, to Miss Char-
lotte A. Wells, and they have one daughter and one son: Mary B., now
the wife of James Butler; and Robert E. Graham, twenty-seven years of
age. Mr. Graham belongs to the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks
and to the Independent < >rder of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a republican
where state and national question- axe involved. He served as alderman-
at-largo in Council Bluffs for two years and has ever been deeply interested in
community affairs as a public-spirited citizen who labors effectively and ear-
nestly for the general good. His name is associated with progress in business
and public life.
JOSHUA H. SPALTI.
Joshua H. Spalti needs no introduction to the readers of this volume,
for the name of Spalti has long figured conspicuously and honorably in con-
nection with the business history of Oakland. The subject of this review
was born in Marion county, Iowa, in 1858, and is the eldest son of Henry
Spalti, who is now living in Plcasantville, Iowa, at the age of eighty-three
years. Further mention of the father is marie in connection with the sketch
of Henry H. Spalti on another page of this work.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 387
Upon the home farm Joshua H. Spalti spent the days of his boyhood
and youth and attended the country schools but when only ten years of age
entered his father's store at Pleasantville, where he was employed until 1883.
In that year he joined his brothers, Henry II. and John H., in the establish-
ment of a mercantile business at Bevington, Iowa, and in the spring of 1887
the firm removed to Oakland, where they opened a large store. Success
attended them in this venture and they carried on the business with increas-
ing prosperity for a number of years. At length they established the Spalti
Brothers Bank and carried on the store and bank for some time, when they
decided to divide their interests and Joshua H. Spalti took as his share the
stock of merchandise and the business block which he now occupies on the
west side of Main street. The original dimensions of the store were forty-
three by ninety-five feet but three additions have been made in the past
three years and the floor space now covers an area of one-third of an acre.
The building is of modern steel and iron front, two stories in height and is
an ornament to the town. It was erected in 1890 and the growth of the
trade has demanded its enlargement. Mr. Spalti conducts a complete de-
partment store and no other commercial enterprise of Pottawattamie county
covers as large a space. He carries a stock valued at about sixty-five thousand
dollars and also has large real-estate interests in Pottawattamie and Marion
counties to the extent of sixty thousand dollars.
In 1880 Mr. Spalti was married to Miss Julia E. Conn, who was born
in Warren county, Iowa, in 1859, and is a daughter of John T. and Ellen
Conn, the former a farmer by occupation. They have five children: War-
ren O, who is a member of the firm of Joshua H. Spalti & Son; Ida C,
the wife of Peter G. Green, who is in the employ of her father; Earl E.,
also in the store; Etta C, attending school; and Mona completes the family,
Mrs. Spalti is a member of the Christian church and she presides with
gracious hospitality over their pleasant home.
Mr. Spalti belongs to the Odd Fellows society, the Masonic fraternity
and the Woodmen. He votes with the republican party and is interested
in progressive citizenship as well as the extensive business affairs which make
him a foremost citizen of Oakland. He has developed a remarkable business
for a town the size of Oakland and in fact such an enterprise would be a
credit to any city of the Union. Industry that never flags, energy that is
unabating and ready discernment in intricate business situations are the
strong elements of his success.
JOHN B. ATKINS.
John B. Atkins, deceased, was one of the wealthy and prominent pioneer
citizens of Council Bluffs who for many years was engaged in the drug business,
his trade developing proportionate to the growth and upbuilding of the city.
He also held many offices here and his public services, as well as his business
life, entitled him to the position of prominence which was universally ac-
388 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
corded him. The year 1858 witnessed his arrival in Council Bluffs — a
young man of twenty-three years. He was a native of New York, born
May 29, 1835, his parents being Lewis and Margaret Atkins, who were like-
wise natives of the Empire state. The son was only about a year old when
the parents removed to Mount Clemens, Michigan. The father was a shoe-
maker in early life and following his removal to the middle west he engaged
both in shoemaking and fanning, carrying on the dual pursuits throughout
his remaining days. Both he and his wife died at Mount Clemens.
It was in the common schools of that city that John B. Atkins acquired
his early education, which was supplemented by a course of study in a col-
lege at Detroit from which he was graduated. He afterward attended the
College of Pharmacy in Detroit and likewise completed a course in that
institution. He then returned to Mount Clemens, where he engaged as a
clerk in a drug store until he came to Council Bluffs. The period of his
first residence here, however, was of short duration. He continued to travel
farther westward, spending a short time in Salt Lake City, after which he
again came to Council Bluffs, where he accepted a clerkship in a drug store.
Again, however, he went to the west, locating in Denver, Colorado.
It was in that city that Mr. Atkins was married on the 20th of Octo-
ber, 1859, the lady of his choice being Miss Lydia B. Allen, while theirs
was the first marriage performed in that city. Mrs. Atkins is a representative
of an old and very prominent family of Council Bluffs, her parents being
Colonel Henry and Susan B. (Benner) Allen, both of whom were natives
of Pennsylvania. In the year 1854 the father came to Iowa, settling at
Chariton, where for three years he was government surveyor, in which posi-
tion he surveyed all of the land near Sioux City. He was then sent to
Council Bluffs and also filled the position of government surveyor here, but
on account of hard work was obliged to give up the position. Soon after
he was appointed postmaster and held the office here for two and one half
years. In 1858 he went west on account of ill health and settled in Den-
ver, Colorado, where lie remained until 1861 , in which year he proceeded
southward to New Mexico. He remained there for a short time, going after-
ward to Los Angeles, California, where he made Ins home until his death.
Mrs. Allen still survives and is residing with a daughter in Idaho, being
now eighty-five years of age.
After his marriage Mr. Atkins remained in Denver until the outbreak
of the Civil war, when he went to New Mexico and there enlisted in the
service of his country, being under the command of Colonel Kit Carson
and General Canby. He remained with the Union troops throughout the
war, being in many battles of importance but was never injured, and when
hostilities had ceased he was honorably discharged. After the war he crossed
the plains to Idaho City. Idaho, where he was engaged in the drug business
for three years, and on the expiration of that time he went to Salem, Oregon,
where he conducted a drug store for two years. He and his family then
proceeded by steamer to New York city, after which they returned to Council
Bluffs. Here Mr. Atkins established business, opening a drug store on
Broadway, and throughout his remaining days he engaged in the conduct
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 389
of this store. He had a well appointed establishment, carrying a large and
carefully selected line of goods, and as the years passed by he gained a
measure of success which made him one of the wealthy and substantial resi-
dents of Pottawattamie county.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Atkins were born a daughter and a son: Mary,
who died in Council Bluffs in 1883, was the wife of Dr. Thomas B. Lacey,
St., who was one of the prominent physicians of the city but is also now
deceased. Henry C, the son, has always made his home with his mother.
Mrs. Atkins' grandson, Dr. Thomas B. Lacey, Jr., is also a well known and
capable physician and makes his home with his grandmother. Further men-
tion of him will be found on another page of this volume.
Mr. Atkins continued in the drug business until 1903, when his health
became poor and he again went west hoping to be benefited by the change
of climate. He located in Los Angeles and there resided until his death,
which occurred on the 5th of December, 1903. His remains, however, were
brought back to Council Bluffs for interment. At the time of his demise
he was one of the most prominent and honored members of the Masonic
fraternity in the state and was serving a.s grand treasurer for Iowa, which
office he filled for nine years. He was also a valued representative of Abra-
ham Lincoln post, No. 29, G. A. R., and thus kept up close relations with his
old army comrades. For several years he was a member of the city council
and also served on the school board for several years, acting as its president
for four years. His political support was given to the republican party for
a long period, but he afterward became a champion of the democracy. He
was a man ever faithful to his honest conviotions and never faltered in his
allegiance to a cause that he believed to be right. The same loyalty which
he manifested on the field of battle characterized his entire life work. In
his business he was ever watchful of opportunities and of all indications
that pointed toward success, and his energy and determination constituted
the foundation upon which he builded his prosperity.
Mrs. Atkins is a member of the Episcopal church. She owns and
occupies a fine residence at No. 540 Sixth avenue, which has been the Atkins
home for over thirty-five years, and there she is living with her son and
her grandson, Dr. Lacey. She is very well known in Council Bluffs, be-
longing to one of the oldest families and is prominent in social circles.
N. H. LEWIS.
Among the native sons of Pottawattamie county who have gained a
creditable name in business circles is numbered N. H. Lewis, who was born
in Council Bluffs on the 5th of June, 1860. His parents were J. B. and
Amanda J. Lewis, natives of Kentucky and of Illinois respectively. The
father was a harness maker by trade and came to Council Bluffs in 1853, only
about five years after the admission of the state into the Union. The city
was then a frontier town, in which he established a harness business, con-
390 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
tinuing his operations in that line up to the time of his demise, which oc-
curred in 1904. His widow still survives and now makes her home with
her son, who is her only living child.
In early boyhood N. H. Lewis was sent to the public schools, where he
acquired a good English education, as he passed from one grade to another.
In early life he learned the trade of harness and saddle making with his
father and they continued in business together until the father retired at
the Bluffs. Mr. Lewis of this review then established a business of his own
at Marne, Iowa, where he continued for six years. On the expiration of
that period he came to Walnut in 1887, established a harness store and has
since carried on the business at this place. He has been very successful
in his mercantile operations and his enterprise and diligence well entitle
him to the measure of prosperity which he is now enjoying.
In 1885 Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Frances E. Gill, who
was born in Lewis, Cass county, Iowa, in 1860, a daughter of Mason C. and
Mary Gill, whose family numbered eight children. Both parents are still
living, the father having reached the venerable age of ninety years, while
the mother has attained the advanced age of seventy-eight years. Unto Mr.
and Mrs. Lewis have been born three children: Frances E., a graduate of
Drake University and now engaged in teaching school; and Vera and Fred
W., both at home.
Mr. Lewis exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and
measures of the republican party and is recognized as one of its local leaders.
He is now a member of the school board and the cause of education finds
in him a stalwart champion. He is also serving as one of the aldermen of the
town of Walnut and exercises his official prerogatives in support of all that
promises to prove of benefit to the community, lie belongs to the Odd Fel-
lows lodge. No. 327, in which he has filled all of the chairs. His mother
was one of the pioneer members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Coun-
cil Bluffs and now has her membership in the church at Walnut. The
family is an old and prominent one in the county, the name of Lewis hav-
ing figured in connection with the harness trade for more than a half
century, and at all times the name has stood as a synonym for commercial
integrity and progress.
DRURY F. DRYDEN.
Drury F. Dryden, although now living a retired life in Council Bluffs,
was for many years actively connected with the agricultural interests of
this section of the state, having been a resident of Pottawattamie county
since 1869. In the early days of his arrival the wild game was plentiful,
including deer and various kinds of wild fowls. All this was in sharp con-
trast to his environments and home life in the older east. He is a native
of Cleveland. Ohio, where his birth occurred May 12. 1842. His father,
Cyrus P. Dryden. was born in Massachusetts and removed to Cleveland at
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 391
au early period in the development of that city, purchasing a home near
the town, while his time and energies were devoted to the conduct of the
manufacturing business there. Both he and his wife spent their remaining
days near Cleveland, and Mrs. Dryden died recently.
Drury F. Dryden acquired an education in the public schools of Cleve-
land and Baldwin University and remained at home through the period
of his boyhood and youth, assisting his father in the carding mill and chair
factory, when not occupied with the duties of the schoolroom. He con-
tinued with his father until after the outbreak of the Civil war, being among
the first, however, to enlist in response to the country's call. Hardly had
the smoke from Fort Sumter's guns cleared away before he offered his aid
in defense of the Union, enlisting in April, 1861, for three months. After
serving for a time he returned home and found that two more companies in
Cleveland were being organized for active field service. Mr. Dryden then
re-enlisted for three years as a member of the Nineteenth Ohio Light Artil-
lery and served throughout the war, participating in many of the most
important engagements, including the siege of Atlanta and the battle of
Nashville. He was altogether in more than one hundred battles and was
under fire in and around Atlanta for one hundred and five days. He never
faltered in the performance of any duty whether on the lonely picket line
or on the firing line, but ever loyally followed the old flag until he received
an honorable discharge after the close of the war, on the 27th of July,
1865.
When the country no longer needed his services Mr. Dryden returned
to the old home in Cleveland and there began business on his own account
by opening a stone quarry. He continued to engage in getting out stone and
sending it to the market for several years, but thinking that still broader
business opportunities might open before him in the west he turned his
face toward the setting sun, making his way direct to Kansas. He then
located in the vicinity of Salina but did not like the country and only
remained for a short period, after which he came to Pottawattamie county,
Iowa, where he has since made his home.
In the meantime Mr. Dryden was married in Columbus, Ohio, to Miss
Gertrude Goss, a native of that state, and a daughter of Charles H. Goss,
who was a clerk in the Ohio State Prison there during the greater part of
his life. He died in "Columbus, in 1863, after which Mrs. Goss came west
and for a short period remained in Council Bluffs, after which she went to
live with her son in Omaha, where her last days were passed.
Upon the arrival of Mr. Dryden in this county in 1839 he purchased a
small farm in Hardin township, and turned his attention to general agri-
cultural pursuits, but he soon found that stock-raising was a more profitable
business and gave the greater part of his attention to the raising and feeding
of stock. In this he was very successful, annually making large shipments
to the city markets and finding a ready sale for his stock there. As his
financial resources increased he kept buying land and adding to his farm
until he owned three hundred and seventy acres on sections 23, 14 and 24,
in Hardin township, known as farm No. 7542. He still owns this prop-
392 HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
erty, which is one of the most valuable farms in the county, and he resided
thereon for over thirty-five years, engaging to some extent in general farm-
ing but mostly raising fine stock. In 1904 he gave the farm over to the
care of his sons, deciding to retire from active business, and removed to the
city of Council Bluffs, where he has since lived.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dryden were born eight children: Jessie, the wife
of L. W. Morris, a farmer of Pottawattamie county; Hattie, the wife of
Rev. Godell, a Methodist minister, who at one time had a charge in Council
Bluffs but is now located in Nebraska; Lottie, who is principal of the high
school at Glidden but makes her home with her parents in this city; Ralph,
who operates the old homestead farm; Cyrus P., who is engaged in farm-
ing; Gertrude, at home; Dee F., who is a student of the high school and is
also under the parental roof; and Gussie, who died at the age of eighteen
months.
Mrs. Dryden is a member of the Second Presbyterian church at Coun-
cil Bluffs. Mr. Dryden has membership relations with the Grand Army
post and in politics is a stanch republican, believing firmly in the princi-
ples of the party, which was the defense of the Union in the dark days of
the Civil war and which has always been the party of progress, reform and
improvement. He was for over three year- a member of the board of super-
visors, in which capacity he rendered signal service to his fellow townsmen.
He is one of the best known among the pioneers and old soldiers of the
county. When he removed to the city three years ago he took up his abode
on Park avenue, where he lived for two years, and about a year ago he pur-
chased the present commodious and beautiful residence at No. 621 Franklin
avenue, known as the Devine home. Here he has made great improve-
ments and amid most pleasant and comfortable surroundings is spending
his days in the enjoyment of a rest which he has justly earned and richly
merits. The years have brought many changes to the county during his
residence here, the pioneer conditions having long since given way before
an advancing civilization which has brought with it all the comforts and
conveniences of tl Ider east. Mr. Dryden has borne his full share in the
business development of the county and in the conduct of his individual
interests has gained ,i success which is most gratifying by reason of the fact
that his methods have never been such as seek or demand disguise.
JOHN N. HORN.
John N. Horn is engaged in general agricultural pursuits and stock-
raising on a farm of two hundred and sixty-five acres, situated on sections
30 and 31, Neola township, and sections 25 and 36, Boomer township. He
is a native son of the county, having been born here on the 12th of May,
1849. His father, John Horn, was a native of Kent, England, and was
there reared and married, Miss Rebecca W. Shuttle, also a native of that
locality, becoming his wife. Mr. Horn was a carpenter and joiner by trade
■^
&% «*
J^^p»
*^i _ X
■
s
!
m
JOHN N. HORN.
Ti£;fuB.
PU8UG
anO
KS T0B ' Z Lo»TI0H8
TilDe
M FOO
NOMI
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 395
and followed that pursuit in his earlier years. On leaving England in 1847,
he crossed the Atlantic to America and made his way direct to Iowa, set-
tling near Council Bluffs. He assisted in building some of the first residences
in Omaha and Council Bluffs and continued in active connection with
building operations for a number of years. He then opened up and im-
proved a farm of one hundred and ten acres in Kane township and there
reared his family. Subsequently he made his home in that section of Kane
township which was cut off and called Garner. He spent his last years
in Council Bluffs, however, and owned a residence there. To him was
allotted a goodly old age in which to enjoy the fruits of his former diligence
and perseverance. He passed away in November, 1906, at the age of ninety-
one, while his wife died about 1888 at the age of seventy-seven years.
Their family numbered three sons and four daughters and with the excep-
tion of two of the daughters all are yet living.
John N. Horn was reared to manhood in Pottawattamie county, which
he has seen developed from pioneer conditions to its present advanced and
progressive state. In the early days he frequently saw Indians here, and
there were many deer and other lesser game. He drove an ox team to tin-
breaking plow in turning the virgin soil and thus contributed in substan-
tial measure to the early development of the county. His educational
privileges were necessarily limited, as his labors were needed on the home
farm, but through experience, observation and reading he has gleaned
many valuable lessons. In early life he worked by the month as a farm
hand for three years and he has always manifested a spirit of unwearied
industry that has constituted the basis of the success which he is now on-
joying.
Mr. Horn was first married in Neola township, in 1873, to Miss Mary
Ann Spencer, a sister of G. W. Spencer, who is mentioned elsewhere in
this work. For three years thereafter he resided upon a rented farm and
then purchased forty acres of his present place. Not a furrow had been
turned or an improvement made thereon, but with characteristic energy
he began its development and from time to time bought more land until he
now has a large and well improved farm of two hundred and sixty-five
acres, which is neat and attractive in its appearance, owing to the care and
labor he bestows upon it. He erected a good residence, also two good barns,
a granary, sheds and other outbuildings, furnishing ample shelter for grain
and stock. He also set out an orchard and planted shade and ornamental
trees. In his stock-raising he gives considerable attention to high grade
shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. He annually feeds a large num-
ber of cattle and hogs and his yearly sales of stock bring him a good finan-
cial return. Aside from his farming interests he is a stockholder in the
Independent Telephone Company.
On June 19, 1886, Mr. Horn lost his first wife. There were four
children by that marriage: George T., John R., Fred S. and Ida B. For
his second wife Mr. Horn chose Mary Hansen, who died September 8, 1896,
and by whom he had a family of six children: Ernest C, Lucy R., Rosa
M., Albert L., Clyde J. and Bertha. For hi 
